ALICE JAMES BOOKS has been

May 2016ISBN: 978-1-938584-18-3

paper • $15.95

Driving Without a License

NEW TITLES

Janine Joseph

SPRING 2016 CATALOG

“Janine Joseph writes with an open and easy intimacy. The language here is at once disruptive and familiar, political and sensual, and tinged by the melancholy of loss and the discomforting radiance of redemption. A strong debut.”

—Chris Abani

“We’ve never read a book like Janine Joseph’s Driving Without a License. By ‘We’ I mean all of us. With its ferocious formal range and deep compassion Joseph shows us the world we all live in but often choose to ignore. Here are the lives of mothers and fathers, teenagers and grandparents, all living under the threat of deportation. Here are people making a new home while holding onto the dignity and beauty of the place that they were once from. Joseph is that rare poet who makes a poem that devastates a reader while being entirely free from judgment. These are political poems because simply being alive in the United States is a political act. These are narrative poems because everyone has a story. At the heart of each poem is the lyric, that moment in which there is no separation between ourselves and the world Joseph lets bloom. This makes us citizens of these poems, which is a testament to Joseph’s staggering grace.”

—Gabrielle Calvocoressi

“These poems create a disquieting narrative of American immigration. . . . Joseph’s sensibility is as psychological as it is political, reminding us that concealment is more than a physical act; it is also a profoundly disruptive emotional and psychological position, one that informs not just the speaker’s sense of the world, but her sense of her self. Brilliantly crafted and intimate, Driving Without a License complicates the narrative of American immigration, creating from it a poetry of beauty and empathy.”

—Kevin Prufer

publishing poetry since 1973. The press was founded in Boston, Massachusetts as a cooperative wherein authors performed the day-to-day undertakings of the press. This collaborative element remains viable even today, as authors who publish with the press are also invited to become members of the editorial board and participate in editorial decisions at the press. The editorial board selects manuscripts for publication via the press’s annual, national competition, the Alice James Award. Alice James Books seeks to support women writers and was named for Alice James, sister to William and Henry, whose extraordinary gift for writing went unrecognized during her lifetime.

NEW TITLES NEW TITLES

The Big Book of Exit Strategies

Alice James Books Farmington, Mainewww.alicejamesbooks.org

may

Poetry/$16.95

J a m a a l m a y ’ s poetry explores the tension between opposites to render a sonically rich argument for the interconnectivity of people, worlds, and ideas. He is the author of Hum (Alice James Books, 2013), and the recipient of several honors including a Lannan Foundation grant, American Library Association’s Notable Book Award, the Spirit of Detroit Award, the Wood Prize from Poetry, and a fellowships from the Civitella Ranieri Foundation, The Kenyon Review, and others. Jamaal co-directs OW! Arts with Tarfia Faizullah.

The Big Book of E

xit StrategiesT

he Big Book of Exit Strategies

T h e Big

Boo

k of Exit Strategies T h e Big

Boo

k of Exit Strategies

J A m A A l m Ay

BigBOOK_CVR-1.indd 1 1/11/16 9:47 AM

Previous Praise for Hum:

“Linguistically acrobatic [and] beautifully crafted. . . [Jamaal May’s] poems, exquisitely balanced by a sharp intelligence mixed with earnestness, makes his debut a marvel.”—Publishers Weekly

“Jamaal May is one of the finest poets in his generation.”—C. Dale Young

“Jamaal May’s debut collection, Hum, is concerned with what’s beneath the surfaces of things—the unseen that eats away at us or does the work of sustaining us. Reading these poems, I was reminded of Ellison’s ‘lower frequencies,’ a voice speaking for us all. May has a fine ear, acutely attuned to the sonic textures of everyday experience.”—Natasha Trethewey

April 2016978-1-938584-24-4 6 x 8 | 144 pages

$16.95

JAMAAL MAY

FRANCINE J. HARRISplay dead

poems by

francine j. harris

play

dead

“This book talks smack. This book chews with its open mouth full of the juiciest words, the most indigestible images. This book undoes me. In play dead, francine j. harris brilliantly ransacks the poet’s toolkit, assembling art from buckets of disaster and shreds of hope. Nothing she lays her mind’s eye on escapes. You, too, will be captured by her work.”—Evie Shockley

