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Issue #0				                                8/92
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TapRoot is a quarterly publication of Independent, Underground, 
and Experimental language-centered arts. Over the past 10 years, 
we have published 40 collections of poetry, writing, and visio-
verbal art in a variety of formats. In the Summer of 1992, we 
began assembling contact information and reviews of like-minded 
publications, and distributing them as part of a local (Cleveland 
Ohio) poetry tabloid, the Cleveland Review. This posting is an 
experiment, to test the practicality of (and interest in) 
distributing this information through the Net. Your response and 
comments are vital in determining the fate of this project. 
Please e-mail your feedback to editor Luigi-Bob Drake at:

                au462@cleveland.freenet.edu 

Hard-copies of The Cleveland Review are available from: Burning 
Press, PO Box 585, Lakewood OH 44107--$2.50. All reviews by 
Luigi, and copyright 1992 by Burning Press, Cleveland. Burning 
Press is a non-profit educational corporation. Permission 
granted to reproduce this material FOR NON-COMMERCIAL PURPOSES, 
provided that this introductory notice is included. 

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'ZINES:

11x30--(Vol. 4 #2), 32 Scott House, Univ. of Toledo, Toledo OH 
43606.  Named for it's physical size, the most recent issue of 
this broadside focuses on Poetry Slams in general and the work of 
Boston's reigning Slam Queen Patricia Smith in particular.  

ASYLUM--(Vol. 6 #2), PO Box 6203, Santa Maria CA 93456.  44 pp., 
$3.  Writing, experimental and fun, which is a good combination.  
Short-shorts from Celestine Frost, Belinda Subraman, Donna Glee 
Williams; somewhat longer stories by S. Ramanth, John Richards, 
and (my fave) Catherine Scherer.  Scattering of prosepoems, 
translations, visual/concrete, and a few reviews--not a clinker 
in the bunch. 

BOGG--(#65), 422 N. Cleveland St., Arlington VA 22201.  64 pp., 
$4.50  Still going strong, another solid and eclectic collection 
of poetry from the US & UK (Britain and her former empirees).   
The Brits as a batch often come across more genteel, especially 
compared to some of the bad-boy Yank's like Ron Androla, Tom 
House, & the Buk.  But there's a wide range of voices from both 
sides of the pond, and somehow it all hangs together.  The 
letters section seems a little less cantankerous since last I 
looked, and the reviews are now in the form of selections from 
the chaps reviewed, so you can make yr own judgements--nice way 
to go.   

BRIEF--(#6, Jan. '90), PO Box 33, Canyon Ca 94516.  28pp.  Poems 
that require some thinking to digest, selected and sparsely 
presented to give the needed headspace and breathingroom.  Nearly 
fragmentary lyrics from Todd Baron, Robert Fitterman, and Kent's 
own Tom Beckett, almost prose-poems from Gerald Burns, sonnets 
(unstilted by the form) from Jack Collom.      

CAUTION!--(Vol 1 #4, winter '91), PO Box 4694, Richmond VA 23220.  
64pp., $3.95.  "Art & Literature Like a Frog in a Blender".  
Mostly poetry, spanning a wide range of voice & quality.  Honest 
rather than intellectual, and (despite the name) not "cautious" 
at all.  Credits in the editors box include thanx to Naropa 
Institute, Jim Beam, and a slew of noise-rock bands.  Annoying 
use of computer gimmicky type-twisting fr the poem titles, but 
that's a pet peeve of mine, so forget I sed it...

CENTRAL PARK--(#19/20, spring/fall '91), Box 1446, New York NY 
10023.  344 pp., $9.  Their 10th anniversary issue, this deserves 
to be spread out on yr coffee table if you have one.  Book sized, 
perfect bound, dense with material that deserves that kind of 
permanence.    The poetry mostly L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E influenced (or 
maybe "post-modern", if that means anything).  Essays on Chris 
Columbus & genocide, "disappeared" persons in Chile, Salmon 
Rushdie; several on the Gulf war (including one by Noam Chomsky).  
Serious people taking their world seriously, and working to 
know/change it. 

DUMPSTER TIMES--(#11, March '92), PO Box 80044, Akron OH 44308. 
48 pp., $2.  Anarchist magazine, featuring articles about the 
tyranny of work, war, religion, art, and gender (among other 
things).  Editor Wendy S. Duck keeps it personal & real-life--
frinstance, sharing her inner turmoil over eschewing a life of 
luxury/wage slavery &  health insurance  to keep (mostly) doing 
what she wants.  This issue has lots of reprints of articles from 
elsewhere; past numbers have had  more poetry & "art".

