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The CLMP Newswire
A Biweekly Email News Dispatch on Independent Literary Publishing
A Project of the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses (http://www.clmp.org)

Table of Contents for April 15, 2002 (Volume 2, Number 7)

• Special Report: Independents Make up Half of Book Sense Poetry 76 Top Ten List
• Kaleidoscope Celebrates 22 Years
• In Brief
• Events

Note: CLMP encourages both members and non-members to send press releases about new publications, anniversaries, awards, or any other newsworthy information. Please send to Leslie Schwartz, Newswire Reporter, at lschwartz@clmp.org or via mail to The Council of Literary Magazines and Presses 154 Christopher Street, Suite 3C, New York, NY 10014.

SPECIAL REPORT: INDEPENDENTS MAKE UP HALF OF BOOK SENSE POETRY 76 TOP TEN LIST

In a notable achievement, independent presses carved out five of the 10 slots for books nominated by independent booksellers for the Booksense Poetry 76 Top Ten list, released late February in advance of April's National Poetry Month. The presses include Seven Stories, Holy Cow! Press, BOA Editions, Copper Canyon, and Graywolf. "This is a time of great interest in poetry, and there is no question that the independent presses are hugely responsible for creating a vibrant poetry culture in America," says Tree Swenson, Executive Director of the Academy of American Poets.

Independent booksellers, the oft-times lone champions of hard-to-sell poetry collections agree. "Poetry doesn't make money and it won't get published by those whose main concern is the bottom line," says Susan Ramsey of Athena Book Shop in Kalamazoo, MI. "You have to credit the small presses-that do it for love-for bringing poetry to the bookstores." Ramsey was one of many independent booksellers who nominated Plus Shipping by Bob Hicok for the 76 list. The book was published in 1998 by BOA editions. "Hicok is the Minnesota Fat of poetry," says Ramsey. She notes that the National Book Critics Circle just nominated Hicok for his latest book, Animal Soul. "But they were a book late," says Ramsey. "It's sort of like Liz Taylor winning the Academy Award for "Butterfield 8" when everyone knows it should have been for "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.""

Steven Huff, Managing Editor of BOA Editions (http://www.boaeditions.org) "Plus Shipping is a terrific book," says Huff. "It is so fanciful and imaginative. We knew it was terrific when it came in." Huff is surprised that a book published in 1998 would make this year's list. But Plus Shipping, which originally sold through, is back at the presses due to the demand generated by its placement on the Poetry 76 Top Ten List. "Hicok just has a broader imagination than 99% of what comes across our desk," says Huff.

Like Swenson and others in the poetry business, Huff sees a rise in current interest in poetry. However, he admits he can't put his finger on any one reason for the trend, nor can he quantify it in any concrete statistical sense. "It's unmistakable that there's been more interest since 9/11," says Huff. "And poetry festivals like Dodge are flying high right now." But Huff also believes that distribution has improved for independent presses that have been putting more efforts in getting their books out to readers. And he believes that there's more "crossover" poets like Lucille Clifton, whose book Blessing the Boats (published by BOA) won the National Book Award for poetry in 2000.

"There are some poets, starting way back with Allen Ginsburg, who make it on TV or become the subject of magazine articles that attract readers who might not otherwise read poetry," says Huff. In addition, Huff thinks that U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins has done a lot to garner this crossover appeal. "Billy Collins' work is so accessible," says Huff. "Just like Pete Seeger can make a song for any occasion, Billy Collins can give you a poem for any occasion."

Accessibility may be a dirty word to some when it comes to talking about poets, says independent bookseller Mike Lindgren, but for him, accessibility means that poetry will keep up its public appeal. Lindgren, of the Tudor Bookshop in Kingston, PA, believes that the public's interest in poetry is on the rise, and he attributes much of that to independent publishers who he says are the mainstay of poetry publishing. "It's good when Random House publishes Billy Collins or Harper does Doty, but the impetus for all great poetry publishing comes from the indie press," says Lindgren.

