12 or 20 (second series) questions with Wendy McGrath

Wendy McGrath is an Edmonton-based writer whose most recent novel North East appeared in October, 2014 (NeWest Press). The poetry collection, A Revision of Forward, is forthcoming fall, 2015 (NeWest Press). A Revision of Forward is the culmination of a poem-print collaboration between McGrath and Edmonton-based printmaker Walter Jule. McGrath’s novel Santa Rosa, the prequel to North East, was published April, 2011 (NeWest Press) and was a finalist for the 2012 City of Edmonton Book Award. Her first novel, Recurring Fictions, was published June, 2002 (University of Alberta Press).

The poetry collection common place ecstasies, was published fall, 2000 by Beach Holme Publishing. A long poem in this collection was published as a chapbook by Rubicon Press in 2011.

Additional poetry, fiction, and non-fiction publication and broadcast credits include: Descant, The Edmonton Journal, Prairie Fire, Grain, Contemporary Verse 2, Prism International, NeWest Review, Orbis (UK), Tessera, Room of One’s Own, as well as CBC Radio, and on Edmonton Transit buses as part of Take the Poetry Route—co-sponsored by the Canada Council and the Edmonton Arts Council.

1 - How did your first book or chapbook change your life? How does your most recent work compare to your previous? How does it feel different?
My first book was common place ecstasies, a collection of poetry. My life didn’t change—I had two young children and I was freelancing so it was still hectic. What did change, though, was my attitude toward my writing. I felt that first book gave me some credibility. North East, my most recent novel, is the sequel to Santa Rosa and the second in a trilogy. North East still has the same narrator and neighbourhood at its heart, but the narrator’s awareness is increasing and it’s more evident that she is trying to respond to the world around her in a creative and responsive way. Both works have celestial events and both have, to me at least, a very strong soundtrack. North East feels different partly because the narrator is gaining more insight into her world and because the world, in a microcosmic and a macrocosmic way, is changing. 

2 - How did you come to poetry first, as opposed to, say, fiction or non-fiction?
I don’t think it was a conscious choice. It seems that my ideas and my writing seem to dictate what they should be. I’m getting better at paying attention to what is needed at a certain point in time and I don’t anguish as much as I did in terms of “I should be writing a poem, I should be working on a short story, I should work on this idea for this novel…” Now I listen to what a particular piece of writing might have to say to me.

3 - How long does it take to start any particular writing project? Does your writing initially come quickly, or is it a slow process? Do first drafts appear looking close to their final shape, or does your work come out of copious notes?
It really depends on the project. I wish every project came to me in a fully-formed idea and then simply translated to the page just as easily! Ha! There have been a couple of times when a poem has come to me in its final, true form but that is so rare. I keep journals and notebooks and jot things down, sometimes they come to something and sometimes they don’t. In terms of my novels, I worked on Recurring Fictions for about a year once I knew what I was working on! Santa Rosa I’d been working on for about seven years. I’ve been working on A Revision of Forward off-and-on with Walter Jule for 12 years now. I guess I’m learning to be patient.

4 - Where does a poem or work of fiction usually begin for you? Are you an author of short pieces that end up combining into a larger project, or are you working on a "book" from the very beginning?
Again, it really depends on the project. My first novel Recurring Fictions, began as a short story. At that point, I thought I would tackle a novel at some distant time in the future, because my children were still young.  So I worked on a short story and then another short story. One was broadcast on CBC and the other was published in Prairie Fire. I realized that the two were connected and I just started writing toward the shape of the book I envisioned in my mind. I saw a helical structure with quieter threads travelling outside that structure. Recurring Fictions was the novel I never intended to write. When I was writing Santa Rosa, though, I knew there would be three books and each one would grow from the narrator’s vision and artistic voice. A Revision of Forward is a collection of poetry (forthcoming from NeWest Press fall 2015) that began with fragments of poetry that were inspired by prints by Edmonton printmaker Walter Jule. We thought of treating the print/poem idea in a number of different ways. The idea for a book came later as Walter created more prints inspired by my poetry and my poetry was also changing. It’s an interesting project of which the “book” as artifact plays one part in the interplay between the artistic visions of printmaker and poet.

