Resource: For Lovers of Small Books

Speaking of Marvels is a frequently-updated blog highlighting poetry chapbooks and novellas. What I love about both is that no one can mistake them for a commercial enterprise.  In the nineties I ran a chapbook imprint, Big Fat Press, publishing poetry and experimental/performance texts.  In my case, it was a purely homegrown venture.  I printed linoleum block covers, did all the editorial work myself, and printed the guts of the books on the sly at my Wall Street day job.  Binding the books was a painstaking sewing and/or gluing project, long hours in front of the TV.  The authors distributed the books at their readings, giving them a little beer money on the road.  The only limitations were time and my ability to stay awake.  

I'm not the only one to take on this kind of project.  Now, with the advent of e-readers, the options are bigger.  The power is with the people.  And often, at this smaller scale, we are able to witness the early, beautifully-wrought efforts of emerging writers, before the world and the marketplace hears of their work.

Speaking of Marvels interviewed me late last year, for my novella, The Beginning of the End of the Beginning, published for Kindle by Ploughshares Solos.  I was grateful that they approached me, which introduced me to an awesome resource, profiling the likes of Anders Carlson-Wee, Meg Pokrass, and Molly Gaudry.