LETTER OF MARQUE: ARTICLE THE TWENTY-SIXTH

The Scarlet Letter | Nathaniel Hawthorne

I know, I know, but somehow I managed to escape it in high school. My life was blissful until recently when I decided I needed to endure the classics in order to consider myself well-rounded. I really wanted to read The House of the Seven Gables, but knowing Letter came first and that Gables was Hawthorne's response to the public's outcry at his dismal, if blasphemous, take on the morbid East Coast, I figured I should read them in order. But hey, I've lived there. I've seen Salem. And I'll say that, although it takes me fewer words, Hawthorne has it just about right in Letter.

I knew this was not going to be a pleasant read, as obviously everyone knows by now the general story behind this bleak cover. What they might not know, however, is that there is nothing like Nathaniel Hawthorne to make you hate language and that this guy goes on and on and on for two chapters to describe one wall. Everyone is whiny, the man she loves is a weird wuss, the man who's supposed to be seeking revenge is cryptic and complicated to the point that you miss the point, and everything is obsessively descriptive with very little interaction. The few moments of saving grace come just after the middle of the book when we finally get some dialogue going between the characters. 

My big suggestion to you, if you must read this, is just sit down and get through it as quickly as possible, as it flows slightly better without breaks. You don't need to read “The Custom House" portion at the beginning unless you hate your life; all it tells you is that Hawthorne, while working in the Custom House, came upon the actual fabric of the scarlet letter (although not really ... I know, right!?) in an abandoned room upstairs. Yup, forty pages just for that. The first half took me months to read because I kept picking it up, putting it down, picking it up, getting frustrated, forgetting what had already happened, losing track of which man was which and who was whom and what was what, then putting it down, not wanting to pick it back up. I got more enjoyment out of the second half after reading it on an airplane with no escape but the drooling, oversized man next to me. So I was pinned, and that actually helped me get into it a little bit. But no tears, no remorse for Hester's stupid life or anyone's pointless death. The whole thing is just brutal, in story and in language.

I now have no desire to read The House of the Seven Gables.  Maybe during my next menstrual cycle when I hate myself.

•I picked this up at a yard sale. I do not know the publisher or the author, obviously.•
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LETTER OF MARQUE: ARTICLE THE TWENTY-FIFTH

From the Marrow #79 | John Berbrich

Catalog, Reviews
2 pages
8 ½” x 11” photocopied
BoneWorld Publishing
3700 County Rte 24
Russell NY 13684 USA

This is John Berbrich's leaflet of reviews and catalogued items from MuscleHead Press/BoneWorld Publishing. Berbrich gives quick paragraph reviews to books and zines he's received in an honest way in the true spirit of the small press: passing on the word. This particular issue contains a review of one of Alternating Current's books, Billy and Cindy by Stephanie Hiteshew and Dave Church, so we certainly appreciate the exposure and have to extend a thanks to anyone who is willing to distribute (and free, I believe, with each item purchased from their press, or probably just for the asking, as well) reviews to keep the independent press alive and to give light to all the publications that the reader/writer might not know yet.  

On the back side is a catalog of chapbooks from MuscleHead Press, including some real gems by Errol Miller (Where did he go these days?), Giovanni Malito (R.I.P.), Michael Kriesel, Robin Merrill, Joseph Verrilli, Don Winter (pseudo-R.I.P.), Stephanie Hiteshew, and Berbrich, himself (of course, among others). Do check it out and support the independent press.

•This pamphlet was sent to me from the publisher because I have corresponded with him.•
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LETTER OF MARQUE: ARTICLE THE TWENTY-THIRD

Media Junky #12 | Jason Rodgers

Review zine
16 pages
4 ¼” x 5 ½” zine
Jason Rodgers
PO Box 62
Lawrence MA 01842 USA
$1 or trade or nice letter

A zine! I never even get to see these anymore! It almost makes me sad when I get one, thumbing through it, remembering the good old days of cut ‘n' paste and how innocent and creative (and sloppy!) all those zines were that I would get on a regular basis, fifteen years ago.

Well, here is one, old school style, cut ‘n' paste text on collaged background, black and white photocopied, hand-cut and stapled, and with a mission of promoting “authentic DIY production and cultural engineering.  Provid[ing] contacts to increase the nodal connection in the underground to the point of infinite reiteration" ... makes me feel good to see it. This one is a review zine of other zines, chapbooks, catalogs, and music, listed alphabetically. The reviews are shorter, but Jason still manages to give his opinions about the zines and not just a list of what's in them or “you might like this if ...". Good, concise descriptions that really give you a good idea of what is being reviewed, and how could I not want to check out “a comic all about fighting Mormons and the epic search for coffee in a world of government-forced decaffeination"?

Jason is clever, lighthearted, and honest, all of which are a must for writing a zine that contains only reviews. He could benefit a little, however, from proofreading his work. Several typos.

•This book was sent to me from the editor because I have corresponded with him.•
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LETTER OF MARQUE: ARTICLE THE FIFTH

From the Marrow #74 | John Berbrich

Catalog, Reviews
2 pages
8 ½” x 11” photocopied
BoneWorld Publishing
3700 County Rte 24
Russell NY 13684

From The Marrow is the review snippet page from John Berbrich of BoneWorld Publishing featuring his “Skeleton Sketches,” short reviews and blurbs of many zines, litzines, and chaps floating around the small press. It's free for the asking. The reviews are not extensive and not too opinionated, mostly just here's-what's-in-it reviews and a few extra kudos if he really likes the material, but it's a good way to see what's going around the press these days.

On the flipside of the page is a catalog listing of the chapbooks available from MuscleHead Press, a division of BoneWorld Publishing. Quite an impressive list, including the likes of Errol Miller, whose name I haven't seen around the small press in quite some time, the deceased Giovanni Malito, and others, including delicious treats from Berbrich, himself.

•This pamphlet was sent from the editor/publisher because I have previously corresponded with him.•
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