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Sarah Race's award-winning short documentary on Barbarian Press! In 2015 Sarah Race asked if she might make a short film about us and the press, and the * * * * * Weathers and Pastoral Elegies are even more remarkable than I had anticipated. The immaculate presswork, expert engravings, and tasteful binding all honour the poems in a marvelously understated way, embellishing without overshadowing. Perhaps you Barbarians have found a way to gild the lily after all. I think Weathers might be my favourite Barbarian Press book so far. I love the green binding with the patterned paper and the way the ornaments open to enclose the title on the front cover. It all feels so tasteful and timeless. Inside, all the poems are beautifully arranged and so expertly printed as I have come to expect, with engravings adding beautiful little moments to the text. I especially love the leaves blowing across the pages between ‘The Farm Woman’s Winter’ and ‘Autumn in King’s Hintock Park’. On An Eye Made Quiet [An Eye Made Quiet] is here. And it is absolutely lovely. Carefully designed and printed and bound in daffodils! On Pastoral Elegies I was especially impressed by the design and binding of [Pastoral Elegies] … [Having] the slipcase and spines of the book and folder in the same silk and with flat spines works really well in presenting the book as a single slab. The thin strips of green paper behind the central grey panel on the front cover are very effective and the binding has a more contemporary feel which works well with some of the more antique touches in the typography, together adding to the timeless feel. In fact, as I was looking through the book, it was the feeling of timelessness that came to the fore. … I am very pleased to have both these poems in an edition which gives them space to breathe and which is such a pleasure to hold and read. On The Marriage of True Minds The Marriage of True Minds is another triumph for you. The selection of poems seems inspired, and the engravings beautiful and appropriate. It is a splendid tribute to a clearly happy marriage and a lifetime of work in your magnificent press. The layout, the printing, the binding [are all] in perfect harmony. Thank you once again for making these beautiful and important books. On Wayzgoose Pamphlet Two: The Dingbat... Your Wayzgoose Pamphlet on the Noble Dingbat is a delight from start to finish. |
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‘From the beginning, publishing private press books that collectors actually want to hold and read, over and over again, has always been the Barbarian Press stock-in-trade.’ Jack Katz, Subscriber
Barbarian Press Our latest book, Weathers, a selection of Thomas Hardy poems with wood engravings by Jane Randfield, and the fourth in the Loose Canons series have made their way out into the world now, and Let the Bees Go Then, a volume of selected and new poems by the Canadian poet Heather Simeney Macleod is nearing completion. Full descriptions of both may be found in our Books in Print and Forthcoming sections. Work on the fifth in the Loose Canons series devoted to the poetry of Frances Cornford has begun. Loose Canons Four features the sonnets of American, Merrill Moore, a now little known poet whose meticulous insights into human behaviour and the natural world deserve to be read and savoured once again. We have long admired the writing of Heather MacLeod and consider her among the finest of contemporary poets anywhere. Let the Bees Go Then includes poems from her previously published four trade volumes and a number of stunning unpublished poems that mark an increasingly rich understanding of the world in finely tuned poetic language. This book has largely been in the skilled hands of Apollonia and the newest Barbarian, Lea Sánchez Milde, and should be off to the binder early April 2026. Meanwhile, the ongoing journey of Bordering on the Sublime continues, and its evolution will be more fully described on the page devoted to the book. Not surprisingly, our estimate of a completion date by the end of 2025 has proved to be overly optimistic. The ‘last’ chapter focusing on the life and work of Curwen compositor, Bert Smith, has necessarily grown from a projected 24 pages to more than 60. This book has all along insisted on a life of its own, and dictated a measured and patient approach on our parts. We look ahead to a late fall completion date in 2026 with some optimism and careful consideration. Two of the out-of-print titles that have recently come into our hands are still available for sale through us. These are Endgrain Editions Three: Peter Lazarov (DELUXE) and Rumour of a Shark. Please refer to the Archives section on this site for detailed descriptions and contact us directly for prices. Please go to BOOKS IN PRINT Utile Dulci Now in Print!
Weathers: A Selection of Thomas Hardy's Poems
Loose Canons One and Two
Loose Canons Two
Loose Canons Three
Pastoral Elegies |
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