THE FACE OF THE CONGRESS--(#2, Feb. '92), Fagagaga, Box 1382, 
Youngstown OH 44501.  20 pp., $1.  1992 is the year of the 
WorldWide Networker Congress, a conceptual group project which 
declares that "where 2 or more artist/networkers meet, there a 
networker congress will take place."  This publication documents 
some of those meetings, primarily with pictures (hand-drawn & 
otherwise) of the participants.  It's a MailArt Thing, You 
Wouldn't Understand...

FISH DRUM--(#5), 626 Kathryn Ave., Santa Fe NM 87501. 45 pp., 
$2.50.  Poems strongly rooted in place, primarily the Southwest.  
The psychic juice is tapped from all over (Zen & mystical 
Christianity, Emily Dickinson & bluesman Robert Johnson), but the 
resulting perspective is no less unified.  Miriam Sagan, Joy 
Harjo, and ex-Clevelander Linda Monacelli Johnson all prominently 
featured.

FISH WRAP--(#3), 921 1/2 24th Ave., Seattle WA 98122.  36 pp., 
$3.50.  Their "Fishy Business" issue is a batch of multicolored 
business cards, a poem per, elegantly packed into a red velvet 
pouch.  How did Ez say--"gists & piths"?--if that's yr definition 
of poetry, these are IT.  Single-word works of geof huth, 
verbovisuals from Toledo's Joel Lipman, striking minimalism from 
Joseph Keppler; Crag Hill and Skip Fox also faves, but all 
deserve a read.  Get 2 copies, one to keep, one to leave behind 
with yr tip at the coffeeshop.  

FOUND STREET--1403 S. Santa Fe #6, Los Angeles CA 90021.  Not 
sure if this is a serial, or a series of chaps--maybe call 'em 
"scraps".  "Currently accepting submissions of visual poetry, 
verobvisual art & experimental writing/drawing... all work must 
be camera-ready, B/W and fit within a 7x8 1/2 format".  First 
install is BRAIN DAMAGED FURNITURE by Larry Tomoyasu, minimally 
detourned graphics from '40s era advertising.

HEAVEN BONE--(#9, winter/spring '92), PO Box 10981, Chester NY 
10918.  64 pp., $5.  The poetry here is well crafted, but content 
seems to dominate over form--political & ecological concerns, and 
god (in a wide range of guises) appear throughout.  Contributors 
range from the pros (Marge Piercy leads off, Bukowski & Antler 
here too) to the rest of us; the presentation definately on the 
professional side--very slick.  Contents include: a travel joural 
thru India, Ren Daumal in translation, a halucinogenic-mushroom 
story, some reviews.  Assembled so as to lead you thru, one to 
the next.

IMPETUS--(#20, Aug. 91), 4975 Comanche Trail, Stow OH 44224.  70 
pp., $3.  Close enough to Cleveland for us to claim as our own 
hidden gem.  Cheryl Townsend edits a fine and visceral mag, 
direct descendant in look and feel to the mimeo-underground of my 
youth.  Mainstays of this from-th-heart/land poemfest: Androlla, 
Huffstickler, Sollfrey, Kittel, Oberk, Nimmo, Lifshin; 
Clevelanders (& ex-) Ben Gulyas, Joyce Shipley, Mark Weber; a 
slew of others.  Solid review pages, plus plugs throughtout for 
publications & zines of similar ilk.    

IN THE MAIL--(March '92), PO Box 4857, Washington DC 20008.  16 
pp., trade for art.  Ex-Clevelander Tim Harding has revived 
"WordLess Press" and this, his long dormant mail-art document.  
Xeroxing & redistributing the various images he receives, this 
has a conversational feeling, a circle of friends sittin' around 
& shootin' the breeze.  To get in, you've gotta hold up your end 
of the conversation...

INTENT--(Vol 3 #2&3, summer/fall '91), 201 Crestwood, Buffalo NY 
14214. 36 pp., $15/yr.  Heady newsletter of critical thinking, 
Primarily Literary.  About half devoted to a theme, 
"Alphabetics"; the rest rambling around points of perstistant 
interest (most notably, Charles Olson) in review, comment and 
occasional example.   

LOST & FOUND TIMES--(#29, Jan. '92), 137 Leland Ave., Columbus OH  
43214.  52 pp., $4.  Language mangled on every level, from 
meaning to spelling, syntax  to vocabulary to grammer to 
orthography....all laid to waste, finally maybe ready to "make it 
new".  Not everything new is an improvement.  That's why we call 
this stuff experimental--sometimes experiments don't succeed, but 
you won't know without trying.  People who like this stuff 
(myself amoung) really like it; those who don't are usually stuck 
trying to figure what it "means".  Hint: the "means" art the 
"ends". 