5 - Are public readings part of or counter to your creative process? Are you the sort of writer who enjoys doing readings?
I enjoy doing readings but I don’t use them as a sounding board or a testing-ground of any kind for my work.

6 - Do you have any theoretical concerns behind your writing? What kinds of questions are you trying to answer with your work? What do you even think the current questions are?
I like to poke holes in the theory of genre. Writing should make mischief--poetic fiction, a novel that could be considered a long poem. I’m still asking questions, I’m not sure I’ll ever find answers. For me, the questions are more important anyway. The most important question for me is usually: “Will I ever write anything again?”  

7 – What do you see the current role of the writer being in larger culture? Does s/he even have one? What do you think the role of the writer should be?
The role of the writer is defined by the reader and the platform the reader uses to access text. A reader could be reading: a book, a blog, an article on the web, or experiencing narrative through a video game. A writer’s role is whatever a reader perceives it to be. I think a writer’s role is simple: to write. Now, a writer’s perception of her role shifts with each work and each project. I think the role of the writer is to continue to push their limits and by doing so, whatever the platform in which she works,  she takes the reader with her.  

8 - Do you find the process of working with an outside editor difficult or essential (or both)?
I’ve been fortunate to work with wonderful editors, so I haven’t found the process difficult at all. They’ve understood my vision, which was important, and they were sensitive. The edits they proposed were usually spot-on but they didn’t push if I disagreed with a suggestion. I think there needs to be give-and-take and trust. Every writer should feel lucky to have a good editor.

9 - What is the best piece of advice you've heard (not necessarily given to you directly)?
Keep writing.

10 - How easy has it been for you to move between genres (poetry to fiction)? What do you see as the appeal?
I used to worry about what I should be working on, if I were writing poetry I thought I should be working on fiction and vice versa, but I don’t anymore. I go with whatever presents itself. I do find, however, that a poem and a longer piece of fiction work different ‘muscles.’ By that I mean I feel different when I work on a poem and when I work on a piece of fiction. It is a physical thing as well as cerebral.

11 - What kind of writing routine do you tend to keep, or do you even have one? How does a typical day (for you) begin?
At the moment I have absolutely no writing routine. I wish I did! I simply try to work in writing time whenever I can. I keep notebooks. A typical day for me begins with either a run or a bike.

12 - When your writing gets stalled, where do you turn or return for (for lack of a better word) inspiration?
I sometimes gather props and have them near me when I write. So when I was working on a particular part of North East, I bought a vintage hat, and for a part of Santa Rosa I bought Brylcreem and a certain type of shaving cream. I also have colours that I think about. When I was working on Santa Rosa I got paint swatches from the hardware store and pinned those to the wall. I also pinned those first “A Revision of Forward” prints Walter Jule created to my dining room wall, so I could live with them and let the poems naturally evolve out of these first ethereal images.

13 - What fragrance reminds you of home?
Saskatchewan—the pines, the lake, the smell of earth after a rain, old wood, wet wool…

14 - David W. McFadden once said that books come from books, but are there any other forms that influence your work, whether nature, music, science or visual art?
Music, art and nature strongly influence my work. I listened to songs about trains when I was writing Recurring Fictions and the rhythm of a train on the tracks is one of the threads that hold the narrative together. I have written poems based on the work of Vincent van Gogh and, of course, Walter Jule’s prints were the influence for the long poem “A Revision of Forward” in the eponymous upcoming collection. Music also informs Santa Rosa and North East. Each book has a different soundtrack.

