Copper Canyon Press was founded in 1972 with a passion for poetry. One place where that passion found expression was in letterpress broadsides--beautifully designed with hand-set type and ornaments, and printed in small runs on a Chandler & Price platen press. These gorgeous pieces of literary ephemera came into the world for any number of reasons: to celebrate a book's release or mark a publishing milestone, to give as gifts to readers and donors, to distribute at readings and festivals.
In the mid-2000s, Copper Canyon began working with other letterpress printers, including Stern & Faye, lone goose press, Expedition Press, and The North Press. Most recently, Copper Canyon collaborated with the School for Visual Concepts in Seattle and The North Press to produce a portfolio of broadsides featuring poetry on the theme of water.
This anthology represents the broadsides and prints which are currently available from our inventory. Many are signed by the poet. They all represent the remaining copies of limited editions. And once they're gone, they're gone... though, in all but a few cases, the poem on the broadside can always be found within the Copper Canyon book it calls home.