House of Possibility
By Joyce Sutphen
Minneapolis, Minnesota: Accordion Productions Collaborations, 2012. Edition of 72.

11 x 5.5”; 18 pages. Letterpress printed with a woven structure, and slipcase. Text is hand-set Caslon, originally from Emerson Wulling's Sumac Press. Images and title were translated to photopolymer plates from original ink drawings by CB Sherlock. Papers used are Bunko-Shi for inside pages, Facade Cream for the covers, and sturdy Kaji for the ribbons that bind the book together. Designed and handprinted by Regula Russelle and CB Sherlock. In paper slipcase. Signed and numbered by the poet. House of Possibility is the fifth in a series of collaboratively made books produced by CB Sherlock and Regula Russelle.

Accordion Productions: "House of Possibility contains five poems by Joyce Sutphen that touch on the theme of vocation and on connection to place. We designed the book so that each poem has its own frame the way a painting has a frame or a Japanese alcove. The woven binding we chose permits the book to lay completely flat and be displayed as if it were a print.

"Individual pages are held together with ribbons of paper without the use of glue. This makes the book feel light and limber when it's held. As to paper, we chose one that is beautiful, but robust enough so that it invites unconcerned handling. It was made by a Japanese man who has since died. Maybe his name is Bunko-Shi (that's the name of the paper)."

''From Out the Cave', The Farm, and Potato Meditation are reprinted from Straight Out of View with the gracious permission of Holy Cow! Press. Duluth, Minnesota. Copyright 2001, Joyce Sutphen. In the Beginning and Homesteading first appeared in coming Back to the Body, Holy Cow! Press, Duluth Minnesota. Copyright 2000, Joyce Sutphen."

www.poetryfoundation.org: "Joyce Sutphen grew up on a farm in Minnesota. She earned a PhD in Renaissance drama from the University of Minnesota, and has taught British literature and creative writing at Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, Minnesota. Her first collection of poems, Straight Out of View (1995), won the Barnard Women’s Poets Prize. Subsequent collections include Coming Back to the Body (2000), a Minnesota Book Award finalist, Naming the Stars (2004), winner of the Minnesota Book Award, and First Words (2010). She has received a McKnight Artist Fellowship and a Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowship and was named Minnesota's Poet Laureate in 2011."
$160

Kinship Circle Poems
By Meghan Maloney-Vinz, Jim Moore, Ilze Klavina Mueller, William Stafford, and Joyce Sutphen
Minneapolis, Minnesota: Accordion Productions Collaborations, 2008. Edition of 135.

4.25 x 4.25"; 2 books, each 24 pages; 8 page vertical pamphlet laid in. Printed letterpress from photopolymer plates. Original ink and charcoal drawings converted into digital format for plate making. Printed on Nideggen paper. Composed in Adobe Garamond type. Housed in lightweight paper slipcase.

Regula Russelle: "Last fall, CB [Sherlock] and I, together with two interns, hand-printed nearly 5,000 folios that contained portraits and poems on kinship circle, improvisation, city living, a sense of 'we.'

"Then, during three glorious weeks in October, we dispersed these keepsakes in 'take-out boxes' and by hand at farmers' markets, on light rail and bus stops, outside the Dorothy Day Center, and at other urban locations in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Our aim: to share something beautiful for free.

"All ten folios contained portraits of community members. We chose these individuals because of the way they contribute to the fabric of community. CB chose people she knows well; I chose people I know less well.

"A Jerome Book Arts Fellowship allowed us to partially fund our project. The boxed set of books that contains the poems and portraits in book form. It also contains a brief description of our project.

"The project was a huge success. Almost everyone we approached took a couple of the prints – one to keep and one to pass along. Many people came after us to tell us how they had been affected, and told us how they would share their poem in class or at work or post it on the refrigerator door."
$40