A SPECIAL ISSUE — NOW AVAILABLE!

#20 — THE BLACK HUMOR ISSUE

FEATURING AN INTERNATIONAL CAST OF CHARACTERS:

Alphonse Allais, Mark Axelrod, Jocelyne Geneviève Barque, Tom Barrett, Léon Bloy, Ken Brown, Michael Casey, Wayne Coe, Norman Conquest, Thomas James Cooper, Farewell Debut, S. C. Delaney, Rhys Hughes, Harold Jaffe, David Kuhnlein, Mantis, Marcel Mariën, J. H. Matthews, M. G. Mclaughlin, Jim Meirose, Derek Pell, Agnès Potier, Mark Putzi, Richard Robinson, Marquis de Sade, John Galbraith Simmons, Doug Skinner, Nile Southern, Terry Southern, Yuriy Tarnawsky, Michel Vachey, Tom Whalen, Bill Wolak.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER ON AMAZON

 

June Buffoonery!

Last month we were tickled pink and apple-green to announce
a new collection by THE master of the absurd, Alphonse Allais
. For June, we’re JUST PLAIN pickled to unleash THIS anthology of unadulterated nonsense — nonsense in all its merry infestations,  from subtle emanations to cartoon lunacy.

LE SCAT NOIR BEDSIDE NONSENSE is profusely illustrated and packed with AMUSING stories, songs, games, WORDPLAY & poesy by an international roster of inspired misfits.

Featuring: Mark Axelrod, Tom Barrett, Angie Brenner, Ken Brown, Norman Conquest, Caroline Crépiat, Haley Dahl,  Farewell Debut, Paul Forristal, Ryan Forsythe, Penelope Goddard, Jean-Jacques Grandville, Simon Hanes, Rhys Hughes, Alexei Kalinchuk, KKUURRTT, Rick Krieger, David Moscovich, Jason E. Rolfe, Paul Rosheim, Bob Rucker, Thaddeus Rutkowski, Doug Skinner, Terry Southern, Yuriy Tarnawsky, Tom Whalen, and Carla M. Wilson.

It’s the perfect antidote  for  summer lockdown  — and  no mask required.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER

back cover

In the Wings, Some Special Things For Spring & Beyond

from LE SCAT NOIR BEDSIDE NONSENSE

As we hunker down in our shelter here in Northern California, we remain busily preparing books to help you endure these terrible times. Alas, the crunch has hit everyone and small, independent bookstores  and presses are struggling to stay alive. Please consider ordering a title or two from our list  here. You can also donate to Black Scat via  this direct PayPal link  which will help us to keep bringing out titles such as the forthcoming works below. Thanks for your support.

“The only book in the English language to rival Tolstoy.”—George Steiner

We recently released two collections of provocative literary essays by British author John Cowper Powys: Powys on Books and Sensations  and Visions Visions Visions. This fall, we’re publishing  the first volume—(over 450 pages!)—of Powys’s extraordinary two-volume novel, Wolf Solent (1929). Eccentric and mystical, this  literary masterpiece was hailed by Henry Miller as “utterly bewitching.”  V. S. Pritchett called it “…a stupendous and rather glorious book… beautiful and strange as an electric storm.” Margaret Drabble said:“Powys’s work is full of paradoxes and surprises.” We’re proud to present this trio of titles in handsome uniform trade paper editions designed by artist Norman Conquest.

 

Nonsense in all its merry Infestations… from euphonic poesy to madcap cacophony

Coming in June, Le Scat Noir Bedside Nonsense is just what the doctor ordered for quarantined readers—a heady dose of innovative silliness and offbeat amusements. Edited by Norman Conquest, the anthology is #39 in our Absurdist Texts & Documents   series—packed with art & texts by Mark Axelrod, Tom Barrett, Ken Brown, Caroline Crépiat, Haley Dahl, Ryan Forsythe, Paul Forristal, Penelope Goddard, Simon Hanes, Rhys Hughes, Alexei Kalinchuk, KKUURRTT, Rick Krieger, David Moscovich, Jason E. Rolfe, Paul Rosheim,  Thaddeus Rutkowski, Terry Southern, Yuriy TarnawskyTom Whalen, Carla M. Wilson, and other characters.

A CLASSIC OF EROTIC LITERATURE IN A SPANKING NEW TRANSLATION

Thérèse Finds Happiness by the Marquis d’Argens is the 18th century  precursor  to  the 1967 French novel Emmanuelle. This libertine classic’s potent erotic episodes are interspersed with discourses on a philosophy of pleasure contrasted with  pervasive religious hypocrisy. The novel is noteworthy for its antipathy to the sexual repression of women during “The Age of Enlightenment.” It also happens to be extraordinarily humorous.

Richard Robinson has produced an exquisite new translation of Thérèse philosophe for the  contemporary reader. Thérèse Finds Happiness will be available later this year under our New Urge imprint. 

Also forthcoming from New Urge Editions:  contemporary novels by Jessy Reine and Tom Bussmann. Watch this space for other surprises.

from LE SCAT NOIR BEDSIDE NONSENSE

In the wings, some special things (second edition)…

hattip

Nearly 100 posts agoon August 18th, 2012 to be precisewe published a roundup of forthcoming books called In the wings, some special things”  There were only a few titles on our list back then, yet we were ambitious, eager, and inspired. Today, this little house has a bookshelf all its own. Moreover, we’re still putting our money on the printed word, despite the world’s panicky flight to digital.

