More Reviews from Anne - Poiesis and The Ken Chronicles

POIESIS NUMBER THREE
quarter size, $4 (plus $2 shipping for US, $3 shipping for non-US), 64pp
and
SOME MISPLACED JOAN OF ARC
by leah angstman
quarter-size, $5 (plus $2 shipping for US, $3 shipping for non-US), 64pp
both available from
Alternating Current
PO Box 398058
Cambridge, MA 02139
alt.current@gmail.com, http://www.alt-current.com/

I have a love-hate relationship with poetry zines; if they're done well, I
love them. For me this means not only reading well-written poetry, but
also that the chapbook or zine in question has crisp composition, where
the layout doesn't overshadow the writing. Both of these chapbooks are
published by Propaganda Press, which is "the not-for-profit small press
portion of the Alternating Current Arts Co-op that works hard to make sure
writers have an outlet for inexpensive publishing and distributing."
(Awesome, no?) They're pretty objects; full-color covers, clean layouts,
and I've never seen something come through Alternating Current that didn't
have these same high production values. POESIS is an anthology with more
than 50 different authors included, whereas SOME MISPLACED JOAN OF ARC is
all leah angstman's work. I found both compelling, for different reasons,
though I tend to go for single-author chapbooks a little more. Angstman's
work never disappoints me; her language is vivid-always-and crisp, whether
she's outlining extended airport delays with "standby passes / turning to
dust / in our pockets" or pride literally going before a fall in "bangs
are than on which the world hangs." The anthology feels like an anthology;
it's hard to have a feeling of cohesion in such a large assortment of
authors, but at the same time, there's going to be something in there for
everyone. Both are worth checking out if you like poetry chapbooks.

THE KEN CHRONICLES #14
Digest size, $2 ("postpaid, a fair trade, or a letter of comment.")
Ken Bausert,
2140 Erma Drive,
East Meadow, NY 11554-1120;
passscribe@aol.com; http://thekenbausertchronicles.blogspot.com/
Okay, if you haven't been hipped to this zine by now, here's how Ken
himself describes the new issue: "the usual mix of home-related madness,
some local travel photos, a trip to my nostalgic museum, and a dose of
philosophy for a change." I missed the bee story from issue #13, but
apparently crickets have taken their place and invaded.it's a perzine,
obviously, all about Ken, but it's well-written and kind of hip. There's
something captivating about it (in some ways it reminds me of Fred
Argoff's BROOKLYN!, actually, the new issue of which I just received and
have not yet finished reading.). You'll like TKC, I think, especially if
you're into perzines with a little bit of nostalgia (who else goes looking
for a VCR these days.?).