Description

‘Coracle Press: Seasonal Words’ by Harry Gilonis is an exquisitely produced collection of 100 typed Japanese haiku. These versions of Japanese haiku from various writers, translated by the poet, Harry Gilonis were initially sent out as a daily e-mail; initially to a handful of friends, but the number grew and grew. They were not begun with a set plan, nor duration; they went out from 17 September to 24 December; neatly dividing almost exactly into autumn and winter (by Japanese seasonal definitions).

Harry Gilonis is a poet, editor, publisher, and critic writing on art, poetry, and music. Since the late 1980s he has written various books of poetry (published by Carcanet Press, among others), and has collaborated with other poets. His writing has been translated into Catalan, Gaelic, German, Polish, and Spanish. In 2018, The Guardian published Gilonis’ piece ‘a small alba’ as its Poem of the Week.

About Coracle Press

Coracle Press is a small and completely individual publishing press which has been operating for over 35 years..  Writer and artist Erica
Van Horn and poet, artist and editor Simon Cutts, direct it now from a small
farm between the hills of South Tipperary, Ireland. They have been there since 1996. However, they began in London in the nineteen seventies, as publisher, gallery,
and a space for books. Their last London book shop project project was ‘workfortheeyetodo’  in the mid-nineteen nineties. They also had a Norfolk connection. They worked out of a studio in Docking and between 1989-2012, printing many of their works from a printer, Crome and Akers, based in King’s Lynn.

From their remote spot in Ireland, they continue as printer-publisher, editor of
spaces. They describe their practice as ’employing many of the devices and formats of hypothetical
publishing inherent in the small press’.  Their books have both critical and playful
dimensions. But they are also steeped in poetry – they call it a residue of poetry – concerned with the mechanisms of the book as a manifestation of the poem
itself. They are also mindful of their many collaborations  with other artists and writers, which evade any clear category.

Being open to new ideas and approaches marks all their projects. Limiting their scope or over-categorising their content or defining their range does not interest them.
The books themselves are not so concerned with craft tradition,
limited-ness of edition, hand-made paper or elaboration of binding. While each one has its unique character and appearance, what they want to achieve is the plain and simple case-bound book, the sewn paperback. They are working constantly at extending the category of ephemera. Making quirky visions, askance views, eccentric perceptions widely available is what they are all about.

Visit their blog at www.somewordsforlivinglocally.com