A sequence of 50 haiku-like poems composed in strict syllabics, Karl Elder's COMPENDIUM is the poet's ode to America, though not without a critical eye and an insightful tongue. Sometimes comic, sometimes serious, and always playful, the sequence reveals in the manner of montage a great nation's character and heritage, while the character of states is suggested through contemplation of the enigmatic qualities of states' abbreviations, names, and shapes. 
Beautiful in itself, THE GEOCRYPTOGRAMMATIST'S POCKET COMPENDIUM OF THE UNITED STATES is a limited edition chapbook, a genuine object of art, with each state illustrated by hand with the aid of computer graphics. 
Book designer Carrie McWithey chose to compliment visual aspects of the poems with elements or properties of physical entities often associated with the United States--its flag; a U.S. passport; and THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, THE CONSTITUTION, and old maps.

The Geocryptogrammatist's Pocket Compendium of the United States

Literature & Fiction

Elder, Karl

Poetry

Robert Schuricht Endowment Editions

Mead: Twenty-six Abecedariums

Marsh River Editions

This project was made possible by the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts. Printed and bound in the USA in an edition of 2,000 copies.

Dirt from The New Yinzer

Flick, Sherrie

Byers,Michael

The New Yinzer

Gilgamesh at the Bellagio opens memorably as Karl Elder confronts the reader with his always-astonishing prosodic acrobatics, showcased this time in 26 deeply intelligent decasyllabic abecedarians. It ends with more of the same (but backwards!) in "Z Ain't Just for Zabacedarium." Glimmering in between is the title poem, which recreates, with sardonic humor and a perfect ear for the vernacular, aspects of society's profound collective melancholia. A tour de force by a superlative American poet. --Marilyn L. Taylor, Contributing Editor of The Writer. These intellectual poems owe a debt to the tradition of cerebral poets: Shakespeare, Donne and the metaphysicals, Modernists like Eliot, Pound, and Stevens, and John Berryman's Dream Songs, although they also reference pop culture figures. Difficult at times, Elder's poems merit careful attention, both for their fresh approach to form, as well as for their range of subject matter and their wit, and they reward close, repeated readings. --Wendy Vardaman in Free Verse. [Karl Elder] is, for my money, writing some of the most innovative and resonant verse out there. And, man, he is out there. Not that there¿s anything wrong with that. I mean that while he seems to have his literary ancestors like the rest of us (Stevens for his lushness, Donne for his wit, Berryman for his change-up syntax pitch), he seems to come at the world from an angle uniquely his own. --Beth Ann Fennelly in Black Warrior Review. In this book you'll find a gambling/gamboling Gilgamesh framed by sassy romps through the alphabet. Whether Elder is coming or going, h'¿s always having fun and so, reader, will you. --Lola Haskins, author of Desire Lines. Karl Elder is a clever man and poet. . . . inventive . . . imaginative and energetic . . . . Why not enjoy a bit of this welcome relief from our extended bitter recitations? Shakespeare occasionally gave us a fun break even in his tragedies." --Paul Zimmer in Georgia Review

Gilgamesh at the Bellagio

National Poetry Review Press

Karl Elder, Lakeland University's Fessler Professor of Creative Writing, has gathered the best of his poetry in Alpha Images: Poems Selected and New. This 270 page volume includes over 50 new or previously uncollected poems. Noted for exceptional range-his work in open, closed, and invented forms-Elder's verse is similarly multifaceted in his choice of subject matter.

Alpha Images: Poems Selected and New

Water's Edge Press LLC

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Books by Elder, Karl