In Praise of the Mayfly Part 2 • by Jim Johnstone • 5

In Praise of the Mayfly: A Survey of Canadian Micropresses Part 2 by Jim Johnstone     Apt. 9 Press Years active: 2009 – present Founder: Cameron Anstee Representative Publication: Robert Hogg, Apothegms (2021) The brainchild of Cameron Anstee, Apt. 9 Press is a DIY venture that operates out of the nation’s capital. Schooled in Canada’s rich history of micropress publishing, Anstee cites Contact Press and Weed/Flower Press as early influences, and it shows. Apt. 9 items are always aesthetically engaging, but they also maintain a handmade feel—leaving the operation closer to zine making than any kind of trade publishing venture.   This suits the material that Anstee chooses too, which includes vispo, word maps, and keyboard poetry. Add to that Apt. 9’s tribute to its forebears—Nelson Ball’s A Letter to Amanda Bernstein and a Checklist of Weed/Flower Press—and you have a press that’s paying it forward. Look for Anstee’s shop on Etsy.  [  >>>>>   FORWARD ]   + [Distillate © HA&L + Jim Johnstone {from the Greek bios} -- the course of a life.]