New book "You'll Go Blameless" by David Barker (1 Viewer)

Rekrab

Usually wrong.
Announcing: A new (well, almost new) David Barker chapbook from Golden Posterity Press:

YOU'LL GO BLAMELESS

Poems, 33 pages. Second edition (first published edition.) Limited to 50 numbered copies in wrappers and 10 signed lettered copies, hand-bound in boards (with a cloth spine) by Bill Roberts.

A very small number of hardcovers are still available, and I expect these will sell out quickly, so order now if you want one.

This book was first issued in a private photocopied edition that was mostly given to my friends. Because of the extremely small number of copies produced, that first edition was not listed as a "published" item in Bill Robert's David Barker: A Bibliography, and instead was listed in Appendix A -Unpublished Editions (page 43 of the biblio.) This new printing is an expansion of that first private edition, including all of the poems in the original, plus three new poems that were intended for the original edition but were cut for reasons I can't recall.

The book is designed, printed and bound by Bill Roberts of Dover, DE, and is published by Golden Posterity Press of Aberdeen, SD (the Midwest arm of my Rumba Train Press.) I am handling the sales as it is harvest season in South Dakota and the publisher has to bring in the corn.

The subtitle, "some of the last poems by David Barker," refers to the fact that I'd slowed down writing poems during the mid 1980s and thought this collection might be my last. That's also why it wasn't published in a larger edition and received no real distribution. Frankly, I thought I was washed up as a poet. Looking back, this seems to me one of my strongest collections, and I'm very proud to have it out now in this beautiful edition.

Hardcovers are $25 plus shipping. I have only four hardbound copies remaining. PM me to reserve one.

Paperbacks are $5 plus shipping. I have a good supply of paperback copies. After I've sold those out, additional paperbacks will be available from Bill Roberts. He has no hardcovers remaining for sale.

For shipping in the U.S. or Canada, add $1. Shipping elsewhere in the world, add $4. To order, send me a PM and I'll provide payment details. Thanks for your support.

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h185/barkerbooks/100_7149.jpg

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h185/barkerbooks/100_7150.jpg

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h185/barkerbooks/100_7151.jpg

Below is the slipcased "Author's Copy." The photo doesn't do it justice. It's not for sale; I just wanted you to see Bill's handiwork. There's also a slipcased binder's copy.

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h185/barkerbooks/100_7152.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
The cover art is a doodle I did at work, during a long & boring meeting. Just so you'd know.

I've written a few poems during meetings. Somehow, people sitting next to me know when it's not my normal note-taking, and lean over for a peek, and I cover it with my hand like it was shameful smut. The smut of poetry. All creativity is, of course, antithetical to the proper conduct of business. And now I'm going to go rake leaves and wait for the millions to roll in from this vast poetry empire I'm building.
 
One copy of the hardcover edition remains. Going, going ...

How much?

See below:

Announcing: A new (well, almost new) David Barker chapbook from Golden Posterity Press:

YOU'LL GO BLAMELESS

Poems, 33 pages. Second edition (first published edition.) Limited to 50 numbered copies in wrappers and 10 signed lettered copies, hand-bound in boards (with a cloth spine) by Bill Roberts.

Hardcovers are $25 plus shipping.

Paperbacks are $5 plus shipping.

For shipping in the U.S. or Canada, add $1. Shipping elsewhere in the world, add $4. To order, send me a PM and I'll provide payment details. Thanks for your support.
 
Thanks, hank solo. The shipping cost is the same for either the hardcover or the softcover. One hardcover still available. Thanks to you who have ordered. These will ship on Monday.
 
The hardcovers are all gone. My apologies to those of you who wrote me PMs during the past couple hours asking for one. I was away from the computer.

Still have plenty of the softcovers at $5 each plus shipping. Thanks everyone.
 
David... I received my copy today (an advantage of living 30 minutes north, I suppose). Can't wait to crack it open after dinner. Thanks!
 
If he had, I would have spit in his face...

Oh wait, no. That was NOT a good move. Shit, now I've got to figure out how our first meeting will go...
 
There's a scarry thought. If I ever become known, my well-meaning fans will greet me by spitting in my face, thinking it's cool. I'll have to carry around handkerchiefs to dry my face off. I'll go into hiding and avoid public appearances. Imagine a crowd of hundreds, all spitting in my direction. I'd be drenched. I'll make Salinger and Pynchon look like publicity whores.
 
