January 29, 2006

Rebekah Werth, Bison bison (Mr. Panda, 2005). 26 pages. $1.

I wish she had continued this project to a full-length offering, it's that good. The visual information alone cries for the full-color treatment and could stand alone. Each left-hand page presents a B&W quilt-like visual with accompanying textual information below it that forces a re-examination of the image John Berger style. The quiltish pattern on page 21 has "Drunkard's Path Variation" attached to it, prompting a re-evaluation of the seemingly innocuous white space within the pattern. These images paired to their right-hand page poems make each page-turn seem like an entirely new edition. In fact, this chap reads like a collection of very successful broadsides:

I let the cat in and with her/him the smell of October, a little bit dead leafy-fire in the fire-placey, which always surprises me, because this is California and not Arkansas and I wonder who are the people with fireplaces and how can I make friends with them (22).

Mr. Panda Press
PO Box 1268
Berkeley CA 94701-1268