“What francine j. harris does with language—diction, syntax, the line, the image—is unlike almost anything I know. I’m saying, they re-imagine and re-deploy language in an almost unspeakable way. I read these poems with my eyes and brain, I’m saying, but I read them with my heart and my gut, too. With my neck and the stuff between my vertebrae. My fingernails. I think you have to. I read these poems not knowing they were possible, I’m saying. Thinking stuff like my god. Do you know what I’m saying?”—Ross Gay

April 2016978-1-938584-25-17 x 9 | 96 pages

$15.95

PHILLIP B. WILLIAMSThief in the Interior

January 2016978-1-938584-25-17 x 9 | 112 pages$16.95

November 2015978-1-938584-16-9

6 x 9 | 96 pages$15.95

Second EmpireRICHIE HOFMANN

DONALD REVELLDrought-Adapted Vine

Septemer 2015978-1-938584-13-85.5 x 8.5 | 96 pages

$15.95

“To experience [Phillip B. William’s] poetry is to encounter a lucid, unmitigated humanity, a voice for whom language is inadequate, yet necessarily grasped, shaped, and consumed. His devout and excruciating attention to the line and its indispensable music fuses his implacable understanding of words with their own shadows.”

—Rachel Eliza Griffiths, Boston Review

“Hofmann is relighting the torch that Crane extinguished when he committed suicide by leaping into the sea; he is taking the sexual longing that permeated Crane and laying it bare.”

—Publishers Weekly

“[Richie Hofmann] possesses an Old World eye, like a character out of Henry James, raised in our era.”

—Tupelo Quarterly

“Revell demonstrates his spontaneity and his unmediated, often delighted, relationship to nature …each [poem] is a momentary conjunction of faith with language, addressed with a pellucid power that invites even unprepared readers to join in.”

—Publishers Weekly, starred review

RECENT TITLES BESTSELLERS

Here, Bullet

978-1-882295-55-5 $15.95 (paper)

978-1-882295-39-5$13.95 (paper)

The Wind, Master Cherry, The Wind

Brian Turner

Larissa Szporluk

The Art of the Lathe

978-1-882295-16-1$15.95 (paper)

B.H. Fairchild

Slamming Open the Door

978-1-882295-74-6$15.95 (paper)

Kathleen Sheeder Bonanno

Into Perfect Spheres Such Holes are Pierced

978-1-882295-45-6$15.95 (paper)

Catherine Barnett

Hum

978-1-938584-02-2 $15.95 (paper)

Jamaal May

Money Money Money Water Water Water

978-1-938584-04-6$16.95 (paper)

Jane Mead

Mad Honey Symposium

978-1-938584-06-0$15.95 (paper)

Sally Wen Mao

Split

978-1-938584-05-3$15.95 (paper)

Cathy Linh Che

Sand Opera

978-1-938584-09-1$16.95 (paper)

Eros Is More

978-1-938584-07-7$15.95 (paper)

Devil, Dear

978-1-938584-08-4$15.95 (paper)

Mary Ann McFadden Philip MetresJuan Antonio Gonzaléz Iglesias translated by Curtis Bauer

TOM ABSHERThe Calling (1987)0-914186-73-1 • paper • $13.95

AMAL AL-JUBOURITranslated by Rebecca Gayle Howellwith Husam QasaiHagar Before the Occupation |Hagar After the Occupation (2011) 978-1-882295-89-0 • paper • $17.50

KAZIM ALIThe Far Mosque (2005)978-1-882295-53-1 • paper • $14.95

CATHERINE ANDERSONIn The Mother Tongue (1983)0-914086-46-4 • paper • $13.95

DOUG ANDERSONThe Moon Reflected Fire (1994)978-1-882295-03-6 • paper • $13.95

CATHERINE BARNETT Into Perfect Spheres Such Holes ArePierced (2004)978-1-882295-45-6 • paper • $15.95

