The Small Presses and Why We Love Them:
Prick of the Spindle Editors Survey the Small Press Chapbook Scene
"The terms small press, indie publisher, and independent press are often used interchangeably, with "independent press" defined as publishers that are not part of large conglomerates or multinational corporations. Defined this way, these presses make up approximately half of the market share of the book publishing industry. Many small presses rely on specialization in genre fiction, poetry, or limited-edition books or magazines, but there are also thousands that focus on niche non-fiction markets."
—thanks, Wikipedia...
Prick of the Spindle's latest survey of offerings from the little presses includes:
* State Sonnets by B.J. Best
* When the Cats Razzed the Chickens by Mel Bosworth
* We Take Me Apart by Molly Gaudry
* Ghosts of Breath by Howie Good
* My Heart Draws a Rough Map by Howie Good
* Pacing the Moon by Sandy Green
* The Rage of Achilles by Terence Hawkins
* Beauty by Laura LeHew
* Night Sweat: Poems by Nathan Leslie
* Stains: Early Poems by Lori A. May
* Voyeur by Rich Murphy
* Swimming from under My Father by Michael O'Keefe
* Lost and Found by Meg Pokrass
* Fabulous Essential by Niina Pollari
* The Quizzical Chair: A Collection of Poems Ed. Laura LeHew
* The Future is Happy by Sarah Sarai
* The Map of Our Garden by Rebecca Schumejda
* Water the Moon by Fiona Sze-Lorrain
See below for sneak peeks and links to full reviews:
New from sunnyoutside . . .
State Sonnets by B.J. Best
sunnyoutside press, 2009
Reviewed by Cynthia Reeser
...Misleading title aside, Best makes variable use of the sonnet form. Rhyme is sometimes used effectively, sometimes as a crutch. The sonnet form itself is varied, sometimes given stanza breaks where traditionally none are present, which, in itself, is not necessarily a detriment. [read more]
New from Folded Word. . .
When the Cats Razzed the Chickens by Mel Bosworth
Folded Word, 2009
Reviewed by Cynthia Reeser
Fiction writer Mel Bosworth’s debut collection is comprised of twelve short stories encased within a lovingly embossed, hand-sewn chapbook from Folded Word. When the Cats Razzed the Chickens and Other Stories is by turns funny, memorable, and tender. [read more]
New from Mud Luscious Press. . .
We Take Me Apart by Molly Gaudry
Mud Luscious Press, 2009
Reviewed by Kadzi Mutizwa
...An epic poem of epic mastery, We Take Me Apart centers on a girl (the narrator) who grows into a woman who grows into a heroine. And like most bona fide heroines, she remains nameless and fanfare-free.
[read more]
New from Bedouin Books. . .
Ghosts of Breath
by Howie Good
Bedouin Books, Pamphlet Poet Series No. 2, 2009
Reviewed by Cynthia Reeser
Good’s poems are often about the heart, whether directly or indirectly, and the various ways it can break and not-quite-break—the ways it informs mind and psyche and perception. To ground this reasoning, a look at a poem from Part I like “the daughters of man”: a father (in a dream-like vista) realizes... [read more]
New from Blue Hour Press. . .
My Heart Draws a Rough Map by Howie Good
Blue Hour Press, 2009
Reviewed by Kadzi Mutizwa
Howie Good’s My Heart Draws a Rough Map centers on a back and forth between two dynamically separate entities—a man and his heart. It’s a concept that first struck me as a little too far up the alley of an overly maudlin teenager’s diary entries... [read more]
New from Flutter Press. . .
Pacing the Moon by Sandy Green
Flutter Press, 2009
A blurb review by Cynthia Reeser
Sandy Green’s chapbook from Flutter Press, Pacing the Moon, is a collection rich in imagery and narrative. Green’s biography emphasizes her work in fiction writing, and this apparent bent shines through in her poetry. More often... [read more]
New from Casperian Books. . .
The Rage of Achilles by Terence Hawkins
Casperian Books, 2009
Reviewed by Andrew Bowen
...Choosing prose over the epic poem, Hawkins begins where Homer did, at the fore of the 10-year struggle between the invading Achaeans and the defending Trojans. After Achilles violates a slave girl’s mouth and bludgeons her to death... [read more]
New from Tiger's Eye Press. . .