15 - What other writers or writings are important for your work, or simply your life outside of your work?
Robert Kroetsch has influenced my poetry. My long poem “preserving” was inspired by Seed Catalogue. bp nichol’s sense of joy and his playfulness has been a tremendous inspiration.  James Joyce’s Dubliners is talismanic--“The Dead” in particular. Michael Ondaatje is also a hero of mine, for his fiction and poetry. Virginia Woolf’s work has probably most influenced my fiction.  

16 - What would you like to do that you haven't yet done?
Go to the Glastonbury music festival, visit Stonehenge on summer solstice, babysit turtle eggs…I’ve also never water-skied. I need to learn to water-ski.

17 - If you could pick any other occupation to attempt, what would it be? Or, alternately, what do you think you would have ended up doing had you not been a writer?
I was a ham when I was a kid, I loved to dance, and sing. I loved being on stage. I probably would have been an actor, dancer or a singer.

18 - What made you write, as opposed to doing something else?
I have also experimented with visual art—drawing, printmaking—but one life only gives you so much time. I’ve always loved words and I’ve always loved story. Before I even knew how to print I was trying to put stories down on paper. I think I felt compelled to write above anything else I might have tried. I always came back to writing.

19 - What was the last great book you read? What was the last great film?
The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film by Michael Ondaatje was a great book. It taught me a lot. The last great film I saw was The Invisible Woman. 

20 - What are you currently working on?
I am working on the sequel to North East, the final book in the Santa Rosa trilogy. I have also begun researching another book.
        
12 or 20 (second series) questions;

Ongoing notes: late October, 2012

We’re back from the honeymoon, but still in the midst of post-wedding/honeymoon glow. Or is that merely hangover? In any case, we both attempt to re-enter the world, whatever that might bring. There might be photos soon, but god knows when. We have over a thousand to sift through.

In case you didn’t see it, here’s a photo of our wedding cake: Christine’s Conflict on the one side, and my Glengarry on the other, brilliantly made by The Cake Whisperer. Pretty damned impressive. And yes, it was an actual, real cake (we finished the last of it the other night).

Disappointed to see that Snare Books is no longer living the life of an independent press (see Fiorentino's official statement here), becoming instead an imprint of Invisible Publishing. Disappointed, but better they remain in some form that produces books than disappears altogether. When they first started publishing, they were full of vim and noise, and produced some very worthy books. Long live Snare! And then, of course, that more recent news about Douglas & McIntyre...

Also: Cameron Anstee did the most magnificent post the other day on Raymond Souster. Everyone should read it.

Note the number of events on the immediate right, at the top: a couple of events through The Factory Reading Series (November 15 and November 16, as well as a December 15 event TBA and the annual Peter F Yacht Club Christmas party/reading/regatta on December 29) and the ottawa small press book fair, among other things. Keep an eye out, as there are most likely more events to come over the next couple of months. And did you see that two above/ground press titles made the bpNichol Chapbook Award shortlist...?

Montreal QC: In my hands recently comes another publication by Calgary’s NO Press, The Winnipeg Cold Storage Company by Montreal-based Jon Paul Fiorentino, released in an edition of 75 copies in August, 2012. In Fiorentino’s small offering, he continues his fascination with mythmaking and geography, working over, across and through his hometown of Winnipeg, as he does more specifically in the title poem:

The title of “Winnipeg Cold Storage Company” poses the question of collective memory and what it means to say that ‘things might be done with storage’? The problem of collective memory is thus immediately bound up with a question of performance. What does it mean for storage not only to store, but also in some sense to perform and, in particular, to perform what it stores?

In the colophon of the small book, he writes that “The text from ‘Winnipeg Cold Storage Company’ is appropriated and manipulated with the most love from Excitable Speech: A Politics of the Performance by Judith Butler.” There are some intriguing visual pieces in the collection as well, and Fiorentino delights in playing with the modes and structures of others, including education and academia, but it’s the title poem that really stands out, and I’m curious to know how much he borrowed from the Judith Butler text. It makes me curious to see what and where these poems might appear next, and what kind of book-length work this work teases us for. Just where is Fiorentino going?

