From the first issue of BLACK SCAT REVIEW
So begins one of the twisted tales in Samantha Memi‘s first collection of short fiction— KATE MOSS & OTHER HEROINES. OUT OF PRINT
Publisher’s Note: Read Elizabeth Archer’s interview with Samantha Memi in Black Scat Review #1.
This limited edition is out of print.
Isidore Isou, the James Dean of Lettrism.
I discovered the surrealist novels of Julian Gracq many years ago. I encountered an out of print copy of A Dark Stranger at Gotham Book Mart in NYC. Gotham was my home away from home. It specialized in avant-garde literature and carried books you couldn’t find anywhere else: rare chapbooks, pamphlets, and esoteric tomes.
This hardcover edition of Gracq’s novel was published in 1951 by New Directions. It was one of those rare books with an aura that compels one to possess it. (an experience you don’t find with a digital book.) The cover design by Gertrude Huston cleverly omitted the title and author’s name, conjuring a faceless stranger.
image courtesy of 50 Watts
One surrealist oddity—although obviously unintentional—was that the title on the flap (as well as the spine) was printed as The Dark Stranger, while the title page correctly identified it as A Dark Stranger.
An anomaly like that can drive up the value of an edition—especially when there are multiple printings.
One of the pleasures of publishing is providing readers with the potential of experiencing the aura of unusual books. Eccentric art and literature that doesn’t surface on the shelves at Barnes & Noble.
from IT’S FUN TO BE RICH IN AMERICA by Norman Conquest & Michael Leigh
UPDATED (12/14) A young man clad in black and carrying two handguns shot up an elementary school in a small Connecticut town on Friday, leaving 18 small children and eight adults dead in one the nation’s worst school massacres, law enforcement officials said.
We think it’s long past time America gets rid of the NRA lobby and the politicians they’ve paid off.
In addition to the print version, we’re offering a digital edition of the first issue of Black Scat Review at the stocking-stuffer price of $3.50. This limited offer expires on January 2nd, 2013. Download an iPad, PDF or WebViewer version here.
Here’s a peek at what’s inside:
Les périls de la science
We’re giddy over our lineup of new titles for 2013. Among the offerings…
• Adventures in Pataphysics—an anonymous classic of “imaginary solutions,” profusely illustrated in a deluxe limited edition. You can reserve a copy now by sending an email to blackscat@outlook.com No payment necessary, simply indicate that you’d like us to set one aside for you. The book is guaranteed to sell out quickly.
• Also in the wings, Captain Cap (Volume One) by the great Alphonse Allais. Faithfully translated from the French by Doug Skinner, this is the first in an exclusive, multi-volume series. This is the only English translation—a literary landmark—and a must-have for fans of the master absurdist.
• To start 2013 off with a grand guffaw, we’re serving up A Cami Sampler on New Year’s Day. Consider this a spicy dessert by a slightly mad French chef: ten cockeyed microdramas by Pierre Henri Cami, including 9-pages of his rare drawings. Translated by Paris-based Cami-connoisseur John Crombie, this collection is a scrumptious treat by a writer Charlie Chaplin hailed as “the greatest humorist in the world.”
And that’s just the tip of the smorgasbord, as Black Scat is also publishing works by Pedro Carolino, Florence Bocherel, Farewell Debut, Alain Arias-Misson and others. Plus new issues of Black Scat Review.
Solution imaginaire: Décodage sourire de Mona Lisa (from Adventures in ‘Pataphysics)
Happy New Year, All!
Sure it’s shameless self-promotion, but remember… “everyone lives by selling something.”
Pass it on.
acrylics on x-ray by Monika Mori
When we first discovered the paintings of Austrian artist Monika Mori (known internationally as “Moo”) we were mesmerized by her abstract forms and bold colors. Her powerful imagery on x-rays using a palette knife opened a door to a world of fresh visions.
Black Scat is proud to announce the publication of Mori’s Shattered Rainbow—a highly personal series which includes both paintings on x-rays and works on stretched canvasses in mixed media. This is the first book publication of the artist’s work in the U.S. The unique Black Scat edition is limited to 150 copies. SOLD OUT
Scattered Rainbow is a stage where emotions collide, splinter and re-animate. It reflects the artist’s belief that art is a mediator of the unspeakable.
blackscatbooks.com 