DAN BEACHY-QUICKNorth True South Bright (2003)978-1-882295-38-2 • paper • $13.95

ROBIN BECKERBacktalk (1982)0-914086-36-7 • paper • $8.95

SUZANNE BERGERLegacies (1984)0-914086-49-9 • paper • $13.95

REGINALD DWAYNE BETTS Shahid Reads His Own Palm (2010)978-1-882295-81-4 • paper • $15.95 TAMIKO BEYERWe Come Elemental (2013)978-1-882295-95-1 • paper • $15.95

BACKLIST

CAROLE BORGESDisciplining the Devil’s Country (1987)0-914086-77-4 • paper • $7.95

JULIE CARREquivocal (2007)978-1-882295-63-0 • paper • $14.95

NICOLE COOLEYMilk Dress (2010)978-1-882295-83-8 • paper • $15.95

ROBERT CORDINGHeavy Grace (1996)978-1-882295-09-9 • paper • $9.95

CYNTHIA CRUZRuin (2006)978-1-882295-58-7 • paper • $14.95

PATRICIA CUMMINGLetter from an Outlying Province (1976)0-914086-14-6 • paper • $3.50

CHRISTINA DAVISForth A Raven (2006)978-1-882295-57-9 • paper • $14.95

CORT DAYThe Chime (2001)978-1-882295-29-3 • paper • $11.95

DEBORAH DeNICOLAWhere Divinity Begins (1994)978-1-882295-02-1 • paper • $9.95

THEODORE DEPPEThe Wanderer King (1996)978-1-882295-08-0 • paper • $11.95Children of the Air (1990)0-914086-91-X • paper • $8.95

XUE DIAn Ordinary Day (2002)978-1-882295-34-X • paper • $12.95

JEANNINE DOBBS, KINERETH GENSLER,& ELIZABETH KNIESThree Some Poems (1976) 0-914086-11-1 • paper • $3.50

NANCY DONEGAN The Forked Rivers (1989)0-914086-89-8 • paper • $8.95

AMY DRYANSKYHow I Got Lost So Close to Home (1999)978-1-882295-22-6 • paper • $11.95

JOCELYN EMERSONSea Gate (2002)978-1-882295-35-8 • paper • $12.95

B. H. FAIRCHILDThe Arrival of the Future (2000)978-1-882295-25-0 • paper • $11.95The Art of the Lathe (1998)978-1-882295-16-1 • paper • $11.95

JACQUELINE FRANKNo One Took a Country from Me (1982) 0-914086-37-5 • paper • $4.95

JOANNA FUHRMANPageant (2009)978-1-882295-77-7 • paper • $15.95

ALLISON FUNKForms of Conversion (1986)0-914086-65-0 • paper • $12.95

ERICA FUNKHOUSERNatural Affinities (1983)0-914086-42-1 • paper • $8.95

RITA GABISThe Wild Field (1994)978-1-882295-01-3 • paper • $9.95

ERIC GAMALINDA

SARAH GAMBITOMatadora (2004)978-1-882295-48-X • paper • $13.95

FORREST GANDERRush to the Lake (1988)0-914086-79-0 • paper • $13.95

FRANK X. GASPARNight of a Thousand Blossoms (2004)978-1-882295-44-7 • paper • $13.95

KINERETH GENSLERJourney Fruit (1997)978-1-882295-13-7 • paper • $9.95Without Roof (1981)0-914086-32-4 • paper • $4.95

FRANK GIAMPIETROBegin Anywhere (2008)978-1-882295-70-8• paper • $14.95

DOBBY GIBSONPolar (2005)978-1-882295-49-8 • paper • $13.95

CELIA GILBERTAn Ark of Sorts (1998)978-1-882295-18-8 • paper • $7.95Bonfire (1983)0-914086-44-8 • paper • $4.95

STACY GNALLHeart First into the Forest (2011)978-1-882295-87-6 •paper • $15.95

KEVIN GOODANWinter Tenor (2009)978-1-882295-75-3 •paper w/flaps • $15.95In the Ghost-House Acquainted (2004)978-1-882295-47-1 • paper • $13.95

HENRIETTA GOODMANTake What You Want (2007)978-1-882295-62-3 •paper • $14.95

JEFFREY GREENETo the Left of the Worshiper (1991)0-914086-93-6 • paper • $8.95

JOAN JOFFE HALLRomance & Capitalism at the Movies (1985)0-914086-55-3 • paper • $13.95