The question of whether citizenship requires the repression of Winnipeg is not new, but the recent efforts to regulate the self-storage of citizenship within Winnipeg repose this question in a different light. After all, Winnipeggers enjoy some of the rights and obligations of citizenship, but not all of them.

London ON: I’ve long been an admirer of the work of Colbourne, Ontario poet, visual artist and curator Gil McElroy, so am extremely pleased to see the chapbook Ordinary Time: The Merton Lake Propers (London ON: Baseline Press, 2012). As McElroy writes on the acknowledgments: “The Merton Lake poem sequence of Ordinary Time was inspired by the invitation of poet Dan Waber to participate in a project in which a number of writers were asked to create a daily journal entry for the month of November, 2012 which he then published on-line.” The poem itself, a series of excerpts from a much longer sequence, opens with two important pieces of information:

ORDINARY TIME—the parts of the liturgical year

that do not fall in one of the seasons of Advent,

Christmas, Lent, or Easter

PROPER—designating a service, psalm, lesson, etc.,

specially appointed for a particular day or season

For those unaware of McElroy’s writing, this small work ties immediately into his poetry collection, Ordinary Time (Vancouver BC: Talonbooks, 2011), his fourth trade poetry collection, all of which have appeared with Vancouver’s Talonbooks. Time is an essential part of McElroy’s writing, ranging from the cosmic (including an astrological sense of asteroids, constellations and shooting starts) to more human considerations, such as his ongoing “Some Julian Days” sequence that use dates from the Julian Calendar. Time is what he centres the entirety of his work around, highlighting the mundane day to day as magical by turning it slightly, altering its perception.

Proper 30

S

Bar all terrible saints. Steep them in the storm. There will be a wind. There will be something marvellous half-buried in the south – & unexpected. There will be combat, after all. Ridge directions stare down at an even place & the dry moments forming there. Though out three simple glances. Was a bit dizzy at the bad taste left in my mouth. Thought them out again. Chewed them splendid. Then cut them back.

Rainy boots. Nothing thought of while some news resolved. Probably hopeless. Lively ideas feel me, of course. “Hope so,” I said at the end, so pious & anathema, me. It all strikes me dutiful & such. The morning is competent with sermons dug up for everything. All that, and no doubt then. One gets between symbols, & then kapow!

By night, of course. But enough light dawned. Brick winds large around everything. The road out of places. A couple of thousand snowy silences along the way talking.

The wilderness terribly becomes, now. Sick of it. Mornings I wake up of it. Heavy rain in back of it. It will be too late of it. The lake of of it. I did not return to the right, getting back of it. Each remembered dream let go of it. Really lamentable, but purely mechanical. The 20^th century gone astray of it. Very, perhaps. I cannot be sure.

Edmonton AB: For some time now, Edmonton poet Douglas Barbour has been working a sequence of jazz-related poems under the title “Recording Dates” (including the poem “Jane Bunnett plays the Yardbird Suite,” produced as an above/ground press broadside back in September, 2002). Newly out from Jenna Butler’s Rubicon Press is Barbour’s chapbook Recording Dates (2012), a selection of some of these pieces.

October 9 & 10 1974:

Death comes in many guises, a black bird

and a white whale equally partake of the great,

the intense and final prayer,

flower of the atom, atomy of the flower.

Prayer is both response to and refusal of the

great journey now begun, whale and

bird both taking the shortest route possible to death.

Of all the books that Rubicon has produced over the past decade or so, this is easily the most attractive she’s produced, in production and design, and is worth picking up for that alone. As far as Barbour’s work, his poems have always had a quick sense of movement, riffing and bouncing from point to point, idea to idea, so the idea of “jazz poems” makes entirely too much sense. This is a fantastic little chapbook; I love the movement, the flow of the pieces, something Barbour has been exploring for quite some time, but somehow, never quite gets the credit or comprehension he deserves for it.

