SmallPressPoetryandIndies2013

Leaveareply

A moveable feastof blogs and websites dedicated to poetryas literaryformnecessarilylacks an authoritative critical hub, which is an excellent thing.Currentliterarycritiquelendsweightto fictional work and celebrity biography as cultural, thus levelling newspaper inches at some phantasmagorichybridaudienceofchild/womannowperceivedastheIrishliterarymarket. Those of us whohave left the nurseryandhave achievedliteracymayrequirelesssaccharine fare. The following is a list of some indys and smallpress publishers that caught my eye in 2013.

Indiesforworkingpoetsfitwellalongsidesmallpresspublishers

LefttoRight ThePickledBody SouthwordLiteraryJournal TheStingingFly PoetryIrelandReview CranngLiteraryJournal TheBurningBushOnline ThePoetryBusMagazine BradshawBooks

Poetsthataremuchmissed20122013

DennisODriscoll SeamusHeaney DorisLessing AhmedFouadNegm KofiAwoonor

TalkingaboutBooksIrelandlosingitsArtsCouncilgrantisunseemly

TalkaboutBooksIrelandlosingitsArtsCouncilgrant

Commentators are employed by newspaper editors, they all talk about thesamebooksinone form or another across multiple newspapers, which I no longer care to buy. Heaven forfend that an editor would employ someone to review, edit and discuss poetry.Newspaper editors andlistcontributorsplaytheirpartherebyblurringthelinesbetweencultureandentertainment, coming outwithsometypeoflifestylefictionbasedinthesimpleandunchallengingprecepts of accessibility,simplicityandpassivity.

Books Ireland lost its Arts Council grant and was threatened with closure, as this is Ireland, protest was confined to a few letters in the paper and a Facebook group. Well done to those who protested, many just sat down and counted their lottery cash, not thinking of Irish writing as a diversity. Books Ireland has a new publisher and will recommence publishing inJanuary 2014.

Poetrythatcaughtmylittleeyein2013

LefttoRight TheShadowOwnersCompanionbyEleanorHooker ThroatsFullOfGravesbyGillianPrew NobodyWantsToGoTOHeavenButEveryoneWantsToDiebyDavidMcLean TheWildPupilbyKathyDArcy

LefttoRight AllStepped/UndonebyMichaelMcAloran MysteriesOfTheHomebyPaulaMeehan TheCountyDurhamsMinersGrandaughtersFarewellToTheHarlanCountyMiners GrandsonbyKitFryatt ZingerbyAlanJudeMoore

DisposablecrapsellsNewspapers,fact

Poetry isclearly notadisposableform,likesomuchsemiliterate fiction destined for B movies or for chatcouches on daily tv. It is a literary form that requires the reader to drop off theirpassivity and complacency. This presentsadifficultytothegeneral editor,whoreliesonpassiveconsumptionasmanyofusrelyonoxygen. The dropoff in newspaper purchases is only matched by the immense growth in blogs and websites that fill the void left bythismagneticpulltohomogeneityexpressedinanapproachto artsthatisbasedinartsasentertainment/artsasproduct.

AntipoetryisnowcultureinIrelandsmarketdrivenmedia.

The issues of the day provide fodder for the chattering classes inmuch the samemanneras fastfood fills an endless hole and thereby generates obesity. Fiction and gossip are the disposable transfat of the entertainment world. But like transfats they glut, and end up distorting the shape of the body, in this instance the body of Irish literature. The shape of literature in Ireland is becoming simplistic and disposable and indistinguishable indeed from HelloMagazine!Ithasmorphedintofictionandchicklitcomestibles,theeasyhitters.

ContemporaryIrishArts:anyonecangetanartistexemption

I suppose that someone has to pimp poetry and to blog about what goes on at the nether end of the literary spectrum, whilst awaitingfor decent reviews and discussion on arts , as opposed to fashionableedutainment. Literally anyone can apply forandgettaxexemptionsfortheirartwork,goonandapply.

PoetryIrelanddeletedthePIForumfromtheirserversin2013

Since I started blogging about poetryin2008,Ihavenoted more international poetry editors opening out magazines and writing spaces to the committed poet. Although in Ireland, Poetry Ireland has been busily closing down their 20002013 poetry forum which housed an area for peerreview of original work. Poetry Ireland announced thisinshortformandthenproceededtodeletealotoforiginalworkfrom theirservers.Iawaitwithbatedbreaththeirnewwebdevelopmentideas. In the meantime, I suppose that Irish poets can use groupson Facebook or Linkedin and consign their copyrights to Mark Zuckerberg who may be more sensitive to theprovisionof working spaces than PI. The Irish editor appears to be less generous about creating accessible archives and workingspaces to the emergent writer than his international counterparts.

Revival Literary Journal ceased operation this year of 2013, as didDoghouse Books in Kerry. Books Ireland was recentlythreatenedwithclosureafter the Irish Arts Councilpulledtheirgrant.BooksIrelandhasa newpublisher,buttheseissues go largely undiscussed as reallythereisnoplace wherepoetryisdiscussedinIreland.Just as we, a poetic nation (apparently), have no Poetry Foundation. Our colleges do not adequatelyindexourpoetryhistory,orprovideaccessiblearchivestothereadingpublic. Poetry in Ireland is paltry feast left to the wit and wisdom of individual publishers and bloggers who must construct a cloak of holes and moths to illuminate Irish poetic work. There is no provision made orthe poetry reader that is centred in a semblance of respect forpoeticform,orforitsgrowingvariety.

AvantgardeisadirtywordinIreland,likegrief,sex,orpoverty

Lefttoright CrackPoetbyKateOShea Skylight47 TheBlindbyC.Murray InDamageSeasonsbyMichaelMcAloran ANewUlsterMagazine TheZeroEyebyMichaelMcAloran NobodywantstogotoheavenbuteverybodywantstodiebyDavidMcLean ThroatsFullofGravesbyGillianPrew

IrishPoetryImprintsandWebsites
ANewUlster AbattoirWhispers AineMacAodha igseMichaelHartnett Bhal BelfastismyMojo BoneOrchardPoetry BradshawBooks BurningBush2 CanCan ClIarChonnachta CranngLiterarymagazine DedalusPress DoireannNGhrofa ElizabethKateSwitaj EllipticalMovements

GalleryPress IrishPages KateDempsey LapwingPress LapwingPublications MichaelJMaguire MunsterLiteratureCentre NualaNChonchir PartialShade PoetryIrelandReviewNewsletter Post RevivalLiteraryJournal SalmonPress SmithereensPress tenderjournal TheBurningBushRevivalMeeting TheColumbaPress TheDolmenPress TheGalleryPress TheGalwayReview TheMetreArchives TheMothMagazine ThePennyDreadful ThePoetryBus TheSHOp,PoetryMagazine TheSouthWordJournal TheStingingFly WurminApfel

Apparently Poetryhaslittlesignificancetothose whocollateendofyearslists.Poetrytokenism is become a joke. I wouldrathernotreadsomeattemptsatpoetrybookreviewunlesstheyare in poetry journals. Having often wondered at newspaper editors tendency to dislike poetry , cametotheconclusionthatitisdowntotwoissues,moneyandignorance. When the literary arts are approached as product, as opposed to artistic process, a wholelot ofcrapfloatsup.Poetheadisaboutpoetryasprocess,andlikestoshowpoetsworking.