Chapbooking: some reflections

Kieth has an interesting post on the intricacies of chapbook production -- a guide for the DIYers. One thing though: for Sky of Ink, I downloaded a chapbook template from the League of Canadian Poets website, here. Downloads are free for anyone. We were able to alter its configuration to take legal sized pages folded in half, which is a size I like for poetry, as it provides "breathing room" especially for long lines. (It does limit, though, one's choices of paper.) The nice thing about this template is that you paste the poems in sequentially and it automatically recto-versos them for you in the right order. Then we take the file to our local copy shop and presto!

Chapbooks, as Keith says, can serve as a poet's business card. They're the literary equivalent of the music EP.

The chapbook length, as I've said elsewhere, is to my view the most suitable for poetry, considering the intense demands poetry makes on its readers; one can conceivably get through a chapbook in one sitting. The full length trade book demands a considerably greater a commitment. Was it Thorton Wilder who said that out of any city we create a village we call our own? Most poetry readers dip into collections; it could be said that out of every full-length collection, we create a chapbook we can call our own.

Besides, look at the organization of many a poetry collection: a lot of them are simply subdivided into parts -- a series of chapbooks.

For all its advantages as a reading experience, the chapbook in our culture has a problem of status. It is akin to the part-time job. Full-length books, like full time jobs, get all the benefits: reviews, prizes, inclusion in libraries, etc. -- even though part-timers may put in the most inspired work! (I know that's true of teaching, at any rate.) In the States particularly, there are a number of chapbook manuscript competitions with promise of prize $$, honour, publication -- some of these may even raise money for their publishers. You can find them listed every month in Poets & Writers. But there are precious few prizes for finished DIY-type chapbooks. The BP Nichol competition is one; the WCDR international chapbook challenge, in which our own Nina Bruck came out a winner for 2008, didn't run this year and appears sporadic, if not defunct. These are the only ones I know of. Can anyone out there suggest another?

Another disadvantage: chapbooks tend to get lost on a shelf.

So why make chapbooks? Well, these productions are a joy to make, and a means to grow. Publishing is an integral part of the creative process: juxtaposing poems in fresh combinations, seeing how they relate to one another, or how motifs repeat can be a real eye-opener. Ones' editorial skills are instantly honed when one prepares one's work for public exposure in this way. If one doesn't have a tradebook publisher ready to publish one's work, this can be a good intermediate step.

A maquette of the next Sky of Ink chapbook -- that is, sans cover graphics, which are yet to be worked on. Raphael and I edited the poems over the last two or three of years of get-togethers, which took place more or less monthly. When he came up to visit at the cottage last month we selected the best; then, in a series of snap decisions I arranged them -- spreading them out on the living room rug -- in the order they've pretty much stayed. The latter process took all of about 5 minutes. It was fun for me and breathtaking for him. Some of these poems were drafted as many as 30 years ago: he told me it was like seeing his life flashing before his eyes. Raphael nevertheless had the presence of mind to film me doing it. It would be interesting to post that video here, eventually. We're both very pleased with the poetry. I would include one here, but I believe he wants to send some to a few better reviews before they're published in this form. I think as they stand they are well worthy of that level of publication -- say in Poetry or Descant. The chap, though, will probably come out sometime this fall.










Raphael Bendahan

Jocelyne Dubois' paintings online

"Dabble Dance 3" by Jocelyne Dubois

Jocelyne Dubois' paintings are online (yesterday I created a blogger site for them.) She is the author of Hot Summer Night, Sky of Ink Press's second chapbook. Her paintings are characterized by a great freeform playfulness and intuitive colour sense.

Local Scene: Poetry Plus

Tuesday, November 11 at 8 pm
Poetry Plus, Arts Cafe, 201 Fairmount W. (corner of Esplanade), Montreal

John Fretz, the organizer, just contacted me with the actual order of featured writers that evening:

Julie Mahfood
Brian Campbell
Carolyn Marie Souaid
Jocelyne Dubois, launching her chapbook Hot Summer Night (Sky of Ink Press, 2008)
Steven Manners
Perri Ravon (open mike)
Music, etc.

