Calvin Forbes was born in 1945 in Newark, New Jersey. He attended the New School for Social Research in New York City and received his MFA from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. He is currently Chair of the Writing Program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where he teaches literature, writing, and jazz history.

Forbes is a respected poet and educator. His books of poetry include The Shine Poems, From the Book of Shine, and Blue Monday. His poems have appeared in many journals and can be found in anthologies such as A Century in Two Decades: A Burning Deck Anthology, 1961-81 and New Black Voices. His honors and awards include fellowships from the Illinois Arts Council, the Bread Loaf Writer's Conference, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Forbes came to Iowa State University in March 2009 as a guest lecturer cosponsored by the ISU Lectures Program and the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching. The title of his lecture was "Metaphysics of the Blues." These letterpress prints were presented as a gift to Iowa State University by Forbes on the occasion of his visit.

The collection (1999-2007) consists of two 11"x15" letterpress prints by Calvin Forbes. The first print, "Assay Assay #1," was printed on Rives de Lin paper in an edition of 50 copies in Chicago on November 6, 1999. The second print, "Away/For BJ," was printed on Rives BFK Gray paper in an edition of 50 copies in Chicago in January 2007.

The collection is arranged chronologically.