Three Rooms Press presents: The Monthly at Cornelia Street Cafe

THREE ROOMS PRESS DOUBLE BOOK LAUNCH

An evening of Visual Poetry and Visuals + Poetry
Celebrating the release of two new stunning collections: Philip Meersman’s THIS IS BELGIAN CHOCOLATE and John S Paul’s SIGN LANGUAGE

Friday, Friday, November 21, 6 pm
Cornelia Street Cafe 29 Cornelia Street (between W. 4th & Bleecker) | 212-989-9319

Join us for a festive night of poetry readings and book signings, as two great, new books come into the world:

THIS IS BELGIAN CHOCOLATE is vivid collage of both verse and concrete, visual poetry that takes no prisoners in its Kamikaze bombardment of anti-war initiatives and environmental issues, in which single words explode across the page or join at beautiful intersections to create a thoroughly experiential read.

“Just as Dada broadened our understanding of art, Meersman’s work broadens our under­standing of Dada. Visual poetry, sound poetry, multi-language puns, lots of humor and social concerns converge in This Is Belgian Chocolate to prove, once again, that the revolution of the word and the revolution of the world cannot but come together.”
—Mercedes Roffé, poet and translator; author of Carcaj: Vislumbres

“The book should only get a warning note: “reading this book may forever change your view on poetry”. . . Lightning language, wild wordplay and interesting intertextuality.”
—Yves Juris, Tzum literair

In SIGN LANGUAGE: A Painter’s Notebook (Three Rooms Press Trade Paperback Original; November 11, 2014; $15.95), John S. Paul, pays homage to the lost art of urban outdoor sign painting, in photos, drawings and words. Few books have ever provided such an insider perspective into this lost art. In 40 photos and 30 poems and stories, the author creates an immersion into a rarified world on danger and beauty. Paul raises the sense of the importance of moments, and blurs the boundary between public and private space.

No one sees the world as John S. Paul sees it. The distinctiveness of his vision is viscerally evident in his words and his images, where beauty and grittiness, anxiety and repose, all mix and merge to create something altogether new. This honest, stunning book will make you see the world differently, too. —Rosie Schaap, author of Drinking With Men

Few painters have the range that Paul has, and fewer still possess the economy of language combined with the rich visual textures that give his poetry the feel of a documentary. One is tempted to compare his work to Dos Passos, or maybe Ferlinghetti, while at the same time the cinematic drama and pathos of Hertzog comes to mind. —Bradley Rubenstein, artist & art critic

Know that you’re coming? RSVP on Facebook!