Tag Archives: epigrams

We’ve Launched The Marvelous Saga of the MERCANARY™ from His Nest!

Maybe you’ve heard this already: we’ve launched David Reynolds’ The Marvelous Saga of the MERCANARY™ from his nest in downtown St. John’s!

Attendees appreciated the absurdity of it all. A screening of The Epic of the MERCANARY™ invited wonder, awe, and laughs as supporters arrived. The opening act was a poetry “reading” by the enigmatic Snake, I’s, which left the crowd speechless yet smiling. Next, Nicholas Morine’s reading of “Johnny Cobra & the Cerebral Crucible” set the stage for heart-pounding adventure. You can read that story and more of his short fiction that cuts deeply in Steel Sarcophagus. Finally, David Reynolds read excerpts from The Marvelous Saga of the MERCANARY™. Teasing tidbits and side-stepping spoilers, he provided a prophetic preview of his debut novel — this gonzo picaresque tale — A Sells-Word’s Story.


We also want to remind you that a tree will be planted for every print edition of The Marvelous Saga of the MERCANARY™ sold!

This goes for print editions that we sell in-person as well as online sales of the printed novel, for now and into the foreseeable future.

Thanks to our friends at One Tree Planted for making this possible!


The Marvelous Saga of the MERCANARY™

Harrison Stockton Bueller thinks he’s hit bottom when he makes a new friend.

Enter: the MERCANARY™.

This is The Marvelous Saga of the MERCANARY™. It’s also the tale of Harry’s nightmarish misadventures.

Problematic Press is proud to present to you this gonzo picaresque novel… or something.

Is there ever any solace?

This is it.

This is lit.


Somewhere between Holden Caulfield, Ignatius J. Reilly, and BoJack Horseman, you’ll find Harrison Stockton Bueller playing with his G.I. Joes.

MERCANARY™, a sells-word inspired by a typo, is a metafictional hero who’s been drafted for lit’s sake on land, sea, and air. His mission? Word.


David Reynolds hasn’t won any awards for his creative writing, but his most shocking anecdote has won him more beer than he could possibly ever drink. He lives in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, where he teaches English at Atlantic Canada’s largest university.


In the words of the author: “This is a gonzo picaresque novel. It’s a work of intermedial metafiction. It’s a cautionary tale. It’s a sob story. It’s a farcical melodrama. It is high art. It adapts a ‘zine of poetry and adventure. It adapts a memeoem, which is literally a new poetic art form that I invented for this. It is the culmination of my life’s work in literature. It’s ballsy and hubristic and vulnerable all at once. The protagonist is an anti-hero. The sidekick is really something else. The odds are against them, but they’re in this to win it. Together, they make things weird. Well, this thing is certainly weird.”


We wish to thank everyone who came to the launch and purchased a book. People like you make this all worthwhile.

The author expresses his deepest thanks to his family and friends for their love and support throughout the writing process.

He thanks everyone who purchased a copy of the original ‘zine

He also thanks everyone who purchased items from his childhood collection of treasures to help fund this print run of books.


Order copies of The Marvelous Saga of the MERCANARY™ as print and Kindle editions here.


Nicholas Morine — author of Steel Sarcophagus, Arcade Rat, and Kowloon Walled City, 1984 — has this to say about this experimental novel:

“Reynolds’ debut novel surprised me inasmuch as I wasn’t expecting the content to be so innately relatable.”


Find more information about our growing selection of books at problematicpress.com.

Thanks kindly for your interest!


See the CBC’s coverage of MERCANARY™: A ‘Zine of Poetry and Adventure back in 2019 here!

Read David Reynolds’ testimony to the CBC on the ease of vaccination here!

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BOOK LAUNCH: The Marvelous Saga of the MERCANARY™

You may have heard already. We’re launching David Reynolds’ The Marvelous Saga of the MERCANARY™ from our office in downtown St. John’s.

Follow Problematic Press on Facebook to find the event.


We are also excited to announce that a tree will be planted for every print edition of The Marvelous Saga of the MERCANARY™ sold!

This goes for print editions that we sell in-person as well as online sales of the printed novel, for now and into the foreseeable future.

Thanks to our friends at One Tree Planted for making this possible!


The Marvelous Saga of the MERCANARY™

Harrison Stockton Bueller thinks he’s hit bottom when he makes a new friend.

Enter: the MERCANARY™.

This is The Marvelous Saga of the MERCANARY™. It’s also the tale of Harry’s nightmarish misadventures.

Problematic Press is proud to present to you this gonzo picaresque novel… or something.

Is there ever any solace?

This is it.

This is lit.


Somewhere between Holden Caulfield, Ignatius J. Reilly, and BoJack Horseman, you’ll find Harrison Stockton Bueller playing with his G.I. Joes.

MERCANARY™, a sells-word inspired by a typo, is a metafictional hero who’s been drafted for lit’s sake on land, sea, and air. His mission? Word.


David Reynolds hasn’t won any awards for his creative writing, but his most shocking anecdote has won him more beer than he could possibly ever drink. He lives in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, where he teaches English at Atlantic Canada’s largest university.


