CCA News

Seven Sacraments

Posted on Monday, February 22, 2010, by Lindsey Westbrook

Seven Sacraments
Deconstructed Artichoke Press, 2009
Chapbook, n.p., $7

This chapbook of prose poems by Nikki Thompson (MFA Writing 2002) recounts the author's experiences as a working-class Jewish student at an affluent Catholic school. Thompson says, "Both my working process and my artist's books consist of layers and layers that must be picked at, like the leaves of an artichoke with a heart at the center." Deconstructed Artichoke's production occurs either in a living room with a terrific view of downtown or on a red Formica kitchen table in a San Francisco apartment. The letterpress printing happens in a Berkeley carriage house with a rich printing history and many small critters.