Tuesday, July 27, 2021

QUEENS POET LAUREATE by Gustavo Rivera, 2021



Jaime Demasiado lives a typical week in Brooklyn, New York, including days of life-risking work to paint over a cherished cultural institution, Five Pointz, all to get a wage to pay rent, fueling a deeply personal conflict, because ultimately he produces gains for an already wealthy figure by destroying that which he admires. At least he gets to enjoy nights of getting high, listening to rock n roll, talking poetry with strippers, and more! 

SVPRESS' third official "book," a debut novella by an obscurely famous outsider, each self- designed, printed, cut, assembled, binded, and glued by the author. 

First run of 75 produced on high quality pastel gray interior & pastel blue cardstock cover in 2021.

ISBN: 978-1-7368121-2-9                    

RETAIL PRICE: 18 USD (includes domestic shipping).

Email sadvacaygs9@gmail.com to place an order.    

Accepting cash or digital payments.

Saturday, June 26, 2021

LIVE WIRE POEM /// POEMA EN ALTA TENSION by Salvador Villanueva (translated from the original Spanish by Gustavo Rivera), Book Format, 2021


“If you're looking for a great poetry read, may I point you toward these poems of Salvador Villanueva translated by Gustavo Rivera. It's the first time Villanueva, a crucial Puerto Rican poet, has been [totally] published in English and it retains the original artwork from this collection's original 1974 publication in Spanish. It's got everything I dig – short poems and a heavily 70s’ feel with very modern resonance,”

- Mike Ostrov, editor and writer from Florida with fiction in various journals and current writing @ haiku.reviews

 

“These poems touch on politics but in an introspective way, one that embraces life’s shifts and hardships — with dignity, humor, and reflection,”

- Eric Steineger, Senior Poetry Editor @ The Citron Review

 

SVPRESS' second official "book," each composed with a spine stenciled by the publisher.  

ISBN: 978-1-7368121-0-5

First run of 40, self- designed, printed, cut, assembled, binded, and glued on high quality paper and glossy cardstock covers.

RETAIL PRICE: 20 USD.

Email sadvacaygs9@gmail.com to place an order.

Accepting cash or digital payments.



Friday, June 25, 2021

SEED ZINE by Alex Santana, 2021

A zine about the author's new experience growing her own plants, this text explores the connections between organic growth and conceptual art. Its cover is composed of paper recycled by the author and embedded with a variety of Northeastern wildflower seeds.

First run of 50, self- designed, printed, cut, assembled, and stapled on high quality paper with color art.

Suggested donation: 3 USD (50% of proceeds will be donated to Palestine Children's Relief Fund).

Email sadvacaygs9@gmail.com to place an order.

Accepting cash or digital payments.

CHECK OUT AN ONLINE VERSION HERE! (If interested in donating to the PCRF, please contact.)

Tuesday, June 1, 2021

A BOOK OF TRANSLATIONS /// UN LIBRO DE TRADUCCIONES by GK Bird (in collaboration with Libros Anonimos), 2021

"Este proyecto me resulta extremadamente interesante poesía traducida. En el linaje literario la poesía y la traducción han compartido una relación académica que se enfoca en el significado, la codificación y la decodificación de este. Si uno no puede describir un poema como lo puedes traducir. Es una traducción solo una opinión aceptada como verdad. ¿Cuáles son las implicaciones para la lengua y la literatura si la traducción deja de ser un acto solo humano y también se aplica a la tradición lo algorítmico? Este libro nos permite lidiar con ese futuro incierto de la literatura. GK Bird y el algoritmo luchan por cual versión del poema es más placentera y bajo ese juicio estético también se discute la preferencia lingüística. Hay ocasiones que la versión algorítmica me resulta más placentera que el escrito original y me cuestiono como lidio con ese hecho. Es una dualidad que incumbe la subjetividad del lector. No sé si es un proceso de domesticación o eficacia, los algoritmos son efectivos en vender y me hace cuestionar si eso también se puede reflejar en el idioma. Mis poemas favoritos son “El tiempo tambien rompe huesos … Time also breaks bones,” “Dandelion … Diente de leon” y “Dijo ser Ariadna … She said she was Ariadna.” Me gustan las versiones traducidas tituladas “Te acuestas” y “El gato en tu regazo.” No describiría este poemario como mi favorito, pero si es uno de los más interesantes. Juega con ideas que han poseído mi mente como lingüista,"

