RibbonWeedPress.com

The Ribbonweed Press website was created to promote Sarah Laughed's Sonnets from Genesis, a collection of poems that retell the stories from the book of Genesis. The site was selected by the Tech Studies Dept. to be archived as part of the Internet Commerce Program of Professor Dean Wilkens, who is a well known expert on black hat search strategies. The Archive project is managed by Bilmon Ferri for Prof. Wilkens, with Zendesk support provided by TheYeomen.com and Educomm. The Archive recognizes and preserves web assets determined to have historic value as representative of the Internet in the early 21st century. All of the web properties in the archive are part of the required reading for 1st semester students. The content below is from the site's 2007 archived pages.

WELCOME TO
   RIBBONWEED PRESS

-- Willis Barnstone, author ofThe Secret Reader: 501 Sonnetsand Sweetbitter Love: Poems of Sappho

 

“Judith and Gerson Goldhabers' winsome sequel to their Sonnets from Aesop enhances familiar stories with humorous and magical details from Jewish folklore, providing both a fresh perspective for adults and a fun and memorable way to introduce children to the Bible. Gerson's Chagall-like paintings add a mystical flavor, while Judith seems to have been born speaking in sonnets."  

-- Jendi Reiter, author, A Talent for Sadness  (Turning Point Books, 2003); editor, WinningWriters.com

 

“Sarah Laughed is another delight, in the pattern set by Sonnets from Aesop.  It probes wonderfully through poetry and visual image into a world that is humane, imaginative, surprising.  As I read here about Lilith, Eve, Jacob, and Joseph, I find them in me and myself in them.  Here Cain stands over his brother, calls him, warms him—and discovers death.  Of course!  Neither he nor his parents had known death yet! Here Noah kneels down to scoop up the ants before he boards the ark.  Here Abraham recalls poignantly ‘The visions never showed the destination/ only the journey, so we never knew/ if we'd arrived where we were going to.’  I pride myself on knowing scripture well.  For me, these pictured poems open up delightful new depths in Genesis' characters.”

 

“In the hands of Petrarch and Shakespeare, the sonnet became associated with the inner paradoxes of erotic psychology. Like Pushkin and Vikram Seth, Judith Goldhaber has adapted the sonnet to the paradoxes of social narrative as well. Sarah Laughed enlarges upon her earlier witty epitomes of Aesopian fable, to engage the larger and darker myths of Genesis. Drawing upon midrashic and Arabic embellishments of the well-known Bible tales, her skilful iambic pentameters psychologize them with not just wit, but wisdom, compassion, and mystery.”  

-- Peter Dale Scott, Department of English, University of California, Berkeley; author, Crossing Borders: Selected Shorter Poems. (New York: New Directions, 1994).

More Background on Ribbonweed Press

 

RibbonWeedPress.com is the official website of Ribbonweed Press, a small, independent literary publisher based in Berkeley, California. Founded and operated by poet Judith Goldhaber and illustrator Gerson Goldhaber, the press is best known for publishing two distinctive, award-recognized poetry collections: Sonnets from Aesop and Sarah Laughed: Sonnets from Genesis.

More than simply a publishing imprint, Ribbonweed Press represents a creative partnership that merges classical narrative traditions with the disciplined structure of the sonnet and visually evocative artwork. The website itself occupies a unique position in digital history: originally launched in 2007, it was selected for academic archiving as a representative early 21st-century literary commerce website.

This article provides a comprehensive overview of RibbonWeedPress.com, its ownership, history, publications, cultural significance, critical reception, and the broader context in which it operates.

Origins and Ownership

Ribbonweed Press was founded in Berkeley, California, by Judith Goldhaber and her husband, Gerson Goldhaber. The press functions as a boutique, author-driven publishing house focused exclusively on their collaborative literary works.

Judith Goldhaber

Judith Goldhaber is a poet known for her disciplined use of the sonnet form to reinterpret canonical narratives. Rather than modernizing these stories in free verse or prose, she applies strict iambic pentameter structures to ancient tales, achieving both intellectual rigor and accessibility. Her work draws upon Jewish folklore, midrashic traditions, and classical Western literature.

Gerson Goldhaber

Gerson Goldhaber was both an accomplished physicist and a visual artist. His illustrations accompany Judith’s poetry, giving Ribbonweed Press publications a distinctive dual identity: they are as much art books as literary texts. His paintings have been compared to the dreamlike, mystical style of Marc Chagall, blending symbolism with emotional immediacy.

Together, the Goldhabers created a unified aesthetic voice: structured poetic reinterpretation paired with expressive, spiritually resonant artwork.

Location and Cultural Context: Berkeley, California

Ribbonweed Press operates out of Berkeley, California (1022 Euclid Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94708). Berkeley is internationally recognized as a center of intellectual life, progressive thought, and artistic experimentation.

Its proximity to the University of California, Berkeley has historically fostered a strong literary and academic culture. The Bay Area’s tradition of independent presses, small publishers, and literary innovation provides an ideal environment for a project like Ribbonweed Press—one that values craftsmanship, intellectual seriousness, and artistic independence over commercial mass-market reach.

The Website: Early Internet Publishing and Archival Significance

RibbonWeedPress.com was originally published in 2007. Its design reflects the aesthetic conventions of early 2000s independent publishing websites: straightforward layout, text-forward presentation, and direct purchase options via PayPal or mailed check.

