Offshore, John Howard |
Além-MAr, JOHN HOWARD |
"There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more"
(Lord Byron)
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more"
(Lord Byron)
Following the paths of the rare, the unforeseen, the heretical, Raphus Press opens the Chartae series, bilingual editions (Portuguese / English) of quite unusual works by the most innovative authors in the contemporary landscape of speculative narrative.
John Howard, a remarkable and prolific author with a very extensive work with a evocative focus – very fine narrative constructions regarding some strange paths of conscience and desire. And his new creation in this field, Offshore / Além-Mar, is truly superb.
Like so many other utopias, here in this plot everything happens on an island - hypothetical, but possible or perhaps necessary. It is a place of pure Mediterranean satisfaction of human desires. There are genuinely moving moments in the narrative because, in essence, we have a beautiful story of love and the pursuit of wholeness, the absolute. This book will be made by the master printmaker Márcio Simões at Sol Negro atelier in a singular, very elaborated edition, with a postcard of Henri Rousseau painting as a special gift.
John Howard, a remarkable and prolific author with a very extensive work with a evocative focus – very fine narrative constructions regarding some strange paths of conscience and desire. And his new creation in this field, Offshore / Além-Mar, is truly superb.
Like so many other utopias, here in this plot everything happens on an island - hypothetical, but possible or perhaps necessary. It is a place of pure Mediterranean satisfaction of human desires. There are genuinely moving moments in the narrative because, in essence, we have a beautiful story of love and the pursuit of wholeness, the absolute. This book will be made by the master printmaker Márcio Simões at Sol Negro atelier in a singular, very elaborated edition, with a postcard of Henri Rousseau painting as a special gift.
Cover.
Some pages of the edition.
The Henri Rousseau painting for the postcard.
Offshore (or Mar Alto) a bilingual edition (handmade soft cover book) with a story by John Howard, with an afterword by Alcebiades Diniz Miguel ("Hypothetical Islands") with 5.11 x 7.4 in., 44 pages, designed by Raphus Press Immanent Headquarters, printed by the great Márcio Simões at Sol Negro atelier. As usual, this edition will be very scarce: only 35 numbered copies, plus some (very few) private copies. Every numbered copy will have a postcard with Henri Rousseau painting. The price, including mail expenses for every corner of the world:
Release date: February, 2020.
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)