Chax Press is a publisher of experimental and avant-garde poetry run by bookmaker and poet Charles Alexander. The press publishes trade paperback and handmade fine arts editions. Chax is the oldest publisher of poetry in Tucson, AZ, a city where the press was initially founded in 1984, continuing the work of Black Mesa Press that Alexander had begun in 1981 in Wisconsin. The first book published was French Sonnets, by Jackson Mac Low. Chax Press continues to publish about 10 titles a year. Chax Press is funded by grants from organizations such as the Tucson-Pima Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, the Fund for Poetry, by its income from book sales and by donations from individuals.