- Hakeem Torres, lingüista y artista puertorriqueño 


"A priori, me interesa A Book of Translations/Un libro de traducciones porque es un libro artesanal, publicado por la editorial anarquista Sad Vacation Press. Sigo el trabajo de la editorial desde que reeditaron Poema de alta tensión de Salvador Villanueva, un poeta poco mencionado que siempre he disfrutado mucho.El título es curioso, pasa el texto a segundo plano desde la entrada, como si fuera pretexto para un proceso, un juego, otra cosa. Entro. En cada página, dos recuadros simulan el prompt de un traductor automático en línea. Los poemas--un paseo casi metafísico, paisaje y lucha. A la izquierda, el idioma original, no siempre el mismo. A la derecha, la respuesta del algoritmo digital. El autor (¿quién es GK Bird?) pone a prueba sus palabras al enfrentarse a la máquina. ¿Funciona un poema si lo traduce el internet?--parece preguntarse. Y el vacío responde con una pregunta nueva: “¿se puede desvincular la praxis de la experiencia humana?”

- Nicole Cecilia Delgado, poeta, traductora, artista de libros y organizadora cultural; actualmente dirige y desarrolla el proyecto La Impresora junto a la poeta Amanda Hernández


“GK Bird’s A Book Of Translations… highlights the alienation and ennui shared by all of us mired in the woes of the 21st century. By juxtaposing original poetry with algorithmic translations, GK Bird suggests that machine learning is able to mirror our own alienation and that artificial intelligence may perhaps approach sentience through poetry,”

- Alex Santana, writer and curator with a deep interest in conceptual, politically-engaged and participatory art

 

“GK Bird's A Book of Translations… confirms that it's not about what you say but how you say it. There's a fine line between poetic and prosaic; one the computers can't yet seem to trace. Let the persons of letters breathe a sigh of relief: the need for their human pen remains—for now,”

- Austin Tannenbaum, writer of Marxism Is For The Masses


SVPRESS' first official "book," composed with a printed spine. 

ISBN: 978-1-7368121-1-2

First run of 75, self- designed, printed, cut, assembled, binded, and glued on high quality paper.

RETAIL PRICE: 15 USD.

Email sadvacaygs9@gmail.com to place an order.

Accepting cash or digital payments.

Wednesday, November 11, 2020

SV005: LIVE WIRE POEM by Salvador Villanueva, 2020



 


Get your limited first run of 100, glossy card-stock cover, light-gray interior, hand-assembled, cut, and stapled, 2020, edition of SVPRESS’ seventh production and third single-author issue - Gustavo Rivera's translation from the Spanish of Puerto Rican avant-garde poet Salvador Villanueva's debut collection Poema en alta tensión, originally published in 1974.

It contains a re-interpretation of the original cover and portrait of the poet by digital artist Amanda Peláez, digitization and reproduction of the original drawings by Pablo Romero, the original verse in Spanish, and an introductory essay by the translator.

$10 USD includes domestic shipping.

Email sadvacaygs9@gmail.com to place your order.

    Saturday, May 9, 2020

    SV004.5X: TEXT IN THE TIME OF THE RONA, Various Contributors, 2020 (a series of literary pamphlet-zines)

    SVPRESS’ sixth production and fourth theme: a series of pamphlets produced in response to the effects of the global pandemic that is the Corona Crisis.

    SV004.51 is exhausted!
    SV004.52 is exhausted!

    Each was an original run of 50, two choices of color paper, hand-assembled and cut for size, 2020.

    SV004.51 features writing by Mike Ostrov, Maria Ku, and Gustavo Rivera. (check out the online version)


    SV004.52 (color) features writing by Connor Orrico and Kruise Waters.

    80% (or more) of proceeds were donated to Almuerzos Solidarios in San Juan, Puerto Rico, actively feeding those most vulnerable during this Corona Crisis.

    Monday, April 20, 2020

    SV004: TRAVELS, TRAVAILS, AND INTERVALS, Various Contributors, 2020


    Email sadvacaygs9@gmail.com to order your hard copy of SVPRESS’ fifth production and third theme issue.

    $10 USD includes domestic shipping. 

    Original run of 100, card-stock cover, two sets of reverse-matched color printing, hand-assembled and stapled, 2020.

    Features writing by Ruben Marx, Anonymous, Nicolas Grenier, Yeon Lards, Salvador Villanueva, Eline Marx, Ashley Danielle Moore, Noah Lebien, Gustavo Rivera, and Kaja Rae Lucas. 

    A portion of proceeds will be donated to Almuerzos Solidarios in San Juan, Puerto Rico, currently active feeding those most vulnerable during this Corona Crisis.