Founded in 1993, Ugly Duckling Presse is a Brooklyn-based non-profit publisher that produces poetry, translations, experimental non-fiction, performance texts, and books by artists.
The New York Public Library partners with Ugly Duckling Presse to collect chapbooks, small-print periodicals, avant-garde zines, and hand-bound books from readings, book fairs, and shops worldwide. These boutique items are often handmade or printed in extremely limited runs and document the small-press activity of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
This display showcases items in The New York Public Library’s Ugly Duckling Presse Chapbook and Zine Collection that were collected outside of New York. The texts come in a variety of eye-catching formats, from matchbook scrolls to accordion-style pamphlets, and were authored by poets at different stages of their careers, from well-established writers to up-and-comers.
The library has partnered with Ugly Duckling Presse for over five years, and the Ugly Duckling Presse Chapbook and Zine Collection now spans more than 1000 items.
