WHO WE ARE: I interviewed Black Mountain College alumni Will Hamlin in Plainfield, Vermont in 1995. He told me about his work at the BMC print shop where he had learned typesetting from Joseph Albers. He recalled, “[Albers] hated periods after abbreviations because they called attention to themselves and were always too black.” He retrieved a pamphlet he had printed by hand for a student production of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard shortly after the College moved to the Lake Eden Campus in the late 30s. The experience was as simple, beautiful and authenticating as the object itself. I bought a George Prouty & Sons platen press (manufactured in Boston in 1889) a few weeks later. With a light snow falling, we strapped the press down to a three-quarter ton truck with come-alongs. The press made its way out of a barn in Waterbury and we planted it in a converted milking shed. This became the home of the Goddard College Press where I served as director until 1999.

The early experiments in printing books were full of blunders and wonder - broken chases, inky fingers and dropped cases. There was no instruction in typesetting at the time, so we followed in the tradition of “finding out for ourselves.” We printed the College's literary review, compost-toilet instructions for the Ecology house, broadsides for the Hubris reading series, stationery for Gertrude Stein, and a few short poems. For me, typography was the ideal intersection for poetry, sculpture and visual art. I remember building up the letters of William Carlos Williams’ “A poem is a small (or large) machine made of words” early on. Like the Bauhaus, Black Mountain and other institutions that provided an alternative to compulsory arts education, Goddard has also disbanded.

It was there that I also met fellow Black Mountaineer Robert Creeley, who encouraged me to get involved with the Poetics Program at the State University of New York at Buffalo. In the autumn of 2000, I moved to Buffalo and enrolled. Luisa Giugliano's chapbook Chapter in a Day Finch Journal was the first title to bear the press' name (in homage to Armand Schwerner), and we switched from the platen press to a Vandercook 4 proof press.

WHAT WE DO: Cuneiform continues to produce fine press editions, artists’ books, trade editions and broadsides by emerging and established poets. Our primary interest is in the intersection of experimental writing and the possibility of book as structure. Cuneiform does not subscribe to any particular school or canon, and remains committed to publishing enduring (and ephemeral) works that negotiate the critical imagination and poetic exploration. We aspire to maintain a zeal for experimentation and fascination with the intersection of meaning and form with each publication.

THEORY AND PRAXIS: I finished my dissertation on the relationships between poetry, media and typography in the postmodern era. From the early presswork of William Everson at the Untide Press in Waldport Oregon to the young Ugly Duckling Press in Red Hook, I continue to take a great interest in this subject. If your work dovetails, I would be pleased to hear from you.

WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO: Cuneiform is a nonprofit publisher, and maker of aesthetically pleasing, handcrafted books. Locally, we offer instruction in letterpress printing, the history and art of the book, and frequently work in conjunction with other printers, publishers, poets and literary organizations. Check out some of our collaborations. Also, there are many online resources (as well as a bibliography) in our links section designed to help aspiring printers get their fingers inky. We believe that the independent press is the only way the face of literature has, or will ever, change. We aspire to continue publishing poetic works of merit and innovation, and thank you for your interest in Cuneiform.

CONTACT: kyle@cuneiformpress.com