MALCONTENT--(#29, Dec. '91), PO Box 703, Navesink NJ 07752.  58 
pp., $3.  This is the 1st annual collation ish--each contributor 
sends in 100 copies of their work, Laura adds cover & comment 
pages, binds 'em up, and go.  Variable results as you'd expect, 
with a leaning towards ruff edges & rock'n'roll (even an 
interview with now-defunct Adrenalin O.D.).  At one point, editor 
Laura Poll rails against poets sending formal/form cover-letters 
with their submits--seems like she'd rather have a genuine 
personal relationship with her authors & audience, rather than 
the ususal "professional distance".  Upcoming themes: "Sharing"; 
"Does it Hurt to be Alone?".  

MOTEL--(#5, fall '91), Box 65402, Station F, Vancouver BC Canada 
V5N 5P3.  32 pp., $4.  Exquisite poetry, but so spacious & open 
it sometimes threaten to fall apart.  Held together (like the 
mag) with a constancy of tone, & physical conjoining that 
threatens not to stay on its own--requires an active  reader to 
hold it together.  Not for those who need to be spoon-fed.  Ray 
Dipalma the heavy L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E name here, Abigail Child 
weighing in with particularly striking work. 

PAPER RADIO--(spring '92) 2615 N. 4th St Suite 797, Coeur d'Alene 
ID 83814.  48 pp., $3.  Cleanly produced mag of writing (approx 
50/50 poetry/prose, by weight) and art. Much of the work is 
precise & well crafted, without relying on the homogonized 
MFA/workshop "image", & "voice" stylings...  Several folks 
singled out & featured, with a selection of several poems 
apiece--helps give a context to their work.  Also nice to see 
prose poetry given some prominance.   

POETRY MOTEL--(#18, fall '92), 1619 Jefferson, Duluth MN 55812.  
52 pp., $5.95.  Back after an extended vacation, and welcome.  
Some of the regular guys still around--Ron Androla, Seth Wade, 
Todd Moore, & the editors-- still working drinking & talking 
hard.  Same old cut & paste layout, with recycled 50's magazine 
graphics plus mayan hieroglyphs.  In the end, Jelly Bobby & Mr. 
Jenkins try to get into the Naked Sex Place...

POETRY USA--(#23, summer '91), 2569 Maxwell Ave., Oakland CA 
94601.  28 pp., $1.  A quarterly tabloid with a political 
awareness.  Sections devoted to poetry by prisoners, the 
homeless, and young people, as well an international page and a 
regular contest series.  Subscribers help to support a program 
that privides free copies to folks on the street, who can then 
resell 'em instead of plain panhandling.  Maybe not dressed up 
fancy, but the poetry is straight up--not putting on airs and not 
talking down to anyone, either.

REBEAT--(#1, spring '92), PO Box 13387, Salem OR 97309.   24 pp.  
Fine looking tabloid that really utilizes the news-print format--
big type, lottsa space, a genuine vision.  Several stories with 
fresh language & twisty points of view--reminds a little of 
Brautegan, but not so neat.  Free locally, send a coupla stamps 
at least.

RETROFUTURISM--(#16, March '92), PO Box 227, Iowa City IA 52244.  
48 pp., $3.  Still coming out, but sporadically, during the Art 
Strike* (1990-1993, the Years Without Art--buy now!).  News & 
views of censorship, plagarism, and assorted strains in 
networking.  Fairly political critiques of mass culture and herd 
thinking, in both mainstream society and the "art" "underground".  
Cynical & idealistic, which aren't so different after all.  Also 
available, the broadside series Yawn, a "Sporadic Critique of 
Culture"-- send stamps. 

SLIPSTREAM--(#11), PO Box 2071, New Market Station, Niagra Falls 
NY 14301.  130 pp., $5.  Starts off with some powerful poems 
about the Bomb--Americana, but not the kind you see on the 
bloodless faces and hands in the advertisement.  City & truckstop 
poems, neigboorhood bar &, car poems, whore poems and war poems.  
Short stories in the same vein.  Bukowski weighing in with 8 
pages, he's in the company of friends.  Lotta bang for yr buck.

SPLITCITY--(#1, summer '92), PO Box 110171, Cleveland OH  44111. 
20 pp., free.  Cleveland has always been split: east & west, 
high-brow & beer-belly, white & black & blue...  These folks 
split from the Cleveland Review to persue their own vision of 
free poetry, & did a damn fine job.  Xerox & cutup, gut-bucket 
poetry, & a hilarious attack on Poetry Slams.  Hope they do 
another.

TRANSMOG--(#4), Rt. 6 Box 138, Charleston WV 25311.  6 pp., SASE.  
Editor Ficus Strangulensis is an afficianado of computer-
generated word-bending, and this newsletter presents the results 
of his various experiments.  Random or alleotorically generated 
poetry, or computer cut-ups of found text--past issues have 
featured de-readings of movie listings, recipes, and noozepaper 
headlines ("Cyclone Deaths Black And Whited Against Hangers!").  
The results are weird indeed, sorta surrealist, but with the 
heart & soul of IBM.

