Moran Press: Handmade and Exquisite by Su Zi

 

Serendipity is still a joy of cyber cruising—there are voices in quiet places that open our worlds. During a search for hand made books, there is a series of videos that show two hands and a voice hand sewing a blank paged pocket notebook. Other posts show choices of handmade, mulberry paper and asks viewers which ones they like. These videos are the product of Moran Press. While many fans of the press’s social media posts might find relief, if not delight, in viewing a diligent craftsman performing an ancient form during their scroll; however, there are actual books to be had.

Intrepid viewers do purchase the journals: we are shown posts of packages being shipped. The skeptic of scammers might cringe at the prospect of online purchasing from independents, and while caution is 

caveat, there are, nonetheless, independent artists who have been painted into a corner by big boxism and have only the abyss of the internet in which to whisper their products. 

The Moran Press website announces its books as “hand sewn, hand cut, hand sanded edges. US shipping only” and then has photographs of the various mulberry paper patterns as covers for pocket journals. There are individual journals and a bundle offering of five with cherry blossom paper. Over time, the availability of books and cover patterns does vary.

A purchase from Moran Press arrives is a poly mailer and a solid box that opens to reveal the journals ordered mindfully packaged in brown paper. Each fits the palm in a warm way. The spines reveal the stitches, and the books open to their contents of a parchment bond paper that melts with the media of the scrivener when used. As a gift, the journals tuck nicely into holiday cards; recipients have testified to a delighted wonder.

Occasionally, the press makes hardbound journals, and these are a lovely to hold: the cloth of the books has a warmth to the hand, the stitching both delicate and durable. The palm-sized physicality enhances portability, and these journals can slip easily into any pocket or bag. However, because they are individually made items of a traditional craft, their availability is a pounce upon opportunity.

And there are the print books, hand sewn chapbooks, and of these there are two categories: classic titles and works by Stephen Moran. The classic titles are reprints of Poe, Mellville, and, rather stunningly, Charlotte Gilman’s Yellow Wallpaper –- challenging our notions of what editions we read, what editions we give as gifts. The Melville, being Bartleby, has a black card stock cover sewn to the text with seven drill points and white thread. The text is presented naked—there are no denotations within the text beyond title and author at the top of the first page: this is rather obviously an art endeavor; a readable, portable, homage to a classic of literature with a respectful presentation.

And then there’s Server, also a handsewn book with a black cardstock cover, but with text that features a collection of short stories by the press’s owner-operator, Stephen Moran. 

This edition has a collage cover for title, image, author and back cover that includes the press logo. Also sewn with seven points and white thread, this book features a frontspiece, a copyright page, a table of contents and a preface, as well as end papers that list others of the author’s books. The work hosts some sixty pages but is still visually distinct from fully machine-produced small press titles.

Server, although presented as a collection of short stories, reads as

an episodic novella, with a consistent character named Scott, who works in a restaurant. There are scenes of difficult guests that ought to particularly tickle anyone who has worked in the hospitality and food service industries. Moran’s prose style is compressed: “The music played, people talked and the bartender washed glasses. Scott scanned the bar, wondering what thoughts others might be harboring” (12). The use of simple declaratives in a series is an effective pattern and functions to both allow specific detail while moving the narrative arc at highway speeds. In “Transitory”, the opening line also follows this strategy: “The alarm chirped in Scott’s ear, and he couldn’t stop the incessant sound without rising, as he’s placed the clock on a table across the room” (32). The flow of this sentence is enhanced by the assonance in alarm/ear but is furthered by chirp/incessant/rising and the reader is awakened to the scene with the abruptness experienced by the character. 

If experience with a book, a bookish book, could soothe our soul’s ills, then Moran Press wouldn’t be relying on organic reach; however, respite does allow us to rest, and to rest with a book is one of our greatest cultural traditions—whether writing in one, or reading it. For these small moments of solace we still seek, these handmade books remind us that such small graces still exist.

Su Zi is a writer, poet and essayist who produces a handmade chapbook series called Red Mare. She has been a contributor to GAS from back when it was called Gypsy Art Show, more than a decade ago. Check out her author page on Amazon.