More kudos for Nina Bruck! (re-edited, re-posted)

It's official: Nina Bruck is one of the three winners of the WCDR 2008 Poetry Chapbook Challenge, for Still Light at Five O'Clock (Sky of Ink Press). The other two winners are Teresa Donat Banks for Resident Alien (Believe your own press, Toronto) and Bill Howell, Ghost Test Flights (Rubicon Press, Toronto). (There is no first/second/third prize for this award: according to the contest organizer, narrowing it down to three is hard enough.)

Here are the judge's comments on Nina's book:

The poetry: This collection is a mature, wry, and accessible series of delightful, sure and confident poems. It is peopled with clearly evoked characters, places, and times – spanning the period from the ‘30s to the present – and captures exactly the different ages the poet lives through. There is no self-pity here, despite some rough times: radiation treatments faced with the hilarity of accurate observation (“Three young technicians aim my breast / at The Machine, / flee to another room”); the memory of a dead father beginning to fade, his cane in the basement “casting no shadows”; and the elegant sense that even after a lengthy failed marriage, the better memories will keep returning (“I made myself a dry martini, / missing the cool precision of his lemon peeler - / its perfect spiral”). And then there’s a playful but expert wordplay, the kind of thing that continues to make poetry, despite the seriousness of the theme, fun (“to the cold heat / in the sweat’s pit / where the orange rots / then the hot’s not / to the deaf eyes / and the tom thumb / and the legs bite / where the clocks run / and the song stops / on the second hand / and there’s no land / to land on”).

The chapbook: The book displays perfect, simple production values, the cover unadorned and of the same colour as the pages. Its outsized format and generous typeface contribute to the delight and seriousness of the collection. We have nothing but praise for the publisher’s production of this book.

On the same WCDR link you can also see video excerpts of the winners reading. Sample poems have also been posted.

For more poems and info. on Nina, her book and Sky of Ink Press, click on the labels below.

Still Light at Five O'Clock may be ordered from me for $12.50 (Cn. or Am., postage included) at beedeecee@videotron.ca

HOT SUMMER NIGHT BY JOCELYNE DUBOIS

Sky of Ink Press’ second chapbook production is Hot Summer Night by Jocelyne Dubois.

Jocelyne Dubois’ poetry is characterized by limpid and at times searing clarity. This collection represents a particularly courageous narration: Jocelyne suffers from bipolar disorder, and in these poems she takes us on a harrowing journey through breakdown, hospitalization and recovery.

Here, as an example of her writing, is the title poem:

HOT SUMMER NIGHT

A jazz beat plays through a speaker
in the background. I hear the music
from my balcony while I watch fireworks
blazing in the sky. The moon is full,
a few grey clouds around the moon, dancing.
I see your hair and eyes on a cloud,
through my kitchen window, between my bed
sheets. Your scent, skin colour, your
unshaven, shaven beard – chemistry spells
perfect. My body perspires. I desire.

I remember when we remained motionless,
our faces scarcely touching, without
a word, for a long time and then you touched
my pores, my heart. When I touched
you, you stayed on the palm of my hands.
I looked at my hands and thought that you
were perfect.

I cannot wash off what is perfect, what
shines like crystal, something more than
wind, stronger than rain, more solid than
stone.

Jocelyne Dubois’ poetry has appeared in Canadian Woman Studies/les cahiers de la femme (York University). Her fiction has been published in The Dalhousie Review, Exile, Transition, and Carte Blanche. Jocelyne has recently discovered a passion for painting. She lives in Montreal, and is currently working on a novel.

SKY OF INK PRESS was founded with the express purpose of featuring talented and unpublished poets in finely crafted chapbooks. The poetry editors are Raphael Bendahan and Brian Campbell. E-Mail: beedeecee@videotron.ca

Hot Summer Night is available for $12 Canadian or American including postage: write beedeecee@videotron.ca

Publishing details: Hot Summer Night is printed in an edition of 100 copies on high-quality natural paper with a cardstock orange cover. The chapbook is 35 pages long and contains 28 poems. Cover illustration by the author. Book dimensions: 8 1/2" by 7” (legal-sized folded in half).