Sounds like a punk rock show in England circa 1977. You should talk to the guys who were in the Clash and Sex Pistols to get some tips for avoiding the gob. Maybe you could carry around a big bass guitar and club people over the head with it when they get out of line...
 
I like that. A heavy wooden instrument to fend off the young when they pay their respects. That should keep me dry.
 
Wearing one of those diving suits made of rubber would be good too. After you met your spitting fans you could just go through a car wash and the rubber suit would be clean for your next reading.
 
Thanks, LickTheStar, on both the props and for not spitting. I could have a sign on stage saying "Thank You For Not Spitting." Then I come out, clad in rubber from head to foot, weilding a huge vintage bass guitar, one of those logs from the 60s. Now that would be impressive.
 
Finished the book about an hour ago... very enjoyable. I will hold off on the spitting for the time being.

I read the book for the first time 4 or 5 years ago and was amazed that it did not get any distribution. Glad to see that the fine folks in Aberdeen, SD fixed this and got copies out there.

Bill
 
I could have a sign on stage saying "Thank You For Not Spitting." Then I come out, clad in rubber from head to foot, weilding a huge vintage bass guitar, one of those logs from the 60s.
Or you could just have Nettelbeck stand on the other side of the stage. I think if people had the urge to spit they'd aim for him and not you. Could be a lucrative new career for him: gob magnet. He could mop up the stage afterward with copies of his rare masterpiece BUG SPRAY.

Sorry, that was off topic.
 
Got it in the mail a couple days ago, but finally got a chance to read it tonight. Great set of poems - I'm glad this finally got published. My favorite is 'Coffee for Lunch.'
 
Thanks, marina del rey. My own favorite poem in that book is "Persian Whorehouse Blue." Or maybe I just like using the word "whorehouse" in a poem. I forget I have that freedom. Often when I write, I feel like some censor is looking over my shoulder (well, on the web, they are...) Anyway, that poem, and also "Cezanne In The Dark." Looking over this book, comparing it to my output the past few years, it seems I've narrowed my scope, focused in on work relationships. I may have to rethink everything. Or, I could not think about it at all and just write whatever comes to mind. Hmmm...
 
Glad you liked that one, LTS. This will sound terrible, but sometimes I read my old stuff (not a habit, mind you) and say, "Damn, that is not half bad." It's weird, being surprised in a positive way by something you did long ago and have forgotten even doing. I always expect to be embarrassed looking at my old poems, but often I like what I did. So I am an egomaniac, I guess. That's my confession for today. Where's Father Luke?
 
I think its a good sign that you're confident enough in past work to think it reads well. I'd say you have to be worried when you start to laugh at your own jokes, however... :p
 
Yes, David, your older words still ring true. A great collection. And, as usual, A fine job by Bill.

And, by the way, if you need a good solid axe to wield, get a beat-up Fender Precision bass. Not only do they pack a wallop, they also deserve to be spit upon. ;)

(Yeah, I'm a Jazz bass guy myself.)
 
I was mulling over that confession last night, worried maybe I was being too honest about my high opinion of my own work, but realized that if you don't think you're any good, you probably won't even try. I'd rather make an ass out of myself (which I often do) than spend my life saying "I'd like to write someday, I'd like to paint." We all know people who say that and they seldom actually do go on to write or paint. You have to take the risk, crash ahead, succeed or fail, and accept that you'll do both. So I guess it's okay for me to say, yeah, I'm pretty good. But I've done more than my share of crap, too. Don't I know it.

Yes, David, your older words still ring true. A great collection. And, as usual, A fine job by Bill.
And, by the way, if you need a good solid axe to wield, get a beat-up Fender Precision bass. Not only do they pack a wallop, they also deserve to be spit upon. ;)
(Yeah, I'm a Jazz bass guy myself.)
Thanks for the vote.

What I was really thinking about when I mentioned a heavy axe is a cheap electric guitar I had in the 60s. It cost $100, and weighed a ton. The neck was thick, about twice that of a Fender, and the action was lousy, the strings about an inch above the frets. I played guitar and electric harmonica, sometimes at the same time. I'm using "played" loosely -- I made noise is what I did, with lots of reverb and feedback. I was in two bands, both short-lived. Played maybe four public gigs -- two per group. Sorry, no recordings exist. You'll have to take my word for it that it was bad. Imagine the worst psychedelia you've ever heard. But I had fun.
 
...and before someone else says it, most writers who think they are pretty good are delusional, and the odds are I'm one of these. But it's a delusion that makes keeps me functional.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top