Re: Ex Occidente Press
 

Des, I have said this to you en private and I have no problem in repeating myself here. The Last Balcony is a terrific anthology. If we are to ignore my fixation on European literature (thus making the book less viable for the late and current ethos of Ex Occidente Press, if such a thing exists; and I think that such a thing exists; more, it is the only thing that exists), I do think that The Last Balcony is one of the best author's anthology ever. But, unless saved by luck and notoriety, every reprobate, every nobody is confronted with private disasters. I make no exception. There were a number of books which I was supposed to release, and which in the end I did not. Sometimes that happened because of me and me alone (in the majority of the cases), sometimes because of the dishonesty, the opportunism and the indelicacy (an euphemism) of the authors involved. I am not shedding any tears. One of my private disasters is The Last Balcony, though. I would have loved to publish this book myself, even if, as I have said, the object of it transgresses my literary preoccupations. In the end, I can only be gratified to see this superlative collection appearing under the wings of the Inkermen. As long as The Last Balcony would have been published by Inkermen or Chomu Press, I would have been happy. And now you should be too.

Rhys, you make me smile. But smiles are pretexts. I don't think I am breaking any etiquette here (save, perhaps, the customs of politesse) by saying that not all the works I've read by you are quite "excellent", in my view. Not a surprise. Even Borges had his literary misfires. Now that I have said that, I will say this: thank you. Thank you for bringing to life something which I could not even dream at. A homage to Corto Maltese. I still cannot understand how that could happen. Are people realizing just how ... cool that book is, giving all its European texture, its history, its madness, its fun and beauty? Probably not. Also thank you for Sangria in the Sangraal, a collection which I knew it was meant for me even before I've started reading the stories. For me it is the finest Rhys Hughes collection.

Now that I've logged in, perhaps a short update?

Alright. First, the work on This Hermetic Legislature: A Homage to Bruno Schulz, The Ten Dictates of Alfred Tesseller (D.P. Watt) and the bilingual (English and French) Emil Cioran edition progresses slowly but firmly. In the last days I have been constantly called by the printers, asking me when I am sending them the final PDFs for these volumes. That's something new for the guild of printers. The exasperated printers!, the ones who call you to print your book and not the other way around. Unfortunately, due to some fresh fissures in my health, I could not act faster. Now that I feel sensibly better I am ready to finish the work on these volumes. In other words, we are definitely looking for an April 2012 release date for the three books mentioned above.

There are also a number of very fine books I have recently accepted for Ex Occidente Press and Exposition Internationale. Allow me to mention only the most recent of them. The Felicity of Epigones it is called. The author? A previously not published gentleman: Derek John. A socialite of TLO too, I believe. The collection is made of two long stories, a bewildering homage to Emil Cioran and to female Mystics such as Julian of Norwich, Margery Kempe, Saint Theresa of Avila, Saint Catherine of Siena, Saint Margaret-Mary Alacoque (The Aesthete Hagiographer) and a story dedicated to Klimt (Cosmogony of Desire). Derek John. Keep this name in mind. Secret Europe is alive.

Oh yes, once again I am late with the shipping. But you were expecting that, non? It is fine, but if you were expecting that, also expect to receive your orders. Think about this as a conditioned reflex. Sometimes there are delays in shipping your orders, then you receive the orders. It is that simple and sad. But I cant do anything about it.

Too many words encore. I apologise.

Salut,
Dan

Re: Ex Occidente Press
 

That's really wonderful news. He did have one story published before - at least one. It was in a Nemonymous book. :)

Thanks for your kind words about 'The Last Balcony'. And for the use of the photograph on my site.

des

Re: Ex Occidente Press
 

Yes indeed, it was in Nemonymous 10 and Des was the first person ever to publish me in a 'proper' book. I can still recall the thrill at seeing my humble story in the same TOC as Mark Valentine, Reggie Oliver, D.P. Watt et al!

I hope readers will find The Felicity of Epigones to be a worthy addition to the exquisite series of Passport Levant volumes.

Re: Ex Occidente Press
 

Congratulations Derek, I look forward to reading your collection. Both stories (particularly the first) sound very promising indeed.

Re: Ex Occidente Press
 

You might have seen this already: This Just In .... Agony Column News very apt comment about "Secret Europe", which seems worthy of quoting here in full:


"It may seem early, but I'd give odds on (were I the sort to make "best this" lists), that 'Secret Europe,' by John Howard and Mark Valentine (Ex Occidente ; Limited Edition Hardcover ; $160) would easily top any such list. This book is easily worth the cover price and more. 'Secret Europe' is a collection of invented histories from a Europe that is not the quite the continent we know. Valentine and Howard have remarkably similar tones, crafting stories that are poignant, powerful and very strange. This is a history of Europe in the early twentieth century as Jorge Luis Borges might mis-remember it, shining, vivid, subtly heroic and horrific. The prose and stories alone justify the price tag, so the incredible production values — it looks like a literary monument that came from the Europe it describes — make it all the more striking. Ex Occidente has made one of the most beautiful books that has ever crossed my hands. It's the sort of book that gets put on display.

Valentine wrote to tell me that Ex Occidente is currently running a
special that lets readers choose two other Ex Occidente books free if they
buy 'Secret Europe.'

I don't imagine there will be copies around for very long; it will become part of Ex Occidente's secret history, and part of the histories of those who read it. You will remember where you were when you read 'Secret Europe.'"

Re: Ex Occidente Press
 

That's a mighty fine offer, one I would seize upon if I thought I would actually receive the books.

Re: Ex Occidente Press
 

i cannot lie. that book dealers are already raising the price of this book by 60% before it is even out of print is an outrage. let's continue to keep these volumes out of the hands of those who will actually read them, shall we?
vampires, it seems, are alive and well...

Re: Ex Occidente Press
 

My copy of Secret Europe has arrived as well, safe & sound. This is just awesome and all that other positive stuff. Curious thing that the dustjacket is beige coloured, looks like a big brother of Alcyone actually. I thought all copies had that black & red flavour to them. The "Secret Dustjacket"? :p

Real shame that, for now, I have to torture myself and finish an essay about post-structuralism. Can't wait till weekend.

Re: Ex Occidente Press
 

Eemeli, it is a common practice for Ex Occidente Press to release the same book with different dust-jackets, sometimes even with a different design altogether. Someone should give the bibliographers a run for their money and keep them vigilant, don't you think? Seriously speaking, I am not quite sure why I release different dust-jackets for the same book. I only know that I will do that in the future as well. If someone is interested in the "alternative" dust-jackets for a book I have released, they have to tell me and I will oblige; no further costs involved.

Over the past four days, twelve persons took up the Secret Europe offer as promoted on The Agony Column review. This morning the parcels were shipped, the customers received their tracking numbers. Eight of these customers are also TLO members; they can confirm here the details of the transactions, if they wish to. I will extend the Secret Europe + two free volumes promo until the end of this week. No excuses in not getting your copy; beside the usual excuses, I mean.

Be joyful and start read. We are lucky to have lived the days of Secret Europe.

It feels awkward to log in on this forum and not give at least a hint of the things to come in the very near future. So here is a snippet. The decorative end-papers for This Hermetic Legislature, our homage to Bruno Schulz. There will be an - gaaah! - alternative decorative illustration as well, besides the one shown here.

And another photo, whose protagonist is haunting my sleep for some days. Perhaps the theme for the next Ex Occidente Press homage? Now that will be da bomb! :)

Salut,
Dan

Re: Ex Occidente Press
 

Secret Europe is, to my mind, very much a highlight of Ex Occidente Press so far. I can honestly recommend it to almost anyone with a passion for literature.