In the words of the author: “This is a gonzo picaresque novel. It’s a work of intermedial metafiction. It’s a cautionary tale. It’s a sob story. It’s a farcical melodrama. It is high art. It adapts a ‘zine of poetry and adventure. It adapts a memeoem, which is literally a new poetic art form that I invented for this. It is the culmination of my life’s work in literature. It’s ballsy and hubristic and vulnerable all at once. The protagonist is an anti-hero. The sidekick is really something else. The odds are against them, but they’re in this to win it. Together, they make things weird. Well, this thing is certainly weird.”


The author expresses his deepest thanks to his family and friends for their love and support throughout the writing process.

He thanks everyone who purchased a copy of the original ‘zine

He also thanks everyone who purchased items from his childhood collection of treasures to help fund this print run of books.


If you aren’t in the area, you can still order copies of The Marvelous Saga of the MERCANARY™ as print and Kindle editions here.


Nicholas Morine — author of Steel Sarcophagus, Arcade Rat, and Kowloon Walled City, 1984 — has this to say about this experimental novel:

“Reynolds’ debut novel surprised me inasmuch as I wasn’t expecting the content to be so innately relatable.”


Find more information about our growing selection of books at problematicpress.com.

Thanks kindly for your interest!


See the CBC’s coverage of MERCANARY™: A ‘Zine of Poetry and Adventure back in 2019 here!

Read David Reynolds’ testimony to the CBC on the ease of vaccination here!

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National Poetry Month and Robert Hayman’s Quodlibets

The League of Canadian Poets have celebrated April as National Poetry Month for 15 years now. That doesn’t sound like a very long time, considering Robert Hayman was writing poetry in Newfoundland in the early 1600s.

So, in the spirit of celebrating poetry, Problematic Press would like to take you back nearly 400 years in sharing these few epigrams from David Reynolds’ adaptation of Robert Hayman’s Quodlibets, Lately come Over from New Britaniola, Old Newfoundland.

1. To the Reader of my reprehending general Epigrams.

I Do not, nor I dare not squib the State:
Such outrecuidant sauciness I hate:
Nor do I mean any one Man herein;
In private terms, I lash a public sin;
If any guilty think I him do mean,
He judgeth right: for I at him do aim.

47. To a handsome Whore.

One told me, what a pretty face thou hast;
And it’s great pity that thou art not chaste.
But I did tell him, that did tell it me,
That if thou were not Fair, thou chaste wouldst be.

49. Of the Gunpowder Holiday, the 5. of November.

The Powder-Traitors, Guy Fawkes, and his mates,
Who by a Hellish plot sought Saints estates,
Have in our Calendar unto their shame,
A joyful Holy-day called by their Name.

Hayman’s Quodlibets contains over 300 more wonderful witticisms. Print and digital editions are available through Amazon.ca and Amazon.com.

David Reynolds also dabbles in poetry. You can find out more about his work on his blog, Reynolds’ Thoughts and Fictions.

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BOOK LAUNCH – Robert Hayman’s Quodlibets

Problematic Press is pleased to present Robert Hayman’s Quodlibets, Lately Come over from New Britaniola, Old Newfoundland.

Quodlibets - Front Cover

Hayman’s Quodlibets is a collection of witty, poetic verses that were penned while he served as governor in colonial Harbour Grace, Newfoundland between 1618 and 1628. His is likely the first English poetry penned in North America.

And, his work is quite impressive. Containing original poetry as well as his translations of pieces by John Owen and Francois Rabelais, Quodlibets reflects on thieves and knaves, good wives and whores, as well as the untamed beauty of Newfoundland. Hayman’s poetry exposes his love for Newfoundland, inviting the adventurous and hopeful to settle this rock.

Robert Hamyan’s Quodlibets can be purchased through Amazon.ca and Amazon.com in both print and Kindle ebook formats. You can find this and other great titles in the Problematic Press Store! Check out the links in the menu above.

Please, read and enjoy!

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Upcoming Treats

Cheers!

Thanks so much for all of your interest in this humble venture thus far! I strive to satisfy your expectations, and I’d like to share with you my own expectations for 2013. Expect to see the following titles in the inaugural year of Problematic Press:

Quodlibets (1628) by Robert Hayman is quite likely the first work of English literature penned in North America. Hayman composed this collection of epigrams during his service as Governor of the English colony in Harbour Grace, Newfoundland. Containing original poetry as well as his translations of pieces by John Owen and Francois Rabelais, Quodlibets reveals Hayman’s poetic insight reflects on thieves and knaves, good wives and whores, as well as the beauty of this rock we call Newfoundland. This is a saucy appeal from an adventurer’s soul, crying out to others to share in his quest! (This edition has been adapted from the original Middle English by David Reynolds.)

A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder (1888) by James De Mille was the professor’s most popular tale. Set in a lush hidden oasis in Antarctica that’s infested with prehistoric monsters, De Mille takes us for a ride in this tongue-in-cheek epic of romantic fantasy!

The True Story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff: The Troll’s Side of the Story (1991) by David Reynolds was written when the author was just 11 years old. Subtle and charming, the work reinterprets the Norwegian fairytale from the perspective of the kind troll who falls prey to the prejudice of the oldest goat Gruff.

Assuming all things run smoothly from here on out, Quodlibets should be available by March 2013. In the meantime, keep an eye out for other announcements and fun tidbits from Problematic Press!

Cheers!

DR

P.S.: Here’s a new treat I can’t wait to announce – the Kindle has come to Canada! Check the Problematic Press Shop (CAN) for all the tasty techno-treats!

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