Cathedral of Violets by Eleanor Bleier
Cathedral of Violets is an intimate book of poetry interlaced with drawings on translucent vellum by artist and writer Eleanor Bleier. Silver foil stamped cover. 3” x 4”. 88 pages. The collection includes a shirt and sticker drawn by Eleanor, inspired by the themes of the book. Shop now.
Letter from the Publisher:
I first approached Eleanor about collaborating on a book of poetry in 2016. I saw one of her poems on Instagram and I was enraptured by it. At the time, I was devouring every Diane Wakoski book I could get my hands on, and Eleanor’s writing made me feel the way Wakoski did. Both authors invite delicacy and wrath to dance in their writing. I brought this comparison to Eleanor, and introduced her to one of my favorite books: The Motorcycle Betrayal Poems. Over years of developing this book and becoming friends, we created something that I truly love.
The first edition was made entirely by hand. I printed the pages on a now-retired workhorse graphics printer, the covers were screen-printed by myself and Kaira Delfosse of Black Ink Press, and I bound and trimmed each one by hand. It was a labor of love, the intimacy of Eleanor’s words compounded by the devotion of its creation.
We welcomed the book into the world with a release party at Molasses Books in Brooklyn, NY, where Eleanor invited Diamond Stingily, Jolie Maya-Altshuler, and Anahit Gulian to read.
Now, we present to you the second edition, made in higher volume by a USA manufacturer. The spirit of the first edition still lives within it, but this version features the precision of a commercial printer and features Eleanor’s dedication, an homage to the Wakoski book we bonded over, on the back cover.
Since we cannot have a live release this time, Eleanor has asked fellow poet Kayla Ephros to record a reading of her own writing, and Nyle Kaliski has contributed a video.
Thank you so much for the outpouring of support for this book. Eleanor and I are so amazed to receive it, and for our work to be acknowledged. I have had to order a second-run of books because we sold out of our stock in a matter of days.
Kind regards,
Izzy Jarvis
F.I.N.E. Editions