poison: SERMONS on SUFFERING by Mark Twight Special Edition

We added 14 Sermons to the second printing, which, I suppose, makes it a second edition. At this time of writing (2023) a few hundred copies of the fully illustrated REJECTS Zine mentioned on the previous page remain available. Once they are gone the Sermons therein would disappear if we did not include the majority of them here. We initially culled these because we were afraid that a 400+ page book would be too long, too much. The first edition was 436 pages though and has been well-received so our fears were unfounded.

The added essays were largely written in 2011 and 2012 and have been integrated into those sections of the book. And we changed the cover art as well.

It feels strange to revisit this project almost one year after publication, and reminds me of the heart and blood and toil that went into making it, the time travel that occurred, the forced revisitation with those experiences — some positive and others not at all. I realize today that we still haven’t assimilated the experience of making and sharing this book, that almost 2000 copies have been sold. We even spoke of not reprinting it due to production cost and that the inventory would sit for a while since the initial newness had worn off.

Michael clarified things though, “If printing what has already been successful hurts us then I don’t really understand business.”

And that was that.

One hundred forty-one Sermons previously accessible only behind the paywall of an old website: these philosophical musings are guaranteed to motivate, admonish, inspire and critique, all linked by the inseverable bond between the physical and the psychological, the mind and the heart. Poison pays tribute to the origins of our current practice at NonProphet — combining the physical weight of a paper tome and the significance of analog art with the wormhole nature of a digital interface, reinforcing the connection between these means of communication, and expression. It offers a glimpse into the history and detail of the characters and concepts that informed these powerful essays.

These Sermons were mostly philosophical — because we believe that opening or guiding the mind makes all physical work and training more effective, more transferable to life outside of the gym, and that mindfulness amplifies the physical practice itself. Each essay draws upon personal experiences — how else would the ideas manifest or be applied and tested or leak outward to “real” life?

POISON – Sermons on Suffering

Size: 6x9x2 inches

Weight: 2lbs

Page count: 456

Print: Litho