Curvd H&z

Ottawa, ON

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Tell us a bit about your press.

How did you start?
by accident: someone i knew had a rubberstamp typesetting kit they didn’t want & gave it to me when i expressed interest.

Who are your influences, in Canada and beyond?
as a publisher: Nelson Ball (Weed/Flower Press), Barbara Caruso (Seripress), Henri Chopin (Ou), bpNichol (Ganglia Press, Underwhich Editions).

What is your mission?
no mission but a delight in participating as a cultural factotum.

What about small press publishing is particularly exciting to you right now?

the same thing as always: the lack of imposed restrictions that allows for more fully explorational publishing procedures.

How does your press work to engage with your immediate literary community, and community at large?

Curvd H&z is motivated entirely by the whim of its editor, who generally solicits work from or offers publication directly with artists in the immediate community & beyond. some publicational projects are coëlaborative but most artefacts are produced through the singular attention & development of the editor/printer, either as monographs or as part of the “a sort of a magazine” INDUSTRIAL SABOTAGE, which varies format with each issue.

Tell us about three of your publications. What makes them special, needed, and/or unique?

INDUSTRIAL SABOTAGE 61, edited by jwcurry (2o11)
this is the 2nd to be dedicated to Barbara Cruso & is comprised of a collection of concrete/visual poetry prints cut in rubber & printed by jwcurry & housed in a handmade cloth-covered board portfolio. the prints are by Daniel F.Bradley, Jonathan Brannen, Stephen Cain, Judith Copithorne, Arthur Cravan, jwcurry/Renee Rodin, Wharton Hood, G.Huth, Brian David Johnston, Mark Laba, Peggy Lefler, R.D.Macpherson, bpNichol, Peter Norman, Joe O’Sullivan, Søren Truhlar, & John Vieira. it also introduces a display alphabet for the titling developed & cut in rubber by curry, since adapted to a multitude of morphological possibilities.

HOLIDAY, by bpNichol (1999)
dating from the late’6os & submitted to curry as a challenge in the mid’8os (as 2 inconsistent maquettes), it took some 15 years to figure out how to sync the versions, solve the binding path maze & printing logistics before issuing this concrete poetry origami/popup book (1st hinted at with Nichol’s 5¢ Mini Mimeo SAIL in 1968)

LAND IS DOWN, by jwcurry (1989)
the cover describes the source for this 2-colour concrete poetry improvisation in typographic violence, overprinted entirely by handset & printed rubberstamp. the book has also come to generate a score for a somewhat intense performance text for duo.