PROCESS NOTE
Character + Flaw transforms and alters pages from a 1908 book called The Compendium of Every Day Wants or Practical Information for the Millions by Luther Minter. The book is a rather joyless companion for American households with rigid gender roles. It provides advice for every aspect of American life—including how long a woman should mourn the death of a child— excepting anything done for pleasure. Layered over photo collages are short poems which are peppered with apologies, primarily women apologizing to men.
from_CFCarolyn Guinzio‘s eighth collection, Cameo Blue, is forthcoming in 2026 from Carnegie Mellon University Press. Earlier books include A Vertigo Book, winner of The Tenth Gate Prize and the Foreword Indies Prize, and Meanwhile in Arkansas (2025), winner of the Quarterly West Chapbook Prize. Her website is https://carolynguinzio.my.canva.site