Sephyrus Press made it to The New Yorker (even if only in passing)

December 9, 2008
Literary Smackdown Revisited
The Literary Trivia Smackdown 2.0, which pitted PEN vs. Lit Bloggers, was the ultimate event at the Twenty-first Annual Indie and Small Press Book Fair this past weekend. And a lively literary contest it was, nimbly emceed by the ironically tuxedoed and erudite author Tim W. Brown. PEN won, 16-13, I think, but I’m not entirely sure; making our way around nearly a hundred and fifty literature-strewn tables of indie presses—whose names reminded me at times of a flock of unruly reindeer: Archipelago, Dream Weaver, Fractious, Leapfrog, Luminus, Olympia, Persea, Rainbow Star, Sephyrus, Whirlwind, Windspur, just to name a few—was so dizzying in its multiplicity that a New Yorker colleague and I had to pop across the street to a Greek taverna for fortification.

The questions came hard and fast, and were of such graduate-school caliber—the name of Don DeLillo’s only play or Washington Irving’s house or the author of the first slave narrative—that not even the lifelines to audience and adjudicator helped the impressive contestants. We were, all in all, relieved that the Book Bench bloggers hadn’t been asked to participate. Nonetheless, there was one question neither team got that my less-addled colleague did: what writer was the inspiration for the Brandy Alexander? The Lit Bloggers suggested Alexander Pope; PEN parried with Alexandre Dumas (or perhaps it was the other way around). The answer: the New Yorker writer and Round Tablist Alexander Woollcott.

Except that, on sober reflection, this seems to be just another apocryphal urban legend, signifying sound and fury, at least if the Brandy Alexander entry on Wikepedia (which may prove to be the future of publishing) is to be believed. Therein we are told:“Drama critic/celebrity Alexander Woollcott was very fond of this drink, and he encouraged the assumption that it was named after him. (The actual origin of the drink’s name is unknown.)”

In the literary smackdown’s wake, another colleague and I ventured a couple of blocks west to do some literary slurping, I mean sleuthing, at the Algonquin. For those at home interested in keeping up with literary tradition, here is a recipe for the immortally named concoction, whomever the hell it’s named after:



May we suggest a revised question for Literary Trivia Smackdown 3.0: what chocolatey cocktail is one of the main characters in Chuck Palahniuk’s novel “Invisible Monsters” named after?

Posted by Vicky RaabIn
The Book Bench
| Literary Smackdown

Hittin' The Book Fair - Check it!!

Come see Sappho Does Hay(na)ku in the Co-op room at the Indie Book Fair. I'll be there checking out the books and the free workshops and readings. Should be a great time! Anyone wishing to carpool (train-style) can email me.

Book News

Sappho Does Hay(na)ku now has a review posted on its amazon page.

The book will also appear on the Co-op table at the 21st Annual New York City Independent Publisher and Small Press Book Fair. It runs the weekend of December 6 & 7 in midtown Manhattan. Check it out and hope to see you there!

Sappho Does Hay(na)ku

Sappho Does Hay(na)ku, by Scott Keeney is now available on Amazon.com. Each book is signed by the author and is beautifully hand-bound. The first release from Sephyrus Press and a better choice could not have been made!

Sappho Does Hay(na)ku Hand-bound Edition

Sephyrus.com will be offering the Sappho Does Hay(na)ku, by Scott Keeney, hand-bound paperback edition in September. Scott writes poetry in many forms which can be read on his blog nobodyintherain and by following the links to his other blogbooks. His non-egoic pursuit in writing has excited me to publish one of his compilations. Sappho is a collection of 77 poems that deal in love, lust and sarcasm. For a better review than this check out Bill Keckler's blog, Joe Brainard's Pyjamas. Thanks Scott, for sharing yourself with us.