May 15 1953:

Perdido: memory gone. That’s how it works. You

salt the mind, still hoping for the real. They got

peanuts for the gig but you got the memory.

All the way back to 1953 and what

the hell happened that night. Those nights. There are some

things you only know by hearsay, yet it’s that story

you heard about ten years later & read about. Those few hours

are part of your memory now – as if you’d been there, listening.

Wee? No it was huge   cool or

hot it doesn’t matter, they tore the

house down for a small crowd soon to grow with telling.

A wonderful feeling, watching that white plastic wave & weave all

night long & the notes pour forth. Heaven-pointed trumpet, everyone

in synch: great music for the ages & you can still hear A Night in

Tunesia every time you place the disc just so.

12 or 20 (small press) questions: Jenna Butler on Rubicon Press

Rubicon Press publishes extraordinary poetry from Canada and around the world. A small chapbook press founded in Norwich, England, Rubicon is now based out of Edmonton, Alberta. To date, the press has published over twenty-five collections of poetry from writers around the globe.

Jenna Butler is a poet, editor, and educator. She is the author of three short collections, plus a recently-released full collection from NeWest Press, Aphelion. She lives in Edmonton, where she teaches at MacEwan University and is the founding editor of Rubicon Press.

1 – When did Rubicon Press first start? How have your original goals as a publisher shifted since you started, if at all? And what have you learned through the process?

Rubicon started up in the spring of 2005 over in England. I created the press with Yvonne Blomer to publish a small anthology by the students on the MA in Poetry at the University of East Anglia, as there was no real venue available for the poets to present their work at the university. Our goals have since shifted/expanded to include publishing poetry chapbooks from writers around the world. (Our home has shifted, too; from the UK back home to Canada.)

We’ve learned that it takes a great deal of time to keep a small press going and that funding is pretty much non-existent, but that it is important to keep small venues for poetry, like Rubicon, going to provide platforms for writers at all stages in their careers.

2 – What first brought you to publishing?

A love of chapbooks’ sense of intimacy and a desire to work one-on-one with poets to create collections in which they would have a hand in the design/layout.

3 – What do you consider the role and responsibilities, if any, of small publishing?

At a time when funding for trade publishers continues to be cut and large publishing houses have to scale back, small publishing really needs to stay strong and keep venues open for both new and established writers to get their work out. Small-scale publishing is less dependent on outside funding; I won’t pretend it’s not difficult, but we can keep chugging when things get scanty. We need to keep putting in the time to get these little books and broadsheets out.

4 – What do you see your press doing that no one else is?

We’re one of the few chapbook presses (perhaps the only one?) whose mandate is to publish and promote extraordinary poetry from around the world. It’s a big, big goal—it’s much easier to market poets who are known within one’s own country. But there is some really great work out there and if we can help to connect poets from one country to the next, even in our small way, then it’s worth it.

5 – What do you see as the most effective way to get new publications out into the world?

These days, of course, digital media offers so many great opportunities for getting work out and available online. We do promote online, but we also encourage our authors to set up readings and launches in their home countries; to bring their books to the audiences who know and support them. Our writers come from all walks of life with varying access to technology, so we can’t take for granted the notion that they will all be blogging, tweeting, Facebooking, etc. about their new work. And there’s still something very compelling about attending a simple launch held by a poet whose work one admires.

6 – How involved an editor are you? Do you dig deep into line edits, or do you prefer more of a light touch?

It really depends on the collection. Ultimately, I look at it as a partnership deal. I’m working with a poet to best showcase his or her writing. I usually have a number of suggestions, comments, and queries, and I find that I can generally come to a positive consensus with the writers I work with. I’m not trying to change their work; my job is to tweak it where needed to tighten it up and make it as strong as possible on the page. Chapbooks can be a tough medium that way. There’s no room in thirty or fewer pages to hide weak poems.

7 – How do your books get distributed? What are your usual print runs?

