Charles Alexander (poet and Book Artist) - Alexander and The Poet/Printer Tradition

Alexander and The Poet/Printer Tradition

Alexander's ongoing work with Chax Press is informed by a tradition of poet/printers that includes William Blake, William Morris, and Robert Creeley. He learned many fine arts bookmaking techniques studying with Walter Hamady at the University of Wisconsin Department of Fine Arts in Madison, Wisconsin during the late seventies and early eighties, a time of particular ferment in the book arts, whose culminating moment was the presentation of Breaking the Bindings: American Book Art Now by the Elvehjem Museum in Madison. This was the first museum-scale book arts exhibition in the United States; Alexander was the lead writer on a team that wrote the introduction to the exhibition catalogue.