Esopus 9 included artists’ projects by Kay Rosen, Charlie White, and Sarah Malakoff. It also featured New York Times cruciverbalist David Quarfoot’s take on the art and science of crossword-puzzle construction (with two brand-new puzzles created exclusively for Esopus readers); a screenplay about Andy Warhol by the late film editor (Far from Heaven) and actor Jim Lyons; Heather McPherson’s reflections on the challenges and rewards of playing in a highly regarded Japanese taiko drum ensemble; 100 still frames from I Don’t Want to Sleep Alone, the acclaimed film from Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-Liang, accompanied by an appreciation of his work written especially for the issue by French filmmaker Claire Denis; and an extraordinary found object: 24 pages from WWII P.O.W. Gerald Limon’s journal, kept during a 16-month-long stint in a German stalag. This issue’s installment of Modern Artifacts (a series presented in cooperation with the Museum of Modern Art archives) also hailed from the WWII era, and featured facsimile reproductions of never-before-seen letters, sketches, notes, and a poster relating to MoMA’s top-secret (and ultimately shelved) Exhibition “X.” Resident chronologist Angus Trumble (author of the regular Year in Retrospect feature) set his sights on the year 1824.

The issue concluded with the results of our third subscriber invitational: transcripts of the dreams of Esopus readers (accompanied by four extraordinary new images from artist Daniel Gordon) that were chosen by musicians as inspiration for the 11 songs that appeared on the CD. Participants included Dirty Projectors, White Whale, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Califone, and Paavoharju.