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One Slim Volume at a Time
A Christmas Meditation on Catholic Reading Volume 9 | October 2014 www.reginamag.com
One Slim Volume At A Tim
A Christmas Meditation on Catholic R
By Peter Gallaher
“Nicholas, old beast, have you that slim volume of verse to hand?” “Bertie, you perfect dunce! Why ever do you ask?” “I’m off to Millicent’s for a delightful lunch. ‘Thought I’d have it handy to show I have a lover’s heart. Don’t they always dearly love a fellow who’s got one about?” It’s a conversation that never took place, of course. Wodehouse would never make Bertie that hard- hearted and crafty. Wode he, now? But, they do exist, those slim volumes! We know because we have them for sale, every one an artful gem. These little books from Kaufmann Publishing stand quietly by while New York Times bestsellers cram the shelves of airport bookstores then fill the bins of second market sellers and finally clog the
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Regina Magazine | October 2014
shredders of rag traders. Kaufmann’s slender volumes call the reader to a quieter and more reflective time, an authentic encounter with another mind and an invitation to the soul to open itself to Beauty and Truth. Leslie’s runs are small, 500 copies of any one book at a time. And, her authors often sell their books themselves as they travel about — leading Catholic retreats and giving Catholic talks that keynote Catholic conferences. The eldest of six children whose parents married after the War, Leslie remembers “Daddy” as an Army man who started his own advertising business near St. Simon’s Island, GA. Educated as a classical harpist herself, Leslie later joined her father and brothers in the family business learning all about printing, design, and
me
Reading
production.. Then in the jubilee year of 2000, she launched her own firm. Kaufmann Publishing‘s first book appeared in 2004 -- defining Kaufmann’s signature genre: the slim volume of verse. Written by Pavel Chichikov, Mysteries and Stations in the Manner of Ignatius is bright and beautiful, a many-faceted gem that holds the heart’s gaze in waves of fascination. An excerpt from Pavel’s poem for The Baptism of the Lord follows. “From heaven too comes One from Nazareth, Down by grace to give His flesh as bread, To irrigate the deserts of our death, To bleed the salty river of His blood.”
Gifted authors just somehow discover Leslie: people like Joseph Pearce, and Fr. Dwight Longenecker, both of whom she finds charming, personally, and fascinating writers. The Kauffman coterie also includes Fr. Peter Milward, S.J., author of a number of works of deep scholarship, amazing gentleness and incandescent beauty; David Craig, professor at Franciscan University; William Dunn, poet and essayist from the Diocese of Tulsa and Eleanor Bourg Nicholsen from Virginia whom Leslie describes as connected to a “veritable Who’s Who of Catholic Young People.” Then of course there’s Kevin O’Brien —in her words “a hilarious person who’d give you the shirt off his back.” Leslie Kaufmann is that most odd yet wondrous Catholic
thing: someone who loves what she is doing and would continue doing it simply for that reason, all monetary considerations aside. She’s a perfect fit for us at The Christian Book Corner -- where we tend to specialize in the “little guys” – often young yet solidly traditional Catholic publishers like Sophia Institute Press, Scepter Publishers, In the Arms of Mary Foundation, Bezalel Books, Summa Enterprises, and more. Though we wouldn’t mind in the least breaking even, we’re not in it to make a buck either; it’s a labor of love, to put you in touch, closer to Truth and Beauty, one slim volume at a time.
France Volume 9 | Regina Magazine
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