“Chapman’s Pack” caps 2003 Parallel Press chapbooks

In the latest Parallel Press poetry chapbook, “Chapman’s Pack,” John Niles, professor of English, weaves different narrative threads to create a rich and lively patchwork of voices.

“I spin a thread so subtle / it can catch all the hues of dawn,” Niles writes in one of several mysterious voices he uses in a section titled “Riddles.”

Niles will read from “Chapman’s Pack” at 4:30 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 11, in Special Collections, 976 Memorial Library.

Chapmen were peddlers who would go door-to-door to hawk any small thing of value, such as bits of yarn, thimbles, songs, stories and riddles. Through three sections, Niles evokes the image of the chapman and outlines the character with the fantastic imagery of medieval folklore.

Niles specializes in oral epic and Beowulf. He has written or edited several volumes in this area including: “The Poetics and Anthropology of Oral Literature” (1999); “Old English Literature in Context: Ten Essays” (edited, 1980); and “A Beowulf Handbook” (co-edited, 1997).

“Chapman’s Pack” is the 28th chapbook published by Parallel Press since the series was launched in 1999 and the sixth published in 2003. Isthmus recently credited the Parallel Press with helping to revive the publication of small, collectible editions of poetry. The majority of Parallel Press poets have a regional connection.

The Parallel Press is an imprint of UW–Madison Libraries. Chapbooks are available at $10 per book or $50 for a yearlong subscription. For information, visit: http://parallelpress.library.wisc.edu/chapbooks/poetry, call 262-2600, or e-mail parallelpress@library.wisc.edu. Orders may be sent to: The Parallel Press, 372 Memorial Library.