The Riverwards Chapbook Series is our unique collaborative exhibition and publishing pilot. A committee of mentors nominated over 35 writers and artists with connections to the River Wards, and of those nominated 20 were selected to read and showcase the Riverwards Arts & Letters Salon Series hosted at H&H Books over the course of 2023-2024. The goal of this interdisciplinary Salon series was to create a space where local artists and writers could gain access to one another’s work and discover potential collaborators in their own corner of Philadelphia (specifically, the River Wards neighborhoods of Kensington, Fishtown, Port Richmond, and Olde Richmond). After each Salon, the artists and writers participating in the series were invited to consider which of the works on display felt most aligned with their own; in essence, did any feel enough visual-verbal alchemy to want to partner on a chapbook publication?
At the end of the series, the answer was a resounding yes for the three final pairings formed after committee members considered all Salon participants’ requests to collaborate. This inaugural run of the Riverwards Chapbooks Series features collaborations between artist Manuela Guillén and poet Pthalo, artist Nora E Luks and poet Mary Zhou, and artist Rushawn Stanley, or "Scum Lizard", and poet Gabriel Ramirez.
H&H is grateful for series sponsorship provided by the Penn Treaty Special Services District and PECO Powering the Arts.