Because we’re an international press, we distribute through absolutely any means possible. We have local bookstores in Edmonton and Victoria who kindly stock our chapbooks. We also attend book fairs whenever possible. We have an online store at our website, and we also distribute through the post and in person. Finally, we really encourage our authors to find connections of their own (local bookstores, etc. who will support them and bring in their books). We’ve even had Rubicon collections go to a book fair in Shanghai; pretty neat!

Our usual print runs are 200 copies. Yes, we do second printings (and more, when required). We have had some chapbooks sell in excess of 600 copies, which is pretty darn amazing for any poetry collection, let alone a little chapbook! It’s thrilling to tell an author that his or her chapbook has gone into its fourth printing.

8 – How many other people are involved with editing or production? Do you work with other editors, and if so, how effective do you find it? What are the benefits, drawbacks?

There are two of us involved in the chapbooks. Yvonne does some of the editing while balancing a busy writing life of her own and a wonderful young son. I do a large part of the editing and the communication with authors, the design, and the production. I work with a local printer who professionally prints the books after I’ve completed the designs in concert with their authors.

It’s neat to be able to work with another editor and bounce ideas off each other; it’s also great to be able to get a second opinion about manuscripts. The one particular challenge Yvonne and I face (aside from time...there’s never enough time!) is distance. She is in Victoria and I am in Edmonton. It makes sending proofs back and forth very time-consuming.

9 – How has being an editor/publisher changed the way you think about your own writing?

I think a great deal more about the cohesion of my work; how the poems work in series or as a complete manuscript. I find that I am more likely now to work on sets than just random poems. I’m always looking for that fit.

10 – How do you approach the idea of publishing your own writing? Some, such as Gary Geddes when he still ran Cormorant, refused such, yet various Coach House Press’ editors had titles during their tenures as editors for the press, including Victor Coleman and bpNichol. What do you think of the arguments for or against, or do you see the whole question as irrelevant?

I think there are compelling arguments on both sides. I know of a number of poet-editors who have put out collections with the presses they work for, often because they believe their work to be a good fit for the press, and they engage with another editor in the creation of their collections to gain the benefit of an impartial eye.

We’ve decided not to publish our own collections through Rubicon; we designed the press to publish other writers’ work and that’s what we’re comfortable producing. You’ll find a handful of our poems in only one Rubicon collection: our first, the anthology In the Laughter of Stones, printed in England in 2005. Even that was only at the insistence of our colleagues at the university, for whom we were editing the collection. Since that time, we’ve happily abstained and sought other venues outside Rubicon for our own work.

11 – How do you see the press evolving?

We’re moving a bit more in the direction of imported paper and eclectic design, although we still do some laser images on covers at the request of some of the poets we work with. Basically, we continue to expand our design and presentation as we come across a more and more diverse range of poets.

We do not, however, plan to expand into trade publishing; we get that question a lot and we’re quite clear about it. Chapbooks are where we’re at and what we love to work with.

12 – What, as a publisher, are you most proud of accomplishing? What do you think people have overlooked about your publications? What is your biggest frustration?

Personally, I’m thrilled to have been part of the publication of over twenty five collections of great poetry from around the world! That never ceases to amaze me. I’m proud that we’re able to run a little press that can stand on its own whether it receives outside funding or not.

It’s always a challenge to continue to promote and publish chapbooks by poets outside of Canada; it takes a great deal more work to get those collections out there and make people aware of them. Sometimes the poets are new writers, and this compounds the difficulty of promotion. Yes, it can be frustrating (chapbooks are such a niche market as it is), but it never ceases to be worth it.

13 – Who were your early publishing models when starting out?

I really loved the chapbooks put out by Greenboathouse back in the early 2000s and I continue to admire their work a great deal. (I don’t think Rubicon will be going the letterpress route, though.)

14 – How does Rubicon Press engage with your immediate literary community, and community at large? What journals or presses do you see your books in dialogue with? How important do you see those dialogues, those conversations?

