SCHLESINGER, Kyle
A Poetics of the Press

“Part of the reason for being involved in poetry, part of the reason for starting journals, part of the reason for starting presses, part of the reason for talking to you sitting on this bench right now, is all about building something together. We’re not necessarily always conscious of just what we are building, but the language we work with is social material. We share it and we build relationships and ultimately other kinds of community.”
—Charles Alexander.

A Poetics of the Press is the first collection of interviews with some of the pioneers working at the intersection of the artists book and experimental writing that continues to this day. The poetic renaissance of the 1960s was an era rich in exploration and innovation that articulated a new relationship between form and content: simultaneously, American artists began working with the book as a creative medium, getting involved in the making of publications through the use of letterpress as well as mimeo, and the founding of small presses.

This book Includes interviews with Keith and Rosmarie Waldrop of Burning Deck Press, Tom Raworth of Matrix Press and Goliard Press, Lyn Hejinian of Tuumba Press, Alan Loney of Electio Editions, Mary Laird of Quelquefois Press and the Perishable Press Limited, Jonathan Greene of Gnomon Press, Alastair Johnston of Poltroon Press, Johanna Drucker of Druckwerk, Philip Gallo of the Hermetic Press, Steven Clay of Granary Books, Charles Alexander of Chax Press, Annabel Lee of Vehicle Editions, Inge Bruggeman of INK-A! Press, Anna Moschovakis and Matvei Yankelevich of Ugly Duckling Presse, Aaron Cohick of New Lights Press, and Scott Pierce of Effing Press. 

Published by Ugly Duckling Presse / Cuneiform Press, 2021
Design by Sarah Lawson, Paige Parsons, Don’t Look Now!
Conversations / Book Culture / Poetry