FORREST HAMERCall & Response (1995)978-1-882295-06-4 • paper • $11.95

MONICA A. HANDme and Nina (2012)978-1-882295-90-6 • paper • $15.95

MARIE HARRISRaw Honey (1975)0-914086-09-X • paper • $3.00

MATTHEA HARVEYPity the Bathtub Its Forced Embrace of the Human Form (2000) 978-1-882295-26-5 • paper • $14.95

BEATRICE HAWLEY Making the House Fall Down (1977)0-914086-19-7 • paper • $13.95

JOHN HILDEBIDLEThe Old Chore (1981)0-914086-34-0 • paper • $4.95 FANNY HOWERobeson Street (1985)0-914086-59-6 • paper • $12.95

CYNTHIA HUNTINGTONWe Have Gone to the Beach (1996)978-1-882295-11-0 • paper • $11.95

DANIEL JOHNSONHow to Catch a Falling Knife (2010) 978-1-882295-79-1 • paper • $15.95

ROXANE BETH JOHNSONBlack Crow Dress (2013) 978-1-882295-95-1 • paper • $15.95

ALICE JONESIsthmus (2000)978-1-882295-27-7 • paper • $7.95The Knot (1992)0-914086-96-0 • paper • $11.95

JANET KAPLANThe Groundnote (1998)978-1-882295-19-6 • paper • $11.95

LAURA KASISCHKEFire & Flower (1998)978-1-882295-21-8 • paper • $11.95

CLAUDIA KEELANThe Devotion Field (2004)978-1-882295-46-3 • paper • $13.95Utopic (2000)978-1-882295-28-5 • paper • $11.95

JANE KENYONFrom Room to Room (1978)0-914086-24-3 • paper • $11.95

ANN KILLOUGHBeloved Idea (2007)978-1-882295-65-4 • paper • $14.95

David KirbyThe Temple Gate Called Beautiful (2008)978-1-882295-67-8 • paper • $14.95

ELIZABETH KNIES, JEANNINE DOBBS &KINERETH GENSLERThree Some Poems (1976)0-914086-11-1 • paper • $3.50 SHARON KRAUSGeneration (1997)978-1-882295-14-5 • paper • $9.95

NANCY LAGOMARSINOThe Secretary Parables (1991)0-914086-92-8 • paper • $8.95

BACKLIST

Zero Gravity (1999)978-1-882295-20-X • paper • $11.95

LINNEA JOHNSONThe Chicago Home (1986)978-0-914086-63-5 • paper • $14.95

ANNE MARIE MACARI &CAREY SALERNOLit from Inside: 40 Years of Poetry from Alice James Books (2013)978-1-882295-96-8 • paper • $19.95

SARAH MANGUSOThe Captain Lands in Paradise (2002)978-1-882295-33-3 • paper • $14.95 ADRIAN MATEJKAThe Devil’s Garden (2003)978-1-882295-41-2 • paper • $13.95

E. J. MILLER LAINOGirl Hurt (1995)978-1-882295-07-2 • paper • $9.95

LESLE LEWISLandscapes I & II (2006)1-882295-54-4 • paper • $14.95lie down too (2011)978-1-882295-85-2 • paper • $16.95

KAREN LINDSEY Falling off the Roof (1975)0-914086-08-1 • paper • $13.95

TIMOTHY LIUVox Angelica (1992)0-914086-97-9 • paper • $11.95

MARGARET LLOYDThis Particular Earthly Scene (1993)0-914086-99-5 • paper • $13.95

MARGO LOCKWOODBlack Dog (1986)0-914086-61-8 • paper • $6.95

SABRA LOOMISRosetree (1989)0-914086-85-5 • paper • $8.95

ALESSANDRA LYNCHSails the Wind Left Behind (2002)978-1-882295-36-6 • paper • $12.95

BACKLIST

SUZANNE MATSONDurable Goods (1993)978-1-882295-00-5 • paper • $9.95Sea Level (1990)0-914086-84-7 • paper • $8.95

