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I’m pleased to present the newest book from Deep Wood Press, Mornings at Jack Pine by Jerry Dennis with ten wood engravings from Glenn Wolff. This is also the first book to kick off my Midwest Author Series, more on that below. Jerry turns his keen naturalist’s eye inward as well as outward, finding in the landscape of northern Michigan a mirror for grief, love, mortality, and the fierce pleasures of being alive. Graced with Glenn Wolff’s exquisite illustrations, Mornings at Jack Pine is a small book with large ambitions — funny, tender, elegiac, and shot through with the kind of hard-won wonder that only comes from paying close attention to the world for a very long time.

Set against the rivers, jack pine barrens, and lake country of the upper Midwest, the poems in Mornings at Jack Pine move between precise observation and lyric meditation. The first section is rooted in closely observed rhythms of the natural world — trout rising in tailouts, deer standing in morning mist, a barred owl calling through spruce trees at dawn — and shadowed throughout by the recent death of the poet’s father. The second section unfolds as an extended self-portrait of a man at sixty-nine: a writer, husband, river-watcher, and devoted caregiver to his wife, who is battling dementia. Together, the two sections form a meditation on time, impermanence, and what it means to remain loyal to a place, a person, a life.

The three of us have worked on books, broadsides and fishing fantasies for nearly 20 years now and it is always a pleasure to once again craft a thing of beauty that embraces our creative efforts in such a personal way.

The standard lettered copies are quarter bound in a cool green/black smooth goat with dark green Asahi book cloth over boards. Copper foil stamped spine, inset panel with printed title and a small pine tree I carved out of a chunk of lead and blind stamped onto the leather. The book is printed in 3 colors, 6.5×10″ (16.5×24.8cm), 51 pages and includes a slip case. $600.00

  • 26 lettered copies on Somerset Book
  • 5 deluxe on my bespoke Saint Armand paper leftover from the Wind in the Willows edition.
  • 15 copies for the Guild of Bookworkers Midwest Chapter for the forthcoming “Open Set” exhibit on Hahnemühle Biblio.
  • 250 copies in a paper binding on Mohawk Superfine printed in 2 colors.

Note the Guild of Bookworkers edition – this means that, hopefully, within a year 15 copies of this book will have an exhibition by 15 individual bookbinders creating all kinds of fun, interpretative and high class bindings. Looking forward to it!

As I was waiting for delayed shipments of book cloth and marbled end papers I had time to bind one of the deluxe copies. This copy is bound onto cords, sewn headbands, full smooth goat leather binding that has blind tooling around the bands, title foil stamped in copper and a leather onlay inspired by one of Glenn’s prints. Housed in a drop spine box (sidewalls match endpapers) with title on spine and cover. $1000.00

This is the first offering from my Midwest Author Series which will continue to showcase incredible writers and artists in future editions. I have a talented editor/writer liaison onboard, Helen Raica-Klotz, who moved to my part of the world a few years ago and started a brilliant visiting author readings/workshops event, Antrim Writers Series, for which I create little broadsides for the readings four times a year. After I return from the Manhattan Fine Press Book Fair I will be printing the edition of 250 on my automated ATF Little Giant cylinder press which will be released later this summer. In recent years, though I very much appreciate my fine press collectors, I have noted my books are being snagged by investors instead of collectors/collections and the prices are often out of reach for many people I would like to own my books. This is an effort to reach a larger, poorer and yet appreciative audience. The planned price for these copies is $75.00. The list of future writers and artists is humbling to me, there are so many talented individuals I want to pair together into beautifully presented books. This formula will continue with small editions in fine press and an extended run (perhaps larger) where the contributing creators can also benefit from larger exposure in my quaint little world of global book stuffs.

Recently there have been several print releases that feature me and my Deep Wood Press:

  • CODEX Papers: Volume 5 – I was honored to be asked to contribute to this volume and it turned into a 15 page photo exposé emphasizing the craft of making fine press books at DWP. This showcases the various studio spaces and disciplines including type casting, engraving, printing and binding. $35.00
  • Assembling: The Art of Translation – My second appearance in a CODEX Foundation Assembly/Exchange portfolio and I am once again honored by inclusion. This is a grouping of 25 contemporary prints by well-known and well-collected artists, printers, and publishers of artists’ books associated with The CODEX Foundation from around the globe. Presented in a beautiful drop spine box. $3200.00
  • Why Make Books by Hand? – Published by No Reply Press, 15 book makers respond with short essays to the question “Why make books by hand” in an edition of 150ish. $135.00 (sold out)

Some images from the creation process of the book.

As I mentioned above, I will once again be attending the Manhattan Fine Press Book Fair on May 2nd. Come find me at table C4, I have a few VIP passes to gift, there’s still time to send you one! Join me and 30 other fine press publishers from around the world for an overwhelming day of books – the 66th Annual ABAA New York International Antiquarian Book Fair is just across the street at the historic Park Avenue Armory. One day only, 9am-5pm, 869 Lexington Avenue, New York NY

On one final note — I will be teaching a linoleum cutting and typesetting workshop once again in Les Baux de Provence, France this fall at the Foundation Louis Jou, on October 9-11. The preceding weekend I will be the studio technician and printer for a wood engraving class taught by Joanne Price AND Rebecca Gilbert! This is an incredible opportunity to work in Jou’s former studio (1881-1968) equipped with 3 Stanhope iron hand presses and his own proprietary family of harmonious type. Even better, participants get to stay in the studios in Les Baux as part of the workshop price. As a board member for the foundation I organized this workshop series with Joanne 3 years ago and it was a tremendous success and way too much fun. More on all of this in a future blog post.