Already Felt

Already Felt, the chapbook, was commissioned by project collaborators and co-editors Alexis Aceves Garcia, Devyn Mañibo, and danilo machado. The cover was carved on linoleum, and the block included both the front and back covers. The inserts were made by alternating combinations of carmine, greenish/brilliant blue, gold yellow, azo orange, and sap green acrylic with iridescent gold acrylic on watercolor paper. I wanted to be very attentive to gestures, so used squeeze bottles and, sometimes, a wide painters brush. Each sheet was then cut into six inserts, and randomly paired so that each book has a different combination.

For this book, I wanted to represent the ongoingness of the featured poems in the cover as For this book, we wanted to represent the ongoingness of the featured poems in the cover art as well as the process. By leaving the negative space roughly carved and continuing to cut the block as it became inked over and over, we produced 180 unique covers. I cut the covers to size from 60 lb. 12 x 18 in. Strathmore mixed media pads in varying hues. Chapbooks were bound using a three-punch saddle stitch and either purple or black waxed hemp thread.

The result was an edition of 168 stunning chapbooks, which sold out in pre-orders.

Credits:
Book Designer/Artist: Tara Jayakar
Commissioners/Editors: Alexis Aceves Garcia, Devyn Mañibo, and danilo machado
Authors: Ashia Ajani
Kemi Alabi
Moncho Alvarado
Wo Chan
Kyle Dacuyan
Chekwube Danladi
Anaïs Duplan
Catherine Feliz
ray ferreira
Aricka Foreman
t’ai freedom ford
Jan-Henry Gray
Omotara James
Inam Kang
Donika Kelly
Angel Nafis
Kyle Carrero Lopez
Jimena Lucero
Xandria Phillips
Jasmine Reid
Pamela Sneed
Jennif(f)er Tamayo
Malcolm Tariq
Xime Izquierdo Ugaz
Aldrin Valdez
Vanessa Angélica Villarreal
Candace Williams
Yanyi

More information on Already Felt, the project, can be found at alreadyfelt [dot] com.

Raptor Editing & Press

Already Felt

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