ALICE MATTISONAnimals (1980)0-914086-29-4 • paper • $13.95

SHARA MCCALLUMThis Strange Land (2011)978-1-882295-86-9 • paper with CD• $19.95

RICHARD McCANNGhost Letters (1994)978-1-882295-04-8 • paper • $9.95

LAURA McCULLOUGHPanic (2010)978-1-882295-84-5 • paper • $15.95

DAVID McKAINThe Common Life (1982)0-914086-38-3 • paper • $4.95

JANE MEADThe Usable Field (2008)978-1-882295-69-2 • paper • $14.95

HELENA MINTONThe Canal Bed (1985) 0-914086-53-7 • paper • $6.95

NORA MITCHELLYour Skin is a Country (1988)0-914086-83-9 • paper • $8.95Proofreading the Histories (1996) 978-1-882295-10-2 • paper • $9.95

MIHAELA MOSCALIUCFather Dirt (2010)978-1-882295-78-4 • paper • $15.95 STEPHEN MOTIKAWestern Practice (2012)978-1-882295-91-3 • paper • $15.95

AMY NEWMANCamera Lyrica (1999)978-1-882295-24-2 • paper • $11.95 ANGELO NIKOLOPOULOSObscenely Yours (2013)978-1-882295-99-9 • paper • $15.95

IDRA NOVEYThe Next Country (2008)978-1-882295-71-5• paper • $14.95

NINA NYHARTFrench for Soldiers (1987)0-914086-71-5 • paper • $7.95

CAROLE OLESNight Watches: Inventions on the Life of Maria Mitchell (1985)0-914086-57-X• paper • $11.95

JANINE OSHIROPier (2011) 978-1-882295-88-3 • paper • $15.95 MATTHEW OLZMANNMezzanines (2013)978-1-882295-98-2 • paper • $15.95

JEAN-PAUL PECQUEURThe Case Against Happiness (2007)978-1-882295-59-5 • paper • $14.95

JEAN PEDRICKPride and Splendor (1976)0-914086-10-3 • paper • $3.50

LIA PURPURAKing Baby (2008)978-1-882295-68-5• paper • $14.95

BILL RASMOVICZThe World in Place of Itself (2007)978-1-882295-64-7 • paper • $14.95

DONALD REVELLTantivy (2012)978-1-882295-97-5 • paper • $15.95The Bitter Withy (2009)978-1-882295-76-0 • paper • $15.95A Thief of Strings (2007)978-1-882295-61-6 • paper • $14.95My Mojave (2003)978-1-882295-40-4 • paper • $13.95

ROSAMOND ROSENMEIERLines Out (1989)0-914086-88-X • paper • $8.95

LEE RUDOLPHThe Country Changes (1978)0-914086-23-5 • paper • $3.50

CAREY SALERNOShelter (2009)978-1-882295-72-2 • paper • $14.95

LISA SEWELLThe Way Out (1998)978-1-882295-17-X • paper • $9.95

BETSY SHOLLRough Cradle (2009)978-1-882295-73-9 • paper• $15.95Rooms Overhead (1986)0-914086-67-7 • paper • $7.95Appalachian Winter (1978)0-914086-21-9 • paper • $3.50

SUSAN SNIVELYFrom This Distance (1981)0-914086-35-9 • paper • $4.95

JANE SPRINGERMurder Ballad (2012)978-1-882295-93-7 • paper • $11.95

SUE STANDINGDeception Pass (1984)0-914086-50-2 • paper • $11.95

PAMELA STEWARTInfrequent Mysteries (1991)0-914086-86-3 • paper • $8.95

CHAD SWEENEYParable of Hide and Seek (2010)978-1-882295-82-1 • paper • $15.95

COLE SWENSEN Goest (2004)978-1-882295-43-9 • paper • $13.95

ADRIENNE SUMiddle Kingdom (1997)978-1-882295-15-3 • paper • $11.95

LARISSA SZPORLUKThe Wind, Master Cherry, the Wind (2003)978-1-882295-39-0 • paper • $13.95

MARY SZYBISTGranted (2003)978-1-882295-37-1 • paper • $15.95

TOM THOMPSONThe Pitch (2006)978-1-882295-56-0 • paper • $14.95Live Feed (2001)978-1-882295-31-5 • paper • $11.95

