A rare new publication, made in a rare way. I'm delighted to announce the launch of The Hyphen is a Dagger; Guillaume XI Troubadour Crusader this November 22nd at 7pm, at the venerable St Bride Foundation in London.
Tickets here, both for in person and online attendance sbf.org.uk/whats-on/view/the-hyphen-is-a-dagger-poets-and-printers-in-collaboration/
Please come along for a unique night of performance, reading and discussion. The Hyphen is a Dagger is a product of a unique collaborative letterpress project between printers Pat Randle, Angie Butler and I. 60 numbered copies have been stitch-sewn & 20 marked I-XX case-bound by Roger Grech, available at the launch, and afterwards online. More on the book below...
"A distinctive, eccentric, playful work of literature, The Hyphen is a Dagger is a product of a unique collaborative project between printers and poets – Angie Butler, Pat Randle and SJ Fowler. This publication was made with the letterpress process as both constraint and guide, using wood-letter from the stores of the legendary Whittington Press in the heart of the Cotswolds. Working to vocabularies and sorts available to hand, the poems were written by Fowler to be then edited, whilst being set, across a series of collaborative on- press sessions over 2022 and 2023.
The poems themselves relate to the place of their making, centring around the real-life crusader Sir Richard de Croupes, whose tomb adjoins the press at St Bartholomew’s Church. Guillaume, the hero of the story, was the first recorded troubadour. The typefaces are from a unique collection sourced from the Cambridge University Press and date back to the golden age of letterpress printing. Most were manufactured by the Delittle Foundry in York and each face contained within this project is identified in the margin of the page. This publication is an outstanding example of what is possible when writers and printers work together with simultaneous purpose; unlocking the creative potential of contemporary prose within the confines of letterpress printing."