Beauty by Laura LeHew
Tiger's Eye Press, 2009
A blurb review by Cynthia Reeser
Laura LeHew, of Uttered Chaos Press, publishes her first chapbook, Beauty, with Tiger’s Eye Press. Beauty is a collection of fractured fairy tales in poetic form. Including haibuns, prose poems, and variable form poetry... [read more]
From Hamilton Stone Editions. . .
Night Sweat: Poems by Nathan Leslie
Hamilton Stone Editions, 2009
Reviewed by Eric Weinstein
Nathan Leslie is a gifted fiction writer, and it shows in his first collection of poetry, Night Sweat. This is intended as both praise and criticism: praise in the sense that his faculty with language and narrative sensibility permeate his book, and criticism insofar as... [read more]
New from Bohemian Steel Press. . .
Stains: Early Poems by Lori A. May
Bohemian Steel Press, 2009
Reviewed by Eric Weinstein
May’s fourth collection of poems, stains, is a strange beast: on the one hand, “early poems” connotes a substantial body of poetry, just as a memoir implies significant life experience; on the other, May’s body of work doesn’t appear extensive or impressive enough to... [read more]
New from Gival Press . . .
Voyeur by Rich Murphy
Gival Press, 2009
Reviewed by Erin McKnight
With a title like Voyeur, Rich Murphy’s heavily nominated, 2008 Gival Press Poetry Award-winning collection appropriately delivers the sordid and sensational glimpses into the domestic domain his reader will expect to witness. This work boldly delivers... [read more]
New from Noble Swine Press. . .
Swimming from under My Father by Michael O'Keefe
Noble Swine Press, 2009
Reviewed by Cynthia Reeser
Michael O’Keefe is perhaps best known for his work as an actor. Having been nominated for Golden Globe and Academy Awards, he has appeared in Caddyshack, Ironweed, Roseanne, Law and Order, House M.D., and in many other films, on Broadway, and in television shows. As a writer, he has penned lyrics for Bonnie Raitt... [read more]
New from Bannock Street Books. . .
Lost and Found by Meg Pokrass
Bannock Street Books, 2009
Reviewed by Cynthia Reeser
With illustrations by the multi-talented Cooper Renner and flash fiction from the effervescent Meg Pokrass, Lost and Found draws the reader instantly into its world. Each work in the collection was previously published in elimae... [read more]
New from Birds of Lace. . .
Fabulous Essential by Niina Pollari
Birds of Lace, 2009
A blurb review by Cynthia Reeser
While I have a deep appreciation for indie and DIY publishing, more often than not it is the aesthetics that set one press apart from another. Niina Pollari, author of Fabulous Essential, is a Brooklyn-based writer and translator who is a competent-enough poet, but... [read more]
New from Uttered Chaos. . .
The Quizzical Chair: A Collection of Poems Ed. Laura LeHew
Uttered Chaos, 2009
A blurb review by Cynthia Reeser
Edited by Laura LeHew, The Quizzical Chair is an anthology of poems from the Oregon-based Let Them Eat Cake Poets critique group. The 2009 Uttered Chaos publication includes work by Laura LeHew, Colette Jonopulos... [read more]
New from BlazeVOX [books]. . .
The Future is Happy by Sarah Sarai
BlazeVOX [books], 2009
Reviewed by Juliet Cook
...Often I am put off by spiritual extrapolation in conversation or in literature, as it too frequently seems to be presented in a way that seems both vague and judgmental or at least overly lofty, for no reason I can relate to. I tend to dislike goddess talk and generic references such as, ‘The universe will provide.' Fortunately... [read more]
New from Verve Bath Press. . .
The Map of Our Garden by Rebecca Schumejda
Verve Bath Press, 2009
Reviewed by Cynthia Reeser
...Sometimes, in the family that is central to the work (assumed autobiographical), old troubles hide like forgotten roots under the surface. Schumejda’s writing aptly captures these ideas with its progression and movement, as with “Weeding,” a poem that strikes... [read more]
New from Marick Press. . .
Water the Moon by Fiona Sze-Lorrain
Marick Press, 2009
Reviewed by Erin McKnight
...Apropos of tracing the poet’s culture and aestheticism, a confessional mode and self-conscious voice enunciate Sze-Lorrain’s displacement as an artist and a woman. The resplendent poems populating “Biography of Hunger,” “Dear Paris,” and... [read more]
© 2009-2010 prickofthespindle.com
© Cynthia Reeser, 2009
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Prick of the Spindle poetry editor Eric Weinstein’s poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in Best New Poets 2009, Third Coast, and Colorado Review. He lives in Hoboken, New Jersey.
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