Sigilist Press is a micropress devoted to the publication of visual poetry. Started in April of 2022, its aim is to contribute to and support the international movement that is visual poetry as one of the only dedicated publishers of the genre in the United States. The logo of the press is a version of the medieval weaver’s mark, drawn by my wife on a Post-it and photographed with my cell phone. The press’s website, a simple list of publications with cover images, brief descriptions and links for purchase, is one page in its entirety. In short, we are a focused press, fixated on producing quality books that best showcase the visual poems in question. This means our books come in various shapes and sizes, and on various types and weights of paper, all of which are chosen to support the work.
Cover image of Sigilist Press
Publication # 4:
Word Roach on the Street by K. Saito
Why did I start Sigilist Press? Well, I
like visual poetry. Ever since I first came in contact with the concept, way
back in the early 2000s, during my graduate studies at Temple University, it
has been a major force in my life. In fact, I have devoted a good number of my
adult years to the creation of visual poetry, having also been fortunate enough
to find a number of sympathetic publishers who have put forth my work. I
increasingly see visual poetry as one of the few ways to keep poetry alive,
meaningful, and commensurate with the complexities of our era. I want to help
visual poetry thrive and grow.
Cover image of Sigilist Press
Publication # 3:
Rotring by
Carrie Meijer
As of March 2023, Sigilist Press has issued a total of six publications, ranging from an eight-page photographic asemic essay by American poet Nico Vassilakis called Asemic Migration to a 100 page collection of mixed media concrete poems by the Italian artist Patrizia Cacciaguerra called Vertical Thought. In between, there have been a number of other books, generally under 20 pages in length, featuring the visual works, some in full color, some in black & white, by artists such as the Canadian visual poet Hart Broudy, the Japanese artist K. Saito, the Dutch artist Carrie Meijer, and the Ukrainian Avant-gardist Volodymyr Bilyk. It has been a great honor for me to have been given the opportunity to publish all of these authors and artists. I very much look forward to publishing more in the months and years to come.
Cover image of Sigilist Press
Publication # 6:
Revenge of the Glyphs by Hart Broudy
All of Sigilist’s publications are solicited directly from authors and artists whose work appeals to the press. Unfortunately, we do not accept unsolicited submissions at this time. We are not ideologically opposed to them, we simply cannot, as a one-person operation, open our doors and mailbox any wider quite yet. We hope this will change sometime in the future as we know we are missing a lot of great work out there. In any case, selections will remain admittedly idiosyncratic, but hopefully interesting. Review copies are certainly a possibility should someone be interested in saying something about a Sigilist publication. We are located at sigilistpress.com.
Long live visual poetry!