LAUREL TRIVELPIECEBlue Holes (1987)0-914086-75-8 • paper • $7.95

MARINA TSVETAEVAa reading by Jean Valentine & Ilya KaminskyDark Elderberry Branch: Poems of Marina Tsvetaeva (2012)978-1-882295-94-4 • paper w/ cd • $15.95BRIAN TURNERPhantom Noise (2010)978-1-882295-80-7 • paper • $16.95Here, Bullet (2005)978-1-882295-55-5 • paper • $15.95

JEAN VALENTINEThe River at Wolf (1992)0-914086-95-2 • paper • $11.95audio cassette • $9.95Home Deep Blue (1989)0-914086-81-2 • paper • $11.95

CORNELIA VEENENDAALGreen Shaded Lamps (1977)0-914086-16-2 • paper • $3.50The Trans-Siberian Railway (1973)0-914086-01-4 • paper • $3.00

LIZ WALDNERSelf and Simulacra (2001)978-1-882295-32-3 • paper • $11.95

PETER WALDORDoor to a Noisy Room (2008)978-1-882295-66-1 • paper • $14.95

ELLEN DORÉ WATSONLadder Music (2001)978-1-882295-30-7 • paper • $11.95We Live in Bodies (1997)978-1-882295-12-9 • paper • $11.95

RUTH WHITMANTamsen Donner (1977)0-914086-20-0 • paper • $12.95audio cassette • $9.95

DAVID WILLIAMSTraveling Mercies (1993)0-914086-98-7 • paper • $9.95

SUZANNE WISEThe Kingdom Of The Subjunctive(2000)978-1-882295-23-4 • paper • $11.95

JON WOODWARDMister Goodbye Easter Island (2003)978-1-882295-42-0 • paper • $13.95

MARILYN ZUCKERMAN, ROBIN BECKER & HELENA MINTON Personal Effects (1976)0-914086-15-4 • paper • $13.95

BACKLIST

MATTHEW PENNOCKSudden Dog (2012)978-1-882295-92-0 • paper • $15.95

CAROL POTTERUpside Down in the Dark (1995)978-1-882295-05-6 • paper • $9.95Before We Were Born (1990)0-914086-90-1 • paper • $8.95 WOLF MOON (1974)0-914086-03-0 • paper • $3.00

ANNE MARIE MACARI Gloryland (2005)978-1-882295-50-0 • paper • $14.95

ORDER FORM

NAME

MAILING ADDRESS

CITY, STATE, ZIP

E-MAIL ADDRESS & PHONE NUMBER

Distribution Alice James Books are available to the trade through Consortium Book Sales & Distribution and Small Press Distribution. Individuals may use this form to order from Alice James Books directly.

Available on audio cassette Tamsen Donner: A Woman’s Journey by Ruth Whitman (60 minutes; $9.95) Sustaining Poetry: Twenty Years of Alice James Books (71 minutes; $9.95) The River at Wolf by Jean Valentine (42 minutes; $9.95)

AUTHOR & TITLE TOTALPRICEQTY.

Subtotal

Maine residents: add 5.5% sales tax

Shipping via US Priority Flat Rate: med. box: $13.00 | lg. box: $18.00

Shipping via Media Mail : $3.50 for first 2 books, $0.25 each addl.

Tax-deductible contribution:

Total:

Payment Options

CHECK: If submitting payment by check or money order, please enclose this payment with the order form and send to: Alice James Books, 114 Prescott Street, Farmington, Maine 04938. Please make all checks payable to ALICE JAMES BOOKS.

CREDIT CARD: If you would like to order with a credit card, please fill out the credit card information below. You may also place a credit card order by calling (207) 778-7071 or visiting our website: www.alicejamesbooks.org.

CREDIT CARD ORDERSif ordering by credit card please complete the following information for payment.

BILLING ADDRESS (only if different from mailing address)

CITY, STATE, ZIP

VISA/MASTERCARD

EXPIRATION DATE

/AUTH CODE (located on the back of your card)

A l i c e J a m e s B o o k s1 1 4 P r e s c o t t S tre e t , F a r m i n g t o n , ME 0 4 9 3 8

w w w. a l i c e j a m e s b o o k s . o r g

A LI C E

J A M E S

booksthat matter

est. 1973

Thank You!