Jabixshak
San Francisco: Amerus Press, 1982.
Rare anthology of Albanian poems translated into English by Jack Hirschman (1933-2021), a prolific poet, social activist, and translator active in the San Francisco poetry and political scene.
Hirschman has inscribed the book to the co-founders of the radical San Francisco Poster Brigade, Rachael Romero and Leon Klayman. A nice association.
The woodcut on the cover is by Kristen Wetterhahn, who was Hirschman's partner at the time of publication. The title, Jabixshak, refers to a sweet variety of grape.
Hirschman, Wetterhahn, and Jack Mueller (d. 2017) formed the Union of Street Poets in San Francisco in December 1978. The group made photocopies of poems in editions of 100 copies, which they gave to fellow poets and artists as well as the general public.
There's no indication how many copies of this chapbook were published but it probably wasn't very many. OCLC shows only 4 institutional holdings (Emory, Colorado, UC Berkeley, and UC Santa Cruz). None in commerce.
PHYSICAL DETAILS: 24mo (5.5 x 4.25 inches; 140 x 110 mm), [48] pages, in stapled, illustrated wrappers (soft cover).
CONDITION: Light edge wear. Near Fine. Item #3021
Price: $100.00