"Writing has nothing to do with meaning. It has to do with landsurveying and cartography, including the mapping of countries yet to come."
(Gilles Deleuze)
(Gilles Deleuze)
Raphus Press, seeking to expand the universe of its readers in at least two languages (English and Portuguese), announces the first titles of the Raphus Chartae series, this cartography of new narrative and poetic universes.
Thus, we present the next releases of the Chartae series, which will be released (in the order presented) between October and December this year – always with two possibilities, hardcover or paperback with handcrafted finishing from Sol Negro. All works will have very original presentations and finishing elements, so that they are unique editions, described in details below. There will be bestiaries and prose poems, expressionistic verses and fiercely narratives. And much more.
But remember: these books are actually maps of a new, wild continent.
Thus, we present the next releases of the Chartae series, which will be released (in the order presented) between October and December this year – always with two possibilities, hardcover or paperback with handcrafted finishing from Sol Negro. All works will have very original presentations and finishing elements, so that they are unique editions, described in details below. There will be bestiaries and prose poems, expressionistic verses and fiercely narratives. And much more.
But remember: these books are actually maps of a new, wild continent.
The Bastion Overwhelmed/O Baluarte Tomado (Damian Murphy)
And the first in this series is Damian Murphy's The Bastion Overwhelmed. An intensely lyrical work about the city - all cities - as a source of secrets, intense memories, traumas, rituals, perdition. Antwerp, like every city in the world, becomes a bastion, just waiting for the assault by the occupying troops.
Cartes de Visite (Mark Valentine)
The second one in this series is Mark Valentine's Cartes de Visite. In this mysterious and exquisite book, Mark Valentine follows the Baudelaire's path – Petits Poèmes en prose. So, brief, elusive pieces, like photographical fragments of twilight or the rare and delicate scent of a flower. A truly magnificent work. As in two of his best books, At Dusk and Star Kites, the poetry created by Mark Valentine distills unique images in small sets, Cartes de Visite.
Do Ut Des/Dádiva (D. P. Watt)
D. P. Watt is a master at transposing allegories into a field of less predictability than expected of them - the field of fantastic event, of fierce transformations in narrative "reality." This unique talent unfolds majestically in the brief but intense tale of Do Ut Des, the first bestiary of the Raphus Chartae series.
Sunrise Days / Dias de Sol (Jonathan Wood)
One of the most extraordinary authors of his generation, Jonathan Wood is in essence a great poet - even his prose narratives are long poems, the epic expression of solipsism, despair and the absolute. In Sunrise Days, Wood's concise and complex expressionist poetry reaches an unusual visionary level
The Snow / A Neve (Justin Isis)
There is a peculiar, consistent quality to Justin Isis's work – the way the innocence of all things in life slips into an unfathomable abyss, so that seemingly banal daily life seems to reveal in our solar days the fury and the beasts. This quintessential form of art in narratives, which delights the writings of this author, is fully revealed in The Snow's brief and astonishing plot.
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)