ITHURIEL'S SPEAR
An independent small press in San Francisco, California,
dedicated mainly to the literary arts.
Our published titles include:
WALAFRID STRABO: ON THE CULTIVATION OF GARDENS.
A ninth century gardening book. The first in European history and currently the only translation available in English, this book was written by Walafrid Strabo, Abbot of the Carolingian monastery at Reichenau Island. It tells us what our medieval gardener is growing in his garden, explains the benefits and medicinal properties of the plants, and gives an idea of how to grow them. James Mitchell translates this classic from the Latin hexameters, and San Francisco gardening columnist Richard Schwarzenberger provides a foreword.
January, 2009. ISBN 978-0979339028. Paperback, 86pp. $15
THE IDOL LOVER AND OTHER STORIES OF PAKISTAN.
Short stories by Moazzam Sheikh. These sexually-charged tales unfold against a backdrop of colonization and ethnic tensions in Pakistan and the Middle East, and they also explore the immigrant's dilemma in the United States. Sheikh "maps the ways in which South Asian identities cohere and threaten to disintegrate at the contradictory intersections of memory, desire, connection, and exploitation... Sheikh's voice too, is unique, bringing to the English short story the flavor and verve of the Urdu/Hindi tradition"--A. Chakladar.
March, 2008. ISBN 978-0979339011. Paperback, 140pp. $16
LIAR. A novel by Mike Amnasan."Detailed accounts of a construction workplace spiced with scenes from an avant garde writing community, sex scenes from a committed relationship ("normal" sex) inter-cut with an affair (bondage)...." Camille Roy. Robert Glück speaks of "Ferocious creativity...."
April, 2007. ISBN 0-9749502-8-9. Paperback, 150pp. $14.95
POEMS OF FRIEDRICH HÖLDERLIN, translated by James Mitchell.A selection of the most important lyric poetry of this German early Romantic writer, who lived from 1770 to 1843. This second edition includes the German texts.
January, 2007. ISBN 0-9749502-9-7. Paperback, 116pp. $14.95
POST WAR AND OTHER STORIES. A collection of short stories by San Francisco writer and labor activist F.S. Rosa.
Author Kevin Killian calls these stories "indelible monuments of the original new narrative movement," and Robert Glück says they are "sarcastic, irreverent, hilarious and somber while they exemplify a great conscience."
January, 2006. ISBN 0-9749502-2-X. Paperback, 124pp. $12.95.
IN FARO'S GARDEN. Essays by Richard Schwarzenberger.
For over a decade, regular columns from Faro's Garden have appeared in the East Bay Monthly and in the San Francisco Chronicle, where the author wrestles with his garden as Jacob wrestled with the angel, pinning it down and winning a blessing.
August, 2006. ISBN 0-9749502-7-0. Paperback, 182pp. $14.95
MY WALK WITH BOB. A collection of short stories by Bruce Boone, regarded as a core text of the New Narrative movement emanating from Robert Glück's writing workshops in San Francisco. Originally published in 1979 by Black Star Series.
March, 2006. ISBN 0-9749502-6-2. Paperback, 49pp. $12.95
LOGAN. Fiction by Hunce Voelcker.
A dreamtime narrative about high school boys in rural South Pennsylvania in the early 60's. Originally published in 1969 by Cowstone Press. Introduced by Andrei Codrescu, who says that "Reading Logan is like entering the twister of a mind that conducts an erudite yet fresh symphony." Jack Spicer said of Hunce's writing in 1965: "If this is dictation, it's driving me wild."
January, 2006. ISBN 0-9749502-5-4. Paperback, 80pp. $12.95
SNAKEBITE. By Paul Gowack, Ph.D., and William Torphy.
An adventure story with a strong metaphysical foundation, Snakebite offers children from 9-12 an exciting read, as well as an introduction to the cultural and spiritual practices of Native Americans on a reservation in New Mexico.
May, 2005. ISBN 0-9749502-4-6. Paperback, 115 pp. $12.95
SOTO ZEN ANCESTORS IN CHINA. The Recorded Teachings
of Shitou Xiqian, Yaoshan Weiyan and Yunyan Tansheng, translated by James Mitchell. Zen Buddhist texts from the Tang Period in China.
February, 2005. ISBN 0-9749502-3-8. Paperback, 90pp. $12.95
LOVE NEVER ALWAYS. These startling poems by William Torphy span the final decade of last century and the first years of the present one. They reveal a strong voice fully attuned to its own time and process. Torphy is an art curator living in the San Francisco Bay area. Roberta Loach, editor of Visual Dialog, says "These words are meditative and move to the center of everyday living, loving, being."
September, 2004. ISBN 0-9749502-1-1. Paperback, 86pp. $12.95
Our titles are distributed by Small Press Distribution in Berkeley, California, where they can be purchased online at: www.spdbooks.org.
We can be reached by e-mail at: ithuriel@att.net
Our mailing address is 939 Eddy Street, #102,
San Francisco CA 94109.
Ithuriel's Spear is a fiscally sponsored organization of Intersection
for the Arts, San Francisco's oldest alternative arts organization.