The Vermont Notebook

Author: John Ashbery

Illustrator: Joe Brainard

Publisher: Granary Books (2001)

Originally published by Black Sparrow Press in 1975, and long out of print, The Vermont Notebook combines the writing of the American master John Ashbery with over 50 ink drawings by Joe Brainard (1942–94).

"This is Ashbery at his wacky best, from long lists that seem to make some sense, to short lists that seem to make no sense, to made-up diary entries. Here we find Joe Brainard's version of Americana . . . there’s a wonderful, nutty innocence to this book that is found in Brainard’s drawings and Ashbery’s writing: ‘his lips spell out the words: shale, cowturds, spread, udder, mumps.’” 

–John Yau