Instructions in Chocolate Making by the design team Mary & Matt for Abe’s PeanutFrom Abe’s Penny comes a poem by Jay Baron Nicorvo, formerly of the Council of Literary
Magazines and Presses [clmp] and now of Western Michigan University, where he’s faculty
advisor to Third Coast. The poem, Over the Big Top, and Under, an Encore, features Nicorvo’s
Deadbeat, a wiley character explored more fully in his debut poetry collection, Deadbeat,
forthcoming from Four Way Books. Images by Matthea Harvey complement Nicorvo’s text.
Harvey, who is best known for her own writing, has also shot covers for a number of books. The
photographs appearing in Abe’s Penny were all taken for Nicorvo’s Deadbeat collection.
From Abe’s Peanut comes the “How To Make a Chocolate Candy Bar” series by Mary &
Matt. The design team had already been making and selling limited edition chocolate bars
called “Chocolate Editions” when Anna Knoebel of Abe’s Peanut approached them to create
an issue about chocolate for kids. In addition to the simple and fun instructions, complete
with illustrations, Mary & Matt compiled for the issue, subscribers to Abe’s Peanut will receive
a “Chocolate Editions” chocolate bar at the end of December along with their fourth and final
card, or “Step 4: Eat the bar (the best part).”
Abe’s Penny is a magazine paired down to the most essential elements: image and text. Each
issue consists of one story divided into four parts and printed as traditional postcards. “They
are not photographs and they are not texts,” The New Yorker says of Abe’s Penny’s unique
publishing style, “but a combination of both, tangible objects with a heft and significance of their
own.” For more information about Abe’s Penny, visit www.abespenny.com. Abe’s Peanut is the
Abe’s Penny for kids.
Abe’s Peanut is currently campaigning on Kickstarter: http://kck.st/u54DYr. Nowhere near their
goal with only eight days to go, the publishing house still has hope that 4945 people will pledge
one dollar before the December 15th deadline.
Jay Baron Nicorvo with Matthea Harvey
“How to Make a Chocolate Candy Bar” by Mary & Matt.