We’ve taken part in readings, book fairs, and have spoken at schools and post-secondary institutions in both our home cities. When we publish a local author, whether in Victoria or Edmonton, we make sure to hold a launch to celebrate that writer’s accomplishment. For instance, Yvonne just hosted Wendy Donawa in Victoria for the launch of her new chapbook this winter. I spent a wonderful Sunday afternoon with Edmonton poet Wendy McGrath just this past weekend, sitting at a book-signing table at a gardening fair for the release of her new chapbook, preserving.

I’ve spent some time dialoguing with poet and publisher Trisia Eddy about her press, red nettle. Last year, she and I were both invited by poet Marita Dachsel to speak about small press publishing to a Faculty of Extension group from the University of Alberta. It was really reaffirming to talk about the similarities we share as small press publishers (lack of funding, fitting publishing in around our jobs, families, and lives, etc.) and the differences between our two presses.

15 – Do you hold regular or occasional readings or launches? How important do you see public readings and other events?

I’d say we hold occasional launches and readings, as many of the poets we publish live outside of Canada. But we do encourage those outside the country to hold launches in their hometowns; we advertise these launches on our site and otherwise use what connections we have to promote the events and the writers. And we hold launches/readings for local writers as often as possible.

We see public readings as a very important part of chapbook publishing. Small collections are so often tied to community, and it is wonderfully reaffirming for writers to get together with friends, family, and peers to celebrate their publications.

16 – How do you utilize the internet, if at all, to further your goals?

We have a website and online store, a Facebook page, and we are constantly on e-mail to stay in contact with, and to promote, our authors.

17 – Do you take submissions? If so, what aren’t you looking for?

We do take submissions (although right now, we only have two spaces left in our 2010/2011 lineup). We are a chapbook publisher, so don’t send us your life’s work in 400 pages. 30 pages is our limit, and the collection must work together cohesively. Please, no singsong rhyming verse.

18 – Tell me about three of your most recent titles, and why they’re special.

Interior Views, by Danielle Schaub (Haifa, Israel): Danielle’s first collection of poetry is paired with her evocative black and white photography. The images appear in negative exposure, so the textures are quite exquisite. This is the first collection of poetry and photography that Rubicon has issued.

Road Apples, by Glen Sorestad (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan): Glen’s dryly humorous travelogue takes the reader on a roadtrip through the States, delving into the history and stories of the people and places he and his wife encounter along the way. The poems work remarkably well in chapbook form, creating an engaging narrative roadmap.

preserving, by Wendy McGrath (Edmonton, Alberta): Wendy incorporates snippets of a 1950s-era brochure on canning and preserving into a long poem about of three generations of prairie women. It’s a beautiful play on the many meanings of “preserving” and the stories, secrets, and history kept within families. The design of the book itself incorporates a package of heirloom tomato seeds (a variety perfect for home canning).

12 or 20 (small press) questions;             

Rubicon Press [Edmonton AB] is thrilled to announce several new offerings from a host of talented poets!

Recently released chapbooks include:

Bill Howell's Ghost Test Flights
Michaela A. Gabriel & Alex Stolis' small confessions & pebbles of regret
Hugh Fox's Alex
rob mclennan's the acts
Crystal Hurdle's "Ajar" (broadside)

Upcoming releases before the end of the 07/08 season include:
Alan Loney's Day's eye
Joanne Arnott's Longing/Four poems on diverse matters
Claire Sharpe's Casual Notation of Earth-Shattering Events

The winner of Rubicon Press' Second Annual Midwinter Chapbook Competition, Marcus McCann, will head up the 2008/09 publishing season in September with his high-energy collection The tech/tonic suite. Stay tuned!

Visit us online at www.rubiconpress.org
for chapbooks, broadsides, t-shirts and submission info!

Jenna Butler
Editor, Rubicon Press
http://www.rubiconpress.org/
http://www.jennabutler.com/