Oak Knoll

Privately printed in an edition of 88 numbered copies signed by Chad Oness and the illustrator, Gary Young. A fine copy in fine paper folding case. Printed with Bembo types on Japanese Iyo Glazed washi paper using a Vandercook 4 proof press and hand-bound with the assistance of Claire McArthur. Each copy includes a proof print on Mohawk superfine, tucked away in a "secret compartment". It is the 32nd imprint of the Press.

The writings of some of these poems had the support of grants from the Southeast Minnesota Arts Council. There are six drawings by Gary Young printed from magnesium plates.

From the artist's website: "Great literature should be a portal. Read, and find yourself in another place, another milieu, with other concerns and aspirations. This collection transports us to the hermitage, Chads home, in a time of flux and timelessness, a time of new ambitions and aging, with chores to do and great art to make. What a joy it is to have read this "private literature" and to share it now with just a small circle. This is the rare collection with the capacity to imbue the "ho hum" of life with poignancy, hilarity, frustration - in short - with meaning.

The tanka, or "short poem," is a Japanese form which follows a simple 5-7-5-7-7 syllable scheme. It is tricky and inviting in equal measure, often coming to a point which demands that the reader return to the beginning. Like flash fiction, it is defined as much by the space around the work as by the work itself. This constellation of eighty-eight tanka pulls off a marvelous feat in giving the reader such a full understanding of a time and place in so few words.

The poems are manually printed on handmade Japanese papers, in the very setting they describe, and have been bound in the most famous of Japanese styles. Our twist to this timeless form is a stiff chemise (with a hidden compartment!) perfect for shelving and protecting its precious cargo from the elements. Chad, after all, keeps his own fine press collection on his sailboat..."