PROSPECTUS: The Double Elephant Press proudly presents
Seance for a Minyan, a book of
poems by Anthony Hecht and intaglio by
Michael Kuch. Hecht's evocative poems
recall passages from the original testament;
first person accountings & psychological
reflection bring scriptural personages
to life. The ten poems of biblical characters
form a figurative minyan, the quorum to
commence prayer under Jewish law. Kuch's
copper-plate etchings further enliven
the archetypical personalities.
Black aquatints create images that are
at once stark & enigmatic. Two etchings
flank each poem, one the verso, one on
a fold-out attached to the following recto
on which the poem is imprinted. A red
window on the cover mysteriously reveals
a half-title mounted in a back cover flap
which supports the fold-out sheets. The
volume measures fifteen by eight inches
& resides in a slipcase. The paper
is hand made at the Velke-Losiny Mill
in the Czech Republic. The text is set
by hand in sixteen point Spectrum. The
edition is of seventy, plus seven hors
commerce copies for the conspirators.
The first fifteen include an extra suite
of folios as folded broadsides, a cancelled
plate & a preparatory monotype, all
housed in a clamshell box. The book is
dedicated to the memory of Leonard Baskin
who was a dear friend of both the poet
& the artist & for whose Gehenna
Press the poems were originally intended.
