One of the more stunning examples of this exhibit is Thrown by j/j hastain and marthe reed, published by Austin press Smoking Glue Gun. Thrown is an abstract visual poem that also includes words, making it a chimera difficult to categorize. It is something between an artist book, poetry chapbook, and art zine, and hastain and reed’s collaborative, experimental work is an excellent example of Smoking Glue Gun’s catalog.

The press was founded by Blake Lee Pate and Taylor Jacob Pate, both alums of UT’s New Writers Project.[1] The Pates intentionally publish unusual, genre-bending work, including plays in poetic form, visual art that is paired with words (like Thrown), and intentionally minimalist designs.[2] Smoking Glue Gun publishes to “push the limits, to break the mold of what large publishing houses will not take on.”[3] A prime example of poetry’s gift economy, much of Smoking Glue Gun’s work is available for free via their online literary magazine.