Among them, he ranks New York-based Seven Stories as one of the best indie presses. Lindgren was among several booksellers who nominated Seven Stories' publication of Poems 7, New and Complete Poetry by Alan Dugan, which won the 2001 National Book Award for Poetry. "This is a fantastic book," says Lindgren. "And it's sold amazingly well considering the fact that we're a small independent bookstore in a community that doesn't really value poetry."

For Dan Simon, Publisher and Founder of Seven Stories press, (http://www.sevenstories.com), everything about publishing the book-from collecting four decades of Dugan's work to putting them in one mammoth and expensive volume-was risky. "You try to do everything for the right reason, and sometimes out of the blue you get rewarded," says Simon. "[Publishing Poems 7] was totally impractical, but it turned out to be a smart thing."

Seven Stories got its start back in 1974 as an imprint of Writers and Readers called Four Walls, Eight Windows. Since 1995, when Huff renamed the press, Seven Stories has managed to churn out 40 new titles a year and support itself on its occasional breakout best seller. "Every three years we seem to make a profit," says Simon. "Then we pay off our debt and everything looks good…then for two years we don't make any profits at all, and it becomes a struggle again," says Simon. To this he adds, "Anyone in independent publishing who follows the rules loses. To stay alive, you have to find idiosyncratic models that work for you. It's a bit of a gambler's mentality."

Jim Perlman, editor and publisher of Holy Cow! Press (http://www.holycowpress.org) would definitely agree. The press, which normally publishes regional Midwestern poets and writers, stepped out of its niche to publish Star in My Forehead by German poet Else Lasker-Schuler. This month the book, first published in 2000, made the Poetry 76 Top Ten List. "It definitely represents a departure for us," says Perlman. "It's quite a unique book."

Perlman was particularly moved by the quality of the translation, done by Janine Canan. "This book is imagistic and lyrical," says Perlman. He also notes, "It has a bilingual German and English presentation, a translator's note, biographical essay, and artwork that the poet drew over the course of her lifetime." Since its mention the Poetry 76 Top Ten List, Holy Cow's "unique book" has done brisk sales: the press estimates that more than 300 have already been sold due to nomination of the book and the word of mouth that's followed.

Perlman, like his colleagues, relies heavily on the independent bookstores to carry and sell Holy Cow! Press's books. He credits what he calls the "passionate" handselling of indie booksellers with much of the rise in poetry sales recently. Perlman also believes that small press publishers have become much more savvy about marketing their work and producing high-quality, visually appealing books. "Indie presses have a vital role to play because our orientation is non-profit so we are likely to take a risk on lesser known poets," says Perlman. "There's more mutual loyalty between small presses and the poets they publish because there's less concern for the bottom line."

In addition to loyalty, Perlman also believes that other variables have come into play recently raising awareness of poetry's cultural value. He says things like Billy Collins' "Poetry 180 Project" (designed to create appreciation of poetry in high schools), National Poetry Month, and the BookSense 76 are all responsible for turning skeptics into poetry lovers. He also believes the events of September 11 galvanized people, naturally turning them toward poetry for ways to explain the unexplainable and find reassurance in the face of great uncertainty. "The thing I've noticed since 9/11 is that people come to poetry to find comfort and clarity, and to have their internal life renewed in the face of stressful and unforgiving times," says Perlman.

Karen Wallace, a bookseller at Duttons Bookstore in Brentwood, California, agrees. She was one of many who nominated Star in My Forehead, and she too believes that interest in poetry is on the rise. "We have always had a great interest in poetry here at Duttons," says Wallace. "I doubt that would be true at some of the bigger stores like Borders. But I think that independents create a nest for people to discover poetry."

This seems to be the common thread among all independent booksellers, to nurture what they perceive as a small but thriving audience for poetry. And, according to Tree Swenson, it is the small press industry that can take most of the credit for keeping poetry on the shelves. "It's the growth over the last several decades of the indie presses, and the love they have for their work, that plays such a large role in supporting the voices of poets who will be read for many, many years to come," says Swenson.

