52nd City

Yes, That's an Eye Chart

Aaron Belz has released the first title from his new poetry chapbook imprint, Observable Books. The first unusual thing about Aaron is that he is not afraid to write funny poems; the second unusual thing about him is that he is a poet who understands the importance of beautiful design. Those who have been put off of poetry in the past by looking at weenie covers graced with misty mountains, still lifes or perhaps a poignant black and white shot of the author will know what I am talking about.

Eric Thoelke of TOKY Branding + Design created the Observable logo (Which, delight! Is cleverly laid out as an eye chart, an image very familiar to 20/1000 eyesighted me). Eric Woods of Firecracker Press is designing and printing the covers. The debut title is Plausible Worlds, Aaron's own chapbook. "As vain as it might seem," he writes on the Observable website, "I had this in mind as sort of a test-run to see how the book would come out, and if it sucked, i could bury my own publication a lot easier than someone else's."

Aaron picked up the finished product last Wednesday, and brought it to Day of the Dead Beats. I was shocked at just how damn great it looked; Eric has outdone himself. I guess I never realized that a poetry book could have bell-bottoms and radial flowers on the cover. What a lovely epiphany: No wistful nature photos! No paintings of wispy maidens or floating flowers! Just this zing-pow, colorful, gleeful cover featuring a guy in bell-bottoms and a clock radio.

If you want to eyeball the cover, you can see it on the Observable website. And you can read some of Aaron's poems here. If you would like to acquire a little book for yourself, sez Mr. Belz: "The price is $8 for stapled, $12 for the 'special edition' of 50 hand-sewn and numbered copies. If you send me a check, I’ll put an autographed/inscribed copy in the mail right away!! 3734 Hartford Street, St. Louis, MO 63116."