Kudos for Nina Bruck

Nina Bruck's chapbook, Still Light at Five O'Clock, published by my chapbook press, Sky of Ink Press, has been shortlisted for the Writer's Circle of Durham Region Poetry Chapbook Award. I don't know how many entrants this competition has attracted, but it's open to chapbooks from all over the North America. While most of the fifteen chapbooks on that list come from Ontario, we also see entries from Minneapolis, Min., Lanceford, BC, and Columbus, Ohio. Actually, word should be coming on whether she is among the five finalists very soon!

Nina Bruck on CBC Sunday Edition

Today Nina Bruck was interviewed on the Sunday Edition for 9 minutes about our Sky of Ink chapbook, "Still Light at Five O'Clock". Although the introductory hook was how an 85-year-old had put out her first book, amazingly, it was a very literary broadcast: she got to read four of her poems in their entirety on national radio. Fantastic!

The effect was my site meter lit up with some 30-odd Nina Bruck google inquiries, and we got orders for six books! (NB, as of Wed. June 18, that's 10 books.)

A typical letter:

Heard Nina Bruck on Sunday Edition. Wonderful! Now how do I buy a copy? Tried to respond on blog but got frustrated with the process.

thanks


****

My own question is, did my recent comments on their website have an effect on CBC poetry broadcasting policy? Perhaps... but I'd be surprised. At our urging Nina turned the focus from being some sort of icon of old age creativity (she'd already had that on her TV interview), to the work itself, insisting on the kind of broadcast that came out.

If you want to read more about her book, here's the link for that. A click on the label below will also yield more excerpts of her writing. If anyone wishes to order copies, visit my website and inquire or write me at beedeecee@videotron.ca

Reposted from Monday: Sky of Ink Press (our chapbook press) has rented a table at Expozine, Montreal's annual small press/comic/zine fair. We'll be there on Saturday, Nov. 24 between 12 and 6pm (it also continues on Sunday, but we won't be there that day). The fair is located at Eglise Saint-Enfant Jesus near Laurier and St-Laurent. For sale will be Nina Bruck's Still Light at Five O'clock, as well as my book, CD, Undressing the Night, etc.. We'll have cards to give away, too. So if you want to come by, chat, etc...

NINA BRUCK: STILL LIGHT AT 5:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sky of Ink Press is proud to announce the release of Still Light At Five O’clock, Nina Bruck’s first book, a selection of 21 poems that span nearly her whole lifetime.

Nina Bruck will be reading from Still Light at Five O’clock

Tues. Nov. 6, 2007
8:00 pm
at
Poetry Plus
Arts Café
201 Fairmount W.
(corner of Esplanade)
Montreal

Ms. Bruck will also be interviewed on the CBC TV News Montreal Arts Report at 6PM, either Monday the 5th or Tues. the 6th.

About the author:
Nina Bruck, born in 1923, is a poet possessed of the quickest intelligence and surest eye. Her lyrics, even at their most profound, are leavened by a playful wit and a warm, easygoing sensuality; many of her poems are pure fun. Ms Bruck’s poetry has appeared in the Canadian Forum, in the Canadian League of Poets Vintage 96 and 97 anthologies, and they’ve been read on CBC radio (Morningside Papers). In 1992, she won First Prize in Matrix Magazine's "New Voices from Quebec" Competition. She also brings her talent as a keen observer to photography. Her colour photographic series “Signs of Life” was featured in a solo exhibition at the McCord Museum in Montreal.

Sky of Ink Press was founded with the express purpose of featuring talented and unpublished poets in finely crafted chapbooks. The poetry editors are Raphael Bendahan and Brian Campbell. E-Mail: camino@primus.ca or (514)-526-3418

For more about the author, the chapbook, & a sample poem click here.

