All publishers are great. It's not complicated: you publish poetry books, you rock. But we all know that some publishers put a little more love into their endeavours than others. Most set up a web page for your book and organize a launch or two. The really classy publishers even throw in a cheese plate or promotional bookmark or something.
Ooligan Press, out of Portland State University, is putting them all to shame. Not content producing a poetry anthology focused on one city's worth of writers, Alive at the Center is devoted to three (Vancouver, Seattle, and Portland), with launches in each city. Not content putting up a meagre webpage with a book cover and an Amazon link, they produced a website feature where they track the production of the book from idea to completion. Not content just listing the names of the many, many contributors to their hefty anthology, they have gone to the trouble of posting detailed bios on some of them (including myself) on their website.
Three launches in three cities (in three weeks)? A website documenting the production of the book? Ok, pretty impressive. Excellent, you might say.
But do you know when words start to fail you? When you go on a publisher's site and find that they've produced a hand-drawn likeness of your face for promotional purposes:
I have one poem in this anthology. And they never told me about this. Never bragged about all the effort they put in. It's just something that they do, I guess. Yes, folks, when it comes to hustle and heart, Ooligan Press is well ahead of the competition.
Their one slip-up may have been asking me to host the Vancouver launch. It's happening tomorrow night, and I will do my best to channel their eagerness and hustle and heart. My hosting style has been described as a healthy mix of "charming and insulting", so I'll have my work cut out for me. The details:
p.s. If you want to see more hand-drawn poets, including Vancouver's own Elee Kraljii Gardiner, Chris Gilpin and Susan McCaslin, click here and scroll through the images at the bottom.
Ooligan Press, out of Portland State University, is putting them all to shame. Not content producing a poetry anthology focused on one city's worth of writers, Alive at the Center is devoted to three (Vancouver, Seattle, and Portland), with launches in each city. Not content putting up a meagre webpage with a book cover and an Amazon link, they produced a website feature where they track the production of the book from idea to completion. Not content just listing the names of the many, many contributors to their hefty anthology, they have gone to the trouble of posting detailed bios on some of them (including myself) on their website.Three launches in three cities (in three weeks)? A website documenting the production of the book? Ok, pretty impressive. Excellent, you might say.
But do you know when words start to fail you? When you go on a publisher's site and find that they've produced a hand-drawn likeness of your face for promotional purposes:
I have one poem in this anthology. And they never told me about this. Never bragged about all the effort they put in. It's just something that they do, I guess. Yes, folks, when it comes to hustle and heart, Ooligan Press is well ahead of the competition.
Their one slip-up may have been asking me to host the Vancouver launch. It's happening tomorrow night, and I will do my best to channel their eagerness and hustle and heart. My hosting style has been described as a healthy mix of "charming and insulting", so I'll have my work cut out for me. The details:
Alive at the Center Vancouver LaunchYes, "readings from 20+ contributors" was not a typo. We'll be drawing names from a hat to determine the order. It should be eager, big-hearted chaos. Come out and be a part of it!
Friday, April 12th, 2013, 7:00 - 9:00 PM
Rhizome Cafe
317 E. Broadway, Vancouver
Featuring: quick-fire readings from 20+ contributors!
Free
p.s. If you want to see more hand-drawn poets, including Vancouver's own Elee Kraljii Gardiner, Chris Gilpin and Susan McCaslin, click here and scroll through the images at the bottom.
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