Ohter independent press titles on the Book Sense Poetry 76 include Domestic Work by Natasha Trethewey (Graywolf, 2000) and The Roads Have Come to an End Now by Rolf Jacobsen (Copper Canyon, 2001). For a complete list of the April 2002 Book Sense Poetry 76 Top Ten List, log on to the American Booksellers Association web site at http://www.bookweb.org.

KALEIDOSCOPE CELEBRATES 22 YEARS

Kaleidoscope began as an unassuming project in the adult employee services program of United Disabilities Services, a nonprofit organization in Akron, Ohio that supports people with disabilities. "It was kind of a writing for therapy thing," says Publications Director Phyllis Boerner. "It was produced in a most fundamental way: mimeographed and stapled together." Now, nearly a quarter of a century later, Kaleidoscope has become a forum for work by and about people with disabilities, and is printed in a handsome newsstand format.

The twice-yearly journal, which is supported by the United Disabilities Services as well as an Ohio Arts Council grant, publishes poetry, fiction, non-fiction, and book reviews by a range of writers, including novelists Andre Dubus and Reynolds Price. Additionally, the publication often features cover art--sculpture, painting or photography--by its contributors, and carries art work within its pages. It also strives to be truly representative within its focus. "There are lots of ways to look at the disability experience," says Boerner, "and we strive to find them without turning them into stereotypes."

According to Gail Wilmott, Senior Editor of Kaleidoscope for the last 20 years, the criteria for publication is like that at other, serious-minded literary magazines. "We are not a health care journal. We are not a rehab magazine. We aren't even a tool for advocacy. We are a literary publication. Our top priority is literary excellence," she says. Boerner adds, "The work we publish might be from a member in the health care field or a relative of someone with a disability. But, everything we accept is based on our impression of its literary merit. We never look at a piece by a disabled writer and say, 'This is good considering… ."'

Nor is the publication at the mercy of distributors who, Boerner says, placed Kaleidoscope in the oddest locations. "We'd see it in the alternative lifestyles rack next to gay and lesbian magazine, or at record stores where no one would likely buy it." Eight years ago, the publication stopped using distributors and placed it in a nearby Borders store and in gifts shops. They also make the publication available through subscription and via its website. Check them out at http://www.udsakron.org.

IN BRIEF

The End of Bald Mountain

Bald Mountain Books has decided to stop publishing and sell its books on its website for half price to liquidate its stock. Though short lived, Bald Mountain put out two award-winning books. The first, Harvest Tales and Midnight Revels, an anthology of Halloween stories and poems, was released in 1998 and won two Benjamin Franklin Awards. The second, Machine Dreams, won the first place prize for science fiction in ForeWord Magazine's Book of the Year Awards for 2000. To view both titles, log on at http://www.baldmountain.com.

EVENTS

CLMP/Poets House Panels for Poetry Month

This April, CLMP partners with Poets House to present two free panel discussions in celebration of National Poetry Month. The second panel, "Seismic Stanzas: Fractures and Factions in the Contemporary Poetry World, will take place on April 24 from 6:30-8 PM at the New York Public Library (Trustees Rm. -- 2rd Floor) 5th Ave at 42nd Street. Panelists include: Alice Quinn, (The New Yorker); Juliana Spahr (Chain Magazine); Martha Rhodes, (Four Way Books); and Ram Devineni, (Rattapallax Press). Call 212.741-9110 http://www.clmp.org for additional information.

Dearing Writing Awards Presented

On April 29th, the Center for Bioethics & Humanities will issue the G. Bruce Dearing Writing Awards in conjunction with THE HEALING MUSE: A Journal ofMedical Creative Writing & Graphic Art published by the Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, NY. For details, visit the website http://www.upstate.edu/cbh.