Along the miles
That 'twixt the meadows and the suburbs lie,
By roads interminably bent, the files
Of waggons, with their awnings arched and tall.
Struggling in sweat and steam, toil slowly by
With outline vague as of a funeral.
Into the ruts, unbroken, regular,
Stretching out parallel so far
That when night comes they seem to join the sky.
For hours the water drips;
And every tree and every dwelling weeps.
Drenched as they are with it.
With the long rain, tenaciously, with rain
Indefinite.
(From the poem "Rain", by Emile Verhaeren, translated by Alma Strettell)
That 'twixt the meadows and the suburbs lie,
By roads interminably bent, the files
Of waggons, with their awnings arched and tall.
Struggling in sweat and steam, toil slowly by
With outline vague as of a funeral.
Into the ruts, unbroken, regular,
Stretching out parallel so far
That when night comes they seem to join the sky.
For hours the water drips;
And every tree and every dwelling weeps.
Drenched as they are with it.
With the long rain, tenaciously, with rain
Indefinite.
(From the poem "Rain", by Emile Verhaeren, translated by Alma Strettell)
The city surrounds us and brings to each of our senses a vivid meaning of "nightmare"; because even when our consciousness is asleep, the city persists in its perpetual movements perceived in each uncertain movement of large dreamland universe. This nightmarish city, disorderly assemblage of living beings, an endless scouring of pollution, chaos, steel, concrete and glass, receives its due tribute in the series of chapbooks The Ashes of the Cities. Alas, the second volume, HYPERBOREA, is coming.
HYPERBOREA, the land "beyond the north wind", a land for giants, with the sun shinning all the time, annihilating the night, the place where there would be no fear or dread. It may be difficult to imagine the cities of this region of dreams, which might have artificially maintained horror and ecstasy. This quest for the nightmare in the perfect land is at the base of the second book in the series The Ashes of the Cities. Starting with "Seer", by Richard Skelton, the first collaboration of this remarkable poet with Raphus Press; a poetic meditation on the flux of ruins and debris of memory in the cities. In the second piece, "The Perpetual Landscape", Alcebiades Diniz Miguel recovers the opposition between the savagery of nature (the woods) and the domestication of the culture (the city). Finally, we present a spectacular work by João do Rio, the great chronicler – and journalist, writer, whimsical dandy – of the Brazil modernization at the beginning of the 20th century, capturing with subtlety and ingenuity the emergence of the favelas of Rio de Janeiro in the narrative "The Open Settlements of Misery", translated direct from Portuguese.
HYPERBOREA, a chapbook (5.1 x 7.0 in.) designed by Raphus Press Immanent Headquarters at São Paulo, Brazil, printed in the Sol Negro ateliers (-05° 47' 42''; -35° 12' 34''), with multiple illustrations from public sources and a really extraordinary cover photo by Fábio Waki. As usual, this new chapbook edition will be very scarce: only 30 signed copies, plus some (very few) private copies. For purchases, please see our Catalogue.
HYPERBOREA, the land "beyond the north wind", a land for giants, with the sun shinning all the time, annihilating the night, the place where there would be no fear or dread. It may be difficult to imagine the cities of this region of dreams, which might have artificially maintained horror and ecstasy. This quest for the nightmare in the perfect land is at the base of the second book in the series The Ashes of the Cities. Starting with "Seer", by Richard Skelton, the first collaboration of this remarkable poet with Raphus Press; a poetic meditation on the flux of ruins and debris of memory in the cities. In the second piece, "The Perpetual Landscape", Alcebiades Diniz Miguel recovers the opposition between the savagery of nature (the woods) and the domestication of the culture (the city). Finally, we present a spectacular work by João do Rio, the great chronicler – and journalist, writer, whimsical dandy – of the Brazil modernization at the beginning of the 20th century, capturing with subtlety and ingenuity the emergence of the favelas of Rio de Janeiro in the narrative "The Open Settlements of Misery", translated direct from Portuguese.
HYPERBOREA, a chapbook (5.1 x 7.0 in.) designed by Raphus Press Immanent Headquarters at São Paulo, Brazil, printed in the Sol Negro ateliers (-05° 47' 42''; -35° 12' 34''), with multiple illustrations from public sources and a really extraordinary cover photo by Fábio Waki. As usual, this new chapbook edition will be very scarce: only 30 signed copies, plus some (very few) private copies. For purchases, please see our Catalogue.
As a gift for the first fifteen purchasers, as usual, a brief and exquisite piece from the new Raphus pamphlets series, The Bestiary: The Rite of Passage. A prisoner tells strange rites of passage, from the imagined to the real, from imprisonment to freedom. A forth exquisite pamphlet in the new series.
The opinion of our readers
Golden Age of Clairvoyance
"Well I have received the books today and I had certain high expectations and I must say such high expectations were well exceeded. The selectivity of the authors as I may have mentioned before (both individually and in combination) and translations are impeccable. The book design is exquisite and enhances the holistic reading experience (by way of comparison, on first seeing the books I had the same sense of elation when I had received my first Sylph Edition Cahiers a few years ago)."
(Andrew Condous)
(Andrew Condous)
"The books look really nice - I'm especially liking the full-color images inside. Very good design."
(Damian Murphy)
(Damian Murphy)
"The chapbooks are beautiful. Well done! Equally engaging for the eye and mind."
(Rachel Kinbar)
(Rachel Kinbar)
"The initial print-run of all three is, of course, low, so any interested readers should make a quick decision; because I do hope Raphus continue on their path of intriguing little translations of the recovered uncanny and esoteric."
(Mark Andresen at Pan Review)
(Mark Andresen at Pan Review)
The great weird and fantastic connoisseur, Des Lewis, made an insightful review of Black Mirror, the second chapbook in the series, available in this link.
Spiritual Meaning of the Massacres
"Many thanks for sending me a copy of The Mendicant. It really looks rather good – a bit like one of the books you read about in short stories that start off ‘Beware if you read these words... too late!"
(Stephen Cashmore)
(Stephen Cashmore)
"It's a marvelous production, and it's great that you have resurrected the remarkable title piece. I also enjoyed the pamphlet (...). Long may Raphus Press reign!"
(Chris Mikul)
(Chris Mikul)
"I am absolutely delighted with them [The Mendicant of the Books and The Sacred Abysmal Perspective]! They are both true examples of true and original creative philosophical ingenuity, originality and also design. They are fantastickal chapbooks and it is an equal delight to have been able to contribute and to assist in other ways. Although I saw the proofed editions when you e-mailed them to me, now that they are in my hands, they veritably glow and crackle and weep with their malign embers.
I shall take myself off on a sacred journey this weekend, like the early priests going to Tibet, and will immerse myself in the deep folds and ravines these chapbooks open up."
(Jonathan Wood)
I shall take myself off on a sacred journey this weekend, like the early priests going to Tibet, and will immerse myself in the deep folds and ravines these chapbooks open up."
(Jonathan Wood)
