- From the field thanks to BlogPress.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Friday, July 29, 2011
Hot Potato: Talking about the Lit. Mag Problem
A conversation that comes up again and again is the death of the printed word. I know, you say, we get it. Well, not enough people are getting literary mags/small press books. Or maybe not the right people.
The latest conversation stems from a post by Megan Garr @ Versal Journal's blog. Versal was named among the "top indie innovators" (November/December 2010) by Poets & Writers and has included work by Alice Notley, Brandon Shimoda, Julie Doxsee, Naomi Shihab Nye, and Noah Eli Gordon (just pulling out names I'm familiar with). Although I haven't read it (so I'm as guilty as anyone), Versal seems like a legitimately awesome magazine. On the blog, Garr makes good points about the nature of lit journals in a "free [capitalist] market," namely that most editors are idealistic and bad at marketing / strategy. We try to work the new media, but with perhaps unrealistic goals, and without physical results (i.e. sales).
Some pull quotes to think about:
"[O]ut of all the Versals that leave this house/my hands/our stock/Amsterdam, only about 30% of those are actually sold. The remaining 70% go to all the expected places, free."
"Last Wednesday, we had the rare opportunity to sit down with 9 upper level strategy consultants to talk about Versal. They were appalled by some of the cliches we throw around every day. Like, writers are poor. Like, people submit to journals they've never read. Like, bookstores buy the journal at a 40% discount. Like, bookstores don't even buy it, they just take it on consignment."
Sobering, and, I know, far from shocking for anyone associated with small press and indie lit magazines, which is the point of Roxane Gay's post over at HTMLGIANT: Too Many Of Us, Too Much Noise. In it, Gay thinks through some thoughts on the market we're all, for better or worse, in. There is a good conversation brewing in the comments, so please read. The issue, it seems, is a little bit of everything (of course) but there are two concerning points made:
I think Literature (with the capital L) doesn't survive if it only derives nutrients from itself; that is attention/support/inspiration from the writing community itself. We all know writing that is too self-referential (often described as "navel-gazing") becomes weak, anemic, and ultimately forgotten. Good writing knows how to mix the author's voice with the outside world. If Literature is fungal in relation to popular culture, it's also infectious. Gay makes a point in her post:
Although I agree with this (I mean, MFA applications/programs are continuing to grow), are we not just thinning the blood so to speak? I believe that although writers are the main audience for literature magazines, the creative person who is NOT into writing looks at it all and is a bit overwhelmed. Gay senses this as well, and points out that her favorite (and most successful) responses to PANK are face to face at AWP, where she can "put it in their hands and let them browse and ask questions. When something catches their eye, I love being able to talk to a new reader about why I fell in love with that piece." As a bookseller (both formally in an indie bookstore and as a advocate among friends in real life) nothing beats being able to demystify a reader who hasn't engaged with poetry and allow them to realize they don't have to be a poet to read and enjoy poetry.
What we may need, then, is not more readers or even less magazines (as Gay points out: "cream rises to the top.") but more advocates and missionaries, like Chris over at Vouched. A quote from Roxane:
This is how I approach poetry on a daily basis. I recommend books/authors I love, books that are connected to the people I'm suggesting to. Difference is that I don't sell books, mostly lend them, but I like to feel that opening (usually) non-writers' consciousness to include poetry helps create a better audience for small press publications and poetry magazines. (Not to mention readings: shout out to my running co-workers who came to my last reading because of our poetry conversations/lendings.) The power of opening people up to art can be seen in Vik Muniz's Wasteland:
Maybe that's a little idealistic, but I am a writer with publishing aspirations, so whatever. There is a conversation in this documentary where Muniz and Tiao, a recyclable trash picker about contemporary art. Vik asks Tiao what he though of contemporary art, and Tiao responds he thought it was crap. Vik asks if this is because he didn't understand it, an assertion Tiao rejects but then proves correct when he says that once he saw the trash from above, he appreciated the art a lot more. Once he was open to this new perspective, he became more interested in other artists, such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, whose story connected to Taio's understanding of life. I paraphrased this exchange because I believe the underlying point is valid for all art: understanding of one artist begets greater appreciation (and participation in) other art.
So how do we approach the issue of earning enough dollars to fund print magazines (and chapbooks?) Hell, I don't know for sure (does anyone these days?) Some simple things though:
Ultimately, it's a labor of love. Every one involved in small press loves what they do, or they wouldn't do it. And they love it so much that they'll keep publishing and promoting and giving away what they can. As summed up by the proprietor of a hidden used bookstore owner Michael Seidenberg:
There's No Place Like Here: Brazenhead Books from Etsy on Vimeo.