There is (and must be) room for both eBooks and print.

Indeed, a few of our titlesas well as our magazine Black Scat Revieware available for Kindle and other digital platforms. But the emphasis remains on paperback editions to be held, squeezed, sniffed, licked, displayed and read.

Here are a few treats coming your way this summer.

The Facetiae Erotica of Poggio by Poggio Bracciolini.
Facetiae is a collection of humorous and indecent tales by Renaissance humanist Poggio Bracciolini (1380–1459), which was originally published in 1470. It features such stories as “Of a Fool, Who Thought His Wife Had Two Openings” and “Visio Francisci Philelphi,” the earliest recorded version of Carvel’s ring. This special Black Scat Classic edition includes a cover and illustrations by artist Jana Vukovic. Based in Belgrade, Serbia, Jana is well known for her unique, hand-lettered designs and book covers. Limited to just 69 copies, this edition is a must-have for one’s private library.

***

aal-sil

Be prepared to sail away with two more volumes in our Captain Cap series by Alphonse Allais. Translated and illustrated by the great Doug Skinner, these amusing pun-filled tales featuring Allais’s legendary, hard-drinking captain have never before appeared in English. Leonardo Reviews in the UK called Volume I “…a little gem.”

So head to the shore and keep your eyes peeled for Captain Cap (Vol. III): The Antifilter & Other Inventions, and Captain Cap (Vol. IV): The Sanatorium of the Future.

***

Our world is drowning in a deluge of iPhone snapshotsbillions of mirrors reflecting the detritus of daily life… evidence of the fast food we consume, the parade of strangers and passersby, the microscopic gestures pointing to the enshrinement of Self.

QUESTION: what happens when an artist arms herself with an iPhone?

ANSWER: Blink: Visual Antiphonies by Farewell Debut

from_blinkr
photograph by farewell debut

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Happy Summer Reading!

Strangelove Go Code

Go-Code_KM

photo: Assaulty Cracker

Washington (CNN) — In an unprecedented action, an Air Force commander has stripped 17 of his officers of their authority to control and launch nuclear missiles.

The 17 are being sent to undergo 60 to 90 days of intensive refresher training on how to do their jobs. The action comes after their unit performed poorly on an inspection and one officer was investigated for potential compromise of nuclear launch codes, according to Lt. Col. John Dorrian, an Air Force spokesman.

The story was first reported by The Associated Press.

The action was taken by the deputy commander of the 91st Operations Group, Lt. Col. Jay Folds, whose officers run launch control centers for the Minuteman III nuclear missiles from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota.

FURTHER READING:

TS

T.S. on American Publishers (1957)

“The way they work, they examine a manuscript for a
while and then they may say ‘Oh yes, this is like Look
Homeward Angel,’ and then they look up the sales
record of Look Homeward Angel, and if that’s all right
they’ll take it. But if the manuscript happens to be
just a bit original, you can save yourself the postage…
unless it’s five or six hundred pages, of course, then
they’re rather apt to take it, anything; they got that
idea from big cars—you know, ‘What’s good for
General Motors…by Cracky!’ ” —Terry Southern

from HOT HEART OF BOAR & Other Tastesillustration by Norman Conquest illustration by Norman Conquest, from Hot Heart of Boar

Eat Your BOAR!

BACKCOVER
Have you had your boar today?

That is—Terry Southern‘s HOT HEART OF BOAR & Other Tastes. It’s a tasteful smorgasbord of unpublished works by the master satirist—author of the novels Candy and The Magic Christian. and the screenwriter behind such classics of black humor as The Loved One and Dr. Strangelove. This new collection is perfect-bound, wrapped in a lovely cover, and seasoned to perfection with appropriately explicit visuals by Norman Conquest. The edition is limited to 125 copies and you can order a copy right here.

Get it while it’s hot!

TS

Good Humour

good_humour
If you’ve missed any of these, now’s the time to stock up. Remember, good humour is hard to find.

Click to order HOT HEART OF BOAR & OTHER TASTES
Click to order CAPTAIN CAP – VOL. II
Click to order THE NEGLECTED WORKS OF NORMAN CONQUEST
Click to order COLD IN THE BRAIN
Click to order THE COMPLETE UNABRIDGED LEXICON
Click to order IT’S FUN TO BE RICH IN AMERICA
Click to order A CAMI SAMPLER
Click to order CAPTAIN CAP – VOL. I
Click to order A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO ART DECONSTRUCTION

Dinner is served!

boar-relase

Fresh from the oven comes HOT HEART OF BOAR—piping hot and throbbing—in a limited edition of 125 copies. The collection features rare, unpublished texts, including an excerpt from The Hunters of Karinhalla bloody brilliant uproduced screenplay (emphasis on “bloody”). There’s also a private letter to William Burroughs; a vomiting priest; “K.Y. Madness,” and more. In addition to the author’s culinary delights, you’ll find illuminating introductory notes by Nile Southern, as well as tastefully explicit illustrations by Norman Conquest.

In short, it’s is a full-boar feast for famished fans of black humor.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER