Vandercooked Poetry Nights returns to Asheville Bookworks October 3

Community printmaking and book arts studio Asheville Bookworks has announced the latest installment of its “Vandercooked Poetry Nights” series on Saturday, October 3 beginning at 7 p.m. Hosted by BookWorks founder Laurie Corral and poet Landon Godfrey, the event will feature local poet and artist Sebastian Matthews and an interactive demonstration of the Vandercook printing press, according to an official press release from Asheville Bookworks.

“At Vandercooked events, everyone is invited to print a broadside of one of the featured poet’s poems on a rare Vandercook printing press,” says the press release. “Because the Vandercook printing press has become a rare object, Vandercooked Poetry Nights allow the public to experience an important but increasingly elusive printing technology.”

Originally manufactured in Chicago between 1909 and 1976, the Vandercook press allowed artists and writers throughout the 20th century to take control of their own publications with its simple operation methods. Of the 30,000 produced in that time period, less than 2,000 are known to exist worldwide today, according to broadside designer and letterpress publisher Paul Moxon.

The Vandercook printing demonstration begins at 7 p.m., with guidance from Moxon. Matthews’ reading begins at 7:30 p.m. The event is free to attend and open to the public.

For more information on the Vandercooked Poetry Nights series, the Vandercook printing press and Asheville Bookworks, visit ashevillebookworks.com or call (828) 255-8444. To learn more about the night’s featured poet Sebastian Matthews, check out meachamwriters.org/writers/sebastian-matthews or see the official press release below.

Press release:

Asheville BookWorks Announces October 2015 Vandercooked Poetry Nights Broadside and Reading Event

Asheville, NC (September 9, 2015) – Asheville BookWorks, a community resource for print and book arts, continues Vandercooked Poetry Nights, its reading series that offers the public the opportunity to print a letterpress broadside at the series events. The upcoming Vandercooked Poetry Nights reading features poet Sebastian Matthews on Saturday, October 3, 2015. Printing begins at 7:00 p.m. The reading begins at 7:30 p.m. Hosted by BookWorks founder and director Laurie Corral, and poet Landon Godfrey, the event is free and open to the public.

Asheville BookWorks hosts several Vandercooked Poetry Nights per year and presents prominent poets and letterpress artists. At Vandercooked events, everyone is invited to print a broadside of one of the featured poet’s poems on a rare Vandercook printing press. Master printers introduce the printing presses and organize the printing.

Poet Sebastian Matthews lives with his family in Asheville. He is the author of a memoir and two books of poems. In 2010 he curated a show for the Black Mountain College Museum + Art Center on the early work of collagist Ray Johnson. A collagist himself, Matthews is currently at work on a novel, a chapbook of poems, and a set of poster-sized collages.

Broadside designer Paul Moxon is a studio letterpress printer publishing limited edition books and broadsides under the imprint Fameorshame Press. He is the author of Vandercook Presses: Maintenance, History and Resources, moderator of vandercookpress.info, and an itinerant letterpress instructor.

Because the Vandercook printing press has become a rare object, Vandercooked Poetry Nights allow the public to experience an important but increasingly elusive printing technology. More than 30,000 Vandercook presses were manufactured in Chicago between 1909 and 1976; however, today fewer than 2,000 remaining Vandercooks have been identified in a worldwide census, catalogued by Paul Moxon. Easy to operate, Vandercook presses have been adopted by artists and writers to control their own publications and to produce handmade objects.

For more information about the poets and the upcoming events of Vandercooked Poetry Nights, please visit http://gallery.ashevillebookworks.com/category/vandercooked-poetry-nights, or call (828) 255-8444.
Started in 2004, Asheville BookWorks is home to a vibrant book arts and printmaking community where learning and discourse are fostered through classes, exhibits, and an artists-in-residence program, all sharing in common an intense appreciation of print, book arts, and creativity. More information is available at www.ashevillebookworks.com.