The latest conversation stems from a post by Megan Garr @ Versal Journal's blog. Versal was named among the "top indie innovators" (November/December 2010) by Poets & Writers and has included work by Alice Notley, Brandon Shimoda, Julie Doxsee, Naomi Shihab Nye, and Noah Eli Gordon (just pulling out names I'm familiar with). Although I haven't read it (so I'm as guilty as anyone), Versal seems like a legitimately awesome magazine. On the blog, Garr makes good points about the nature of lit journals in a "free [capitalist] market," namely that most editors are idealistic and bad at marketing / strategy. We try to work the new media, but with perhaps unrealistic goals, and without physical results (i.e. sales).
Some pull quotes to think about:
"[O]ut of all the Versals that leave this house/my hands/our stock/Amsterdam, only about 30% of those are actually sold. The remaining 70% go to all the expected places, free."
"Last Wednesday, we had the rare opportunity to sit down with 9 upper level strategy consultants to talk about Versal. They were appalled by some of the cliches we throw around every day. Like, writers are poor. Like, people submit to journals they've never read. Like, bookstores buy the journal at a 40% discount. Like, bookstores don't even buy it, they just take it on consignment."
Sobering, and, I know, far from shocking for anyone associated with small press and indie lit magazines, which is the point of Roxane Gay's post over at HTMLGIANT: Too Many Of Us, Too Much Noise. In it, Gay thinks through some thoughts on the market we're all, for better or worse, in. There is a good conversation brewing in the comments, so please read. The issue, it seems, is a little bit of everything (of course) but there are two concerning points made:
- The increasing amount of literary magazines (and books for that matter) in print.
- The relatively static audience for those magazines and books (i.e. mostly writers, editors and publishers).
I think Literature (with the capital L) doesn't survive if it only derives nutrients from itself; that is attention/support/inspiration from the writing community itself. We all know writing that is too self-referential (often described as "navel-gazing") becomes weak, anemic, and ultimately forgotten. Good writing knows how to mix the author's voice with the outside world. If Literature is fungal in relation to popular culture, it's also infectious. Gay makes a point in her post:
"I have no problem with writers as the primary audience for a magazine because so many people want to be writers."
Although I agree with this (I mean, MFA applications/programs are continuing to grow), are we not just thinning the blood so to speak? I believe that although writers are the main audience for literature magazines, the creative person who is NOT into writing looks at it all and is a bit overwhelmed. Gay senses this as well, and points out that her favorite (and most successful) responses to PANK are face to face at AWP, where she can "put it in their hands and let them browse and ask questions. When something catches their eye, I love being able to talk to a new reader about why I fell in love with that piece." As a bookseller (both formally in an indie bookstore and as a advocate among friends in real life) nothing beats being able to demystify a reader who hasn't engaged with poetry and allow them to realize they don't have to be a poet to read and enjoy poetry.
What we may need, then, is not more readers or even less magazines (as Gay points out: "cream rises to the top.") but more advocates and missionaries, like Chris over at Vouched. A quote from Roxane:
"[Y]ou have to see him in action at a reading or other event to really get how awesome the idea is in practice. People hover around the table and listen to him talk about the selections he has with him that day and more importantly, people actually buy the books. He’s ... able to move books in a way that is personal and connected. ... It is concierge book selling at its finest"
This is how I approach poetry on a daily basis. I recommend books/authors I love, books that are connected to the people I'm suggesting to. Difference is that I don't sell books, mostly lend them, but I like to feel that opening (usually) non-writers' consciousness to include poetry helps create a better audience for small press publications and poetry magazines. (Not to mention readings: shout out to my running co-workers who came to my last reading because of our poetry conversations/lendings.) The power of opening people up to art can be seen in Vik Muniz's Wasteland:
Maybe that's a little idealistic, but I am a writer with publishing aspirations, so whatever. There is a conversation in this documentary where Muniz and Tiao, a recyclable trash picker about contemporary art. Vik asks Tiao what he though of contemporary art, and Tiao responds he thought it was crap. Vik asks if this is because he didn't understand it, an assertion Tiao rejects but then proves correct when he says that once he saw the trash from above, he appreciated the art a lot more. Once he was open to this new perspective, he became more interested in other artists, such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, whose story connected to Taio's understanding of life. I paraphrased this exchange because I believe the underlying point is valid for all art: understanding of one artist begets greater appreciation (and participation in) other art.
So how do we approach the issue of earning enough dollars to fund print magazines (and chapbooks?) Hell, I don't know for sure (does anyone these days?) Some simple things though:
- Product. Either find the best of the best and go solicit them (a mix of high quality national and/or local writers), go cross-disciplinary (the gene splicing of the publishing world) or offer something you can't find anywhere else. (Note: knowing the audience will help with the curation of content.)
- Audience. Make sure you actually have an audience before you start up a lit magazine/press, especially if you are actually printing things (read: high-ish overhead). Here obviously "writers" isn't enough. What type of writers? What interests do those writers have within writing? If you find someone is putting out a quality publication that has the audience you're thinking of, consider volunteering/joining them instead of diluting the market going after the same (small) audience.
- Distribution. Even with a great product and a known, sizable audience, you still need to get the magazine/book into their sphere of awareness/hands. The best place for distribution might not be in book stores or coffee houses. Don't forget about being an advocate.
Ultimately, it's a labor of love. Every one involved in small press loves what they do, or they wouldn't do it. And they love it so much that they'll keep publishing and promoting and giving away what they can. As summed up by the proprietor of a hidden used bookstore owner Michael Seidenberg:
"It's a losing battle; we've lost. I just want to do as much as I can."- Michael Seidenberg, Brazenhead Books
There's No Place Like Here: Brazenhead Books from Etsy on Vimeo.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Hot Potato: 22 things
A great post at HTMLGIANT by Blake Butler, who's been candid about his submission process recently, incluing a list of every place he had submitted for a year. This is a great list, from top to bottom vocalizing my thoughts on publishing, especially on polishing at journals you actually read/like/think you'd like. Great stuff!
22 Things about Submission
- From the field thanks to BlogPress.
22 Things about Submission
- From the field thanks to BlogPress.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Boston Poetry Marathon (JULY 29 - 31)
Every year (or so), there is a wonderful event that takes place in Boston. The Boston Poetry Marathon is a three day event with a number of staggering poets (both in number: 88 and in talent: Dorthea Lasky, David Rivard, Deborah Morkun, Ish Klein, Macgregor Card, Matvei Yankelevich, ETC ETC ETC, 82 times ETC).
I stumbled upon it last year when Elisa Gabbert read and I got to hear Eileen Myles and hosts of others. Sadly, I will not be able to make the Saturday and Sunday readings, but will try and make the Friday night (living an hour north without a reliable car sucks) but if you are in Boston you should check it out. I guarantee you'll enjoy it (although it will get hot, Outpost 186 is small). There are a variety of styles and the turnover is quick (8 minutes per writer). Please support in any way possible, even if you stop by for 10 minutes and move on. Having events like this in Boston is awesome, and I can only imagine the amount of work going into logistics.
Did I mention BBQ? BBQ!
Link to the list of readers and info is here: Boston Poetry Marathon
A Summer Poetry Marathon
featuring 88 local and visiting poets
reading for 8 minutes apiece
Admission is free but the hat will be
be passed
Friday 7/29, 7 PM - 10 PM
Saturday 7/30, 1 PM - 10:30 PM
Sunday 7/31, 1 PM - 5 PM
OUTPOST 186
186 1/2 Hampshire St., Inman Square, Cambridge
I stumbled upon it last year when Elisa Gabbert read and I got to hear Eileen Myles and hosts of others. Sadly, I will not be able to make the Saturday and Sunday readings, but will try and make the Friday night (living an hour north without a reliable car sucks) but if you are in Boston you should check it out. I guarantee you'll enjoy it (although it will get hot, Outpost 186 is small). There are a variety of styles and the turnover is quick (8 minutes per writer). Please support in any way possible, even if you stop by for 10 minutes and move on. Having events like this in Boston is awesome, and I can only imagine the amount of work going into logistics.
Did I mention BBQ? BBQ!
Link to the list of readers and info is here: Boston Poetry Marathon
Friday, July 15, 2011
Hot Potato: God is 4d
"In other words, a 4D being would be both omniscient and omnipresent. It would see everything at once and be everywhere at once. And it could change anything at will."
Michael Martone is an interesting character and interview. I have never read his fiction, but now I want to. He gets into a theoretic about the 4th dimension, which could provide for the existence of God/gods, as well as a framework for ghosts, knowing the future, etc. He also talks about robot rights an encoding his writing as future writing's DNA. A must read @ HTMLGIANT.
- From the field thanks to BlogPress.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Boston Reading! Sunday July 17th
What's this? A reading you say? A luscious lineup of language liaisons? Holy snakes Batman! Zap Pow!
I will be reading on Sunday the 17th with a number of awesome writer/publishers. I'll let the writeup do the rest.
Note: the reading is at 7:30 at Lorem Ipsum Books
1299 Cambridge Street Cambridge, MA
Come for handmade books, hot readings and chilled drinks to carry you through the heart of summer! If you've already come to an installment in this series, you are aware of the unwavering quality of these events. If you have not, then perhaps you should become aware.
-------------------------------------------------
The night's readers will be:
Stephanie Anderson is the author of four chapbooks: A Spot A Scheme (forthcoming, Cinematheque Press), The Nightyard (Noemi Press), The Choral Mimeographs (dancing girl press), and In the Particular Particular (New Michigan Press). She is poetry editor for the Chicago Review and co-editor of Projective Industries. She lives in Chicago.
MC Hyland is the author of Neveragainland (Lowbrow Press, 2010), and the chapbooks Every Night In Magic City (H_NGM_N, 2010), Residential, As In (Blue Hour Press, 2009) and (with Kate Lorenz and Friedrich Kerksieck) the hesitancies (Small Fires Press, 2006). She lives in Minneapolis, where she runs DoubleCross Press and the Pocket Lab Reading Series, and works at Minnesota Center for Book Arts.
Jeremiah Gould is an Assistant Editor for Rope-a-Dope press in South Boston, MA. His poetry can be found or is forthcoming online in the Sink Review, So and So Magazine, and Sixth Finch. His blog, http://incidentalmemoirs.blogspot.com/, houses his most current publishing projects, Poetry Projector and Line Collector, aimed at promoting contemporary poetry through new media. He currently lives in Rye, NH and makes his living selling running shoes.
Sarah Green is a PhD candidate in creative writing at Ohio University. Her chapbook "Temporary Housing" was recently printed by the Oberlin College Letterpress Project. She cofounded and coedits Octave Magazine.
Mary Walker Graham was born in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, and now lives in a former rum distillery in South Boston. Together with Robert DaVies, she founded Rope-a-Dope Press in 2007. Her poems have appeared in Poetry Magazine, Poetry Daily, and FreeVerse.
- From the field thanks to BlogPress.
I will be reading on Sunday the 17th with a number of awesome writer/publishers. I'll let the writeup do the rest.
Note: the reading is at 7:30 at Lorem Ipsum Books
1299 Cambridge Street Cambridge, MA
Come for handmade books, hot readings and chilled drinks to carry you through the heart of summer! If you've already come to an installment in this series, you are aware of the unwavering quality of these events. If you have not, then perhaps you should become aware.
-------------------------------------------------
The night's readers will be:
Stephanie Anderson is the author of four chapbooks: A Spot A Scheme (forthcoming, Cinematheque Press), The Nightyard (Noemi Press), The Choral Mimeographs (dancing girl press), and In the Particular Particular (New Michigan Press). She is poetry editor for the Chicago Review and co-editor of Projective Industries. She lives in Chicago.
MC Hyland is the author of Neveragainland (Lowbrow Press, 2010), and the chapbooks Every Night In Magic City (H_NGM_N, 2010), Residential, As In (Blue Hour Press, 2009) and (with Kate Lorenz and Friedrich Kerksieck) the hesitancies (Small Fires Press, 2006). She lives in Minneapolis, where she runs DoubleCross Press and the Pocket Lab Reading Series, and works at Minnesota Center for Book Arts.
Jeremiah Gould is an Assistant Editor for Rope-a-Dope press in South Boston, MA. His poetry can be found or is forthcoming online in the Sink Review, So and So Magazine, and Sixth Finch. His blog, http://incidentalmemoirs.blogspot.com/, houses his most current publishing projects, Poetry Projector and Line Collector, aimed at promoting contemporary poetry through new media. He currently lives in Rye, NH and makes his living selling running shoes.
Sarah Green is a PhD candidate in creative writing at Ohio University. Her chapbook "Temporary Housing" was recently printed by the Oberlin College Letterpress Project. She cofounded and coedits Octave Magazine.
Mary Walker Graham was born in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, and now lives in a former rum distillery in South Boston. Together with Robert DaVies, she founded Rope-a-Dope Press in 2007. Her poems have appeared in Poetry Magazine, Poetry Daily, and FreeVerse.
- From the field thanks to BlogPress.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Poetry Projector 6
This week's poetry projector is a bit different: an E.E. Cummings poem recited from memory by Christopher Curran Hanson. He didn't say what the title is and I am not going to look. It was an enjoyable moment.
Bonus: A composition by Chris:
- From the field thanks to BlogPress.
Bonus: A composition by Chris:
- From the field thanks to BlogPress.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Poetry Projector 5
This week's poetry projection is from Ben Mirov's Ghost Machine, picked by Michael Burkard for the 2009 Caketrain Chapbook Competition. Either Ben or a ghost of Ben is poetry editor for LIT Magazine. Other ghosts of Ben might have published several books and chapbooks. Sometimes ghosts appear in his ghost catcher.