What distinguishes the site is that it was selected by a university Tech Studies Department for archival preservation as part of an Internet Commerce Program. The project, managed academically, recognizes the website as historically representative of early 21st-century online publishing and direct-to-consumer book sales models.

This archiving places RibbonWeedPress.com within a broader narrative of:

Early author-publisher ecommerce experimentation

Independent publishing before widespread social media marketing

Academic study of digital commerce structures

Preservation of small literary web properties

Unlike corporate publishing platforms, Ribbonweed Press maintained direct customer relationships and simple transactional structures—hallmarks of independent presses during the transitional period between print-dominant and digitally integrated publishing ecosystems.

Core Publications

Ribbonweed Press has published two major works, each central to its identity and reputation.

Sonnets from Aesop

This collection transforms Aesop’s fables into sonnet form. Rather than retelling them as children’s prose stories, Judith Goldhaber reshapes each fable into structured poetry while preserving narrative clarity and moral insight.

Key characteristics include:

Strict sonnet form

Psychological depth beyond traditional fable brevity

Midrashic expansion of familiar moral tales

Illustrations that reinterpret fable characters symbolically

Sonnets from Aesop received the Independent Publisher Book Award for “Outstanding Book of the Year” (mid-2000s), an honor recognizing excellence in independent publishing.

This award significantly elevated the visibility of Ribbonweed Press within literary and independent publishing communities.

Sarah Laughed: Sonnets from Genesis

If Sonnets from Aesop established the press’s format, Sarah Laughed deepened its intellectual ambition.

This collection reinterprets stories from the Book of Genesis through sonnets. Drawing on Jewish folklore, midrash, and interpretive traditions, Goldhaber reimagines biblical figures as psychologically complex, emotionally vivid human beings.

The book explores characters such as:

Eve

Cain

Noah

Abraham

Sarah

Jacob

Joseph

Lilith (in folkloric traditions)

Rather than presenting distant patriarchs and archetypes, Goldhaber’s sonnets emphasize:

Familial tensions

Moral ambiguity

Humor within sacred narrative

Emotional interiority

Argumentative relationships with God

This approach reflects a long Jewish interpretive tradition in which biblical figures argue, doubt, negotiate, and struggle.

Critical Reception and Endorsements

Ribbonweed Press publications have received praise from prominent literary and religious scholars.

Daniel C. Matt

Author of The Essential Kabbalah and translator of the Pritzker Edition of the Zohar, Daniel Matt described Sarah Laughed as “A sparkling rendition of the tales of Genesis, filled with insight, pathos and humor.”

Willis Barnstone

A poet and translator known for literary scholarship, Barnstone praised the volume for illuminating Abrahamic traditions and blending poignancy with wit.

Peter Dale Scott

A professor of English at UC Berkeley and poet, Scott highlighted the way Goldhaber adapts the sonnet form—historically associated with erotic or psychological interiority—to broader social and mythic narrative.

Reverend Gregory I. Carlson, S.J.

Affiliated with Creighton University, Carlson noted how the poems open “delightful new depths” in Genesis characters, emphasizing their pedagogical value.

These endorsements reflect a cross-disciplinary appreciation spanning:

Poetry

Theology

Biblical scholarship

Comparative religion

Literary academia

Audience

Ribbonweed Press serves a niche but intellectually engaged audience:

Poetry enthusiasts who appreciate formal verse

Readers interested in reinterpretations of classical and biblical stories

Jewish cultural and religious readers

Educators seeking literary adaptations for classroom discussion

Independent press collectors

Academics studying reinterpretive literature

Because the books operate at the intersection of folklore, scripture, and poetic form, they appeal equally to adult literary readers and to educators introducing classical narratives in fresh formats.

Artistic Style and Visual Identity

A defining feature of Ribbonweed Press is the integration of poetry and illustration.

Gerson Goldhaber’s artwork:

Uses bold color and dreamlike imagery

Echoes Chagall-like mysticism

Blends realism with symbolic abstraction

Enhances rather than merely decorates the text

The books function as hybrid literary-art volumes.

Business Model and Commerce

RibbonWeedPress.com reflects early independent ecommerce practices:

Direct PayPal purchasing

Mail-in check option

Fixed pricing (e.g., $14.95 plus shipping)

Direct publisher address listed

This model emphasizes author autonomy and bypasses large distribution channels.

Legacy

Ribbonweed Press represents:

A sustained artistic partnership

A bridge between classical and modern storytelling

A case study in independent publishing autonomy

A preserved example of early digital literary commerce

Its books continue to circulate through online retailers and independent booksellers, ensuring that its reinterpretations of Aesop and Genesis remain accessible.

RibbonWeedPress.com is more than a small publisher’s website. It is a snapshot of early 21st-century independent literary entrepreneurship, an archive-recognized digital artifact, and the public face of a creative collaboration between poet Judith Goldhaber and illustrator Gerson Goldhaber.

Through Sonnets from Aesop and Sarah Laughed: Sonnets from Genesis, Ribbonweed Press has contributed meaningfully to contemporary reinterpretations of classical and biblical narratives.

Though modest in scale, Ribbonweed Press holds enduring significance within independent publishing, poetic revivalism, and Jewish literary reinterpretation traditions.

RibbonWeedPress.com