NINA BRUCK: STILL LIGHT AT 5:00

Here's the first chapbook off Sky of Ink Press (photographed outside, propped up on a flowerpot on my balcony -- at 5:00, to be precise, for obvious symbolic reasons & to take advantage of that beautiful waning afternoon light. Click through to see it large -- and caress that card stock with your eyes).

Clearly, its author prefers that her words speak for themselves. Be that as it may, I find it hard to resist tooting a few notes on her behalf.

Several things can be said about this remarkable woman. One is that she’s an extremely talented poet, possessed of a quick intelligence and the surest eye and ear. Even at their most tragic, her lyrics are leavened by a playful wit and warm, easygoing sensuality; many of her poems are pure fun. Here's another: she's written a lot of poems, quite enough to make up at least one or two excellent collections. Everything I've seen by her is good, and much of it, very good. Here's another: up to now, she has hardly published at all -- a handful of appearances in reviews and a League of Poets anthology; one poem was read out on CBC Morningside by Peter Gzowski. In 1992, on a whim, she entered some poems into Matrix Magazine's "New Voices from Quebec" Competition, and emerged with First Prize. She has submitted nothing since. And here's another thing: she was born in 1923. (Yes, she won that "New Voices" prize at the age of 70.)

I first met Nina Bruck at Susan Gillis's "Tiny Sea in the Ear" QWF poetry workshop back in 2004. It was a particularly good workshop, with a lot of capable writers around the table, so a number of us continued on afterwards, meeting on an informal basis about once a month for a couple of years. It always struck us as odd that Nina had never really published; indeed, once we grasped her depth of talent, it became deeply frustrating. Finally, my friend Raphael Bendahan and I prevailed upon her to produce at least a chapbook before she departs. By this point, we had clearly demonstrated how well we related to her work, and gained her trust as editors. So one fateful Saturday early last January, before any final qualms or "cold feet" could take over, Raphael and I stormed her apartment (on invitation of course), and with her fished out of her voluminous papers -- she had taken them out of her drawers and they covered her table, bureau, desk, in huge, disorganized stacks --twenty-one poems worthy of a fine chapbook and banged them into my laptop on the spot (before they flew away, so it felt). It took between 2:30 and 10 pm, with a break for supper. What fun! At that pace, we expected it to be out in a matter of weeks, but what with life's interventions, differences on how to order the poems, time required to refine a few lines, copy-editing corrections and re-corrections, all the usual (and some unusual) finicky details, it took the full nine months required to have a normal real baby. And now that it's finally out, it feels good to hold this little poem-being and flip once again through its contents.

To give you some taste of what I'm praising, here's a prose poem, the only one in the selection:

THE HEINTZMAN -- 1933

The day they repossessed my mother's baby grand I heard them leave, scaring the canary. The house forgot to breathe, then the fridge began, louder than ever. The walnut bench still stood, crammed with a thick Scarlatti in a yellow jacket and the sheet music from Rose Marie. I was supposed to be their own Yehudi Munuhin someday or failing that, to simply "play for your own comfort." Anyway there we were, the empty space filling the room. I knew they expected me to cry but I was mad, at the canary, its small bones, its timid knees, its inability to make a sound.


Some publishing details: Printed in an edition of 100 copies on high-quality cream-coloured paper with a cardstock light grey cover, Still Light at 5:00 is 25 pages long and contains 21 poems. The dimensions of the chapbook are, we think, typical of Sky of Ink Press productions to come: 8 1/2" by 7", that is, legal sized paper folded in half. Although this size can be inconvenient because of limited range and availability of quality paper stock, we like it because, compared to the typical folded 8.5x11 chapbook format, it leaves lots of room for a poem to breathe: longish lines aren't squeezed at the margins and there is no problem sticking to a decent-sized font.

Still Light at 5:00 is available for $10 Canadian or American including postage -- or an interesting trade. Just write to me via my website.

For more on Nina Bruck, click on the label below.