Ghost Machine is on backorder here. Enjoy.
- From the field thanks to BlogPress.
Ghost Machine is on backorder here. Enjoy.
- From the field thanks to BlogPress.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
Line Collector 2
This week's collection is taken from Emily Kendal Frey, author of The Grief Performance from the Cleveland State University Poetry Center. The collection also includes lines from Airport, from Blue Hour Press.
Feel free to follow @linecollector on Twitter. Frey's Meditation on a Meditation of Frost is also the feature of this weeks Poetry Projector 4, a reading and composition of contemporary poetry.
- From the field thanks to BlogPress.
Feel free to follow @linecollector on Twitter. Frey's Meditation on a Meditation of Frost is also the feature of this weeks Poetry Projector 4, a reading and composition of contemporary poetry.
- From the field thanks to BlogPress.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Poetry Projector 4
Emily Kendal Frey lives in Portland, OR, where she teaches at PCC. She carries a big wit. Her first book, The Grief Performance, won the 2010 Cleveland State University Poetry Center First Book Prize. It was chosen by Rae Armantrout, who states in her blurb: "See, everything you know is wrong," which just seems so right. You can purchase the book here
(note this is part one of a long poem. I have yet not found a suitable setting for part two)
- From the field thanks to BlogPress.
(note this is part one of a long poem. I have yet not found a suitable setting for part two)
- From the field thanks to BlogPress.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Quote Fruit
(Pulled from the vine of John Gallaher's blog (which is great))
I like an authoritative gasp of the absurd. I don’t want to be a sad little adorable poet in a big confusing world. I want my poems to be the big confusing world.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Hot Potato
Today's Hot Potato link, passed on by Justin Marks on Twitter.
Twitter is a media form which I have resisted due to information overload. However, the ability to discover new information (feel free to substitute "connections/perspectives/magic/art") through the physical flow of your day is crucial for artists in general and writers (poets) specifically. In a world of increasing individualism driving the further introspection of poetry, you can still find wonder and discourse through The new media. Think of it as an adaptation of Gift Culture from Lewis Hyde's The Gift. This interesting article suggests what authorship means in new media (Twitter specifically):
Read more @ niemanlab.org
Bonus butter link:
Twitter is a media form which I have resisted due to information overload. However, the ability to discover new information (feel free to substitute "connections/perspectives/magic/art") through the physical flow of your day is crucial for artists in general and writers (poets) specifically. In a world of increasing individualism driving the further introspection of poetry, you can still find wonder and discourse through The new media. Think of it as an adaptation of Gift Culture from Lewis Hyde's The Gift. This interesting article suggests what authorship means in new media (Twitter specifically):
If information discovery plays such a central role in how we make sense of the world in this new media landscape, then it is a form of creative labor in and of itself. And yet our current normative models for crediting this kind of labor are completely inadequate, if they exist at all.Q: Can the artful "curation" of Twitter be poetry?
Read more @ niemanlab.org
Bonus butter link:
Is Twitter writing, or is it speech?
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Line Collector 1
Line collector is a new project working in conjunction with Poem Projector to expand on authors I enjoy. Each Line Collector is a week-long twitter feed comprised of selected lines from the author's work. Feel free to follow @LineCollector or check the Line Collector section on my blog sidebar.
This week features Joe Hall, author of Pigafetta is My Wife, published by Black Ocean. Ill be posting at least one selection a day until next Sunday.
Enjoy!
Jeremiah
- From the field thanks to BlogPress.
This week features Joe Hall, author of Pigafetta is My Wife, published by Black Ocean. Ill be posting at least one selection a day until next Sunday.
Enjoy!
Jeremiah
- From the field thanks to BlogPress.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Poetry Projector 3
Joe Hall lives in the D.C. area, where he helps lead the search at the Cheryl's Gone reading series. His first book, Pigafetta Is My Wife, as well as his second, Devotional Poems (forthcoming), are from Black Ocean, a press I like to spoon. Enjoy.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Poetry Projector 2
This week's Poetry Projector features Jocelyn Casey-Whiteman, who lives in NYC, teaches Yoga, (hopefully still) dances, and supports great events like the CUNY Chapbook festival. Her chapbook, Lure, was selected by Arthur Sze as a winner of the 2009 PSA chapbook fellowship contest. There are still copies available. You can buy the whole 2009 series for $30 here.
Enjoy.
- From the field thanks to BlogPress.
Enjoy.
- From the field thanks to BlogPress.
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