WRAY--(#2), PO Box 91052, Cleveland OH 44101.  84 pp., $3.  The 
point of departure here is Art, and from that point moving out to 
writing, performance etc.  Not as rigidly "designed" as their 1st 
issue, but still nice & visual. Includes mostly-local writing, 
replies to their 2nd survey (questions like: "If you had an extra 
soul, what would you do with it?"), and a long interview with 
Charlotte Pressler.   Their 3rd issue should be out by the time 
you read this.  

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CHAPBOOKS:

Tom Beckett: ECONOMIES OF PURE EXPENDITURE: A NOTEBOOK--Leave 
Books, 357 Ashland Ave, Buffalo NY 14222.  12 pp.  A series of 
entries, thoughts concerning poetry & language.  Philosophic, & 
including quotes from Zukofsky & Olson amoung others.  I think 
Tom distrusts language--certainly that language is always a 
shadow of whatever motivates its utterance, but even that it 
might somehow betray us.  On the other hand, I may not have a 
clue...

Johnathan Brannen: SUNSET BEACH--Runaway Spoon Press, Box 3621, 
Port Charlotte FL 33949.  50 pp., $5.  The long prose piece that 
makes up most of this is dreamy and mirage-like, urreal--flat 
declarative statements of fact that don't seem to add up to the 
expected reality.  As it turns out, the text is a collage of 
found fragments, so no wonder.  The found-text sourcing is more 
obvious in the final section, consisting of visual collages using 
primarily text as a graphic element.

Serena Fusek:  THE COLOR OF POISON----Slipstream Publications, PO 
Box 2071, New Market Station, Niagra Falls NY 14301.   26 pp., 
$4.  A collection of seperate poems, but the images recur: father 
hacks up coal dust, oil slicks the beach, women drink whisky 
while acid drips thru their wombs.  Knit together by consistant 
voice as well as image.  Hard hit vision of a sub-urban 
nightmare, distilled and polished as if it were nice to look at.  
Powerful stuff.

Marc Kaminsky: TARGET POPULATIONS--Central Park Editions, Box 
1466, New York NY 10023.  54 pp., $5.  Finely crafted poems 
populated by homeless women, holocaust survivors, stock-brokers 
who forget how to fuck--victims & perpetrators.  Not glorifying 
the grit or demanding easy answers, these poems connect 
flesh&blood faces to the sometimes abstracted realities of what 
passes for our civilization.

Gerald Locklin: THE ILLEGITIMATE SON OF MR. MADMAN----Slipstream 
Publications, PO Box 2071, New Market Station, Niagra Falls NY 
14301.  36 pp., $4.95.  If you like Bukowski, you'll probably 
like this.  In fact, maybe even more--this one seems like it's a 
little more selected than some of Buk's books.

Jim Maloney: WORKING: SYMBOLS OF POWER & PROGRESS--Parallel 
Discourse Press, 921 1/2 24th Ave., Seattle WA 98122.  28 pp., 
During the Depression, Leftist magazines like New Masses and The 
Anvil printed Proletarian poetry, focused on the lives of the 
Working Class, and held up organized Labor or Socialism as 
possible solutions.  These poems have some of the lyric power and 
class consciousness of those forebears (and other American voices 
like Whitman, Sandburg , maybe even Patchen), but with less 
optimism for simple solutions.  Rustbelt vignettes of the Worker, 
more Tragic than Heroic.   

Lonnie Sherman: AFTER DARK--Implosion Press, 4975 Commanche 
Trail, Stow OH 44224.  56 pp.  In the introduction, Ron Androla 
calls on the names of Lonnie's literary predecessors, Whitman & 
the Beats.  I'd of named Ginsberg instead of Kerouac--these poems 
howl at the moon.  Apparently all written in the we hours of 
mourning, there's broken bottles and broken hearts, but the 
spirit's still whole.  The singing of whisky voice in-somnia, 
with harmony from the pack of wild dogs in the street.  

Kristen Ban Tepper: MOUTH WATCH--Burning Press, PO Box 585, 
Lakewood OH 44107.  28 pp., $2.50.    From mouth to ear is how 
these are intended, direct from body part to body part.  Some of 
Kristen's work appears elsewhere in the Review, check it out and 
judge for yourself.  

Chris Winkler: CHICKEN IN THE ACID--Plutonium Press, PO Box 
61564, Phoenix AZ 85082.  26 pp., $2.   Cut-up story based on a 
newspaper article about a family's attemts to murder one of their 
own.  Unlike many cut-ups, this one's carefully done: the story 
unfolds & progresses, by turns hilarious & chilling.  
Illustrations by Jake Berry.  

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End TapRoot 8/92 
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