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:
* Paper House by Jessie Carty
* The Brucciano Poems by Thomas Rain Crowe
* Under What Stars by Ryan J. Davidson
* Dialect of a Skirt by Erica Miriam Fabri
* Mr. Worthington's Beautiful Experiments on Splashes by Genine Lentine
* Stories II by Scott McClanahan
* I is to Vorticism by Ben Mirov
* Sarah/Sara by Jacob Paul
* The Antiracism Trainings by David Reich
* Narcissistic Injury by Amy Riddell
* In the Voice of a Minor Saint by Sarah J. Sloat
* Stages by Noel Sloboda
* Barn Burned, Then by Michelle Taransky
See below for sneak peeks and links to full reviews:
New from New Michigan Press. . .
I is to Vorticism by Ben Mirov
New Michigan Press, 2010
Reviewed by Eric Weinstein
The winner of the 2009 New Michigan Press/ diagram chapbook competition, Ben Mirov’s I is to Vorticism is a funny, heartfelt collection narrated by the character of Ben Mirov, whom Dobby Gibson describes as “part charming host, part self-inflicted lab experiment.” [read more]
Mr. Worthington's Beautiful Experiments on Splashes by Genine Lentine
New Michigan Press, 2010
Reviewed by Eric Weinstein
Genine Lentine’s Mr. Worthington’s Beautiful Experiments on Splashes is a finely wrought collection, one that comprises highly detailed poems that conceal deceptively large topographies in their compact forms. Like Arthur Mason Worthington’s high-speed photographs... [read more]
New from Omnidawn Publishing. . .
Barn Burned, Then by Michelle Taransky
Omnidawn Publishing, 2009
Reviewed by Erin McKnight
Barn Burned, Then offers no easy answers, but much in the manner that the work’s sense of potentiality smolders, this Omnidawn Poetry Prize winner is aglow in embers, emitting—even when marked in numbers instead of words—a smoky significance. [read more]
New from Folded Word. . .
Paper House by Jessie Carty
Paper House, 2010
Reviewed by Cynthia Reeser
Paper House is Jessie Carty's first full-length poetry collection. Here, Carty makes her début as a poet who proves an ability to distill a sometimes less-than-desirable upbringing in a controlled voice. It is this voice that allows the images it describes to form meaning in spite of things... [read more]
New from sunnyoutside press. . .
Stages by Noel Sloboda
sunnyoutside press, 2010
Reviewed by Stephanie L. Smith
Fashioned with the quintessential characteristics of antiquated literature, and seemingly both rare and valuable, Stages, by Noel Sloboda excited me as my hands glossed over the beautifully textured, fibrous, paper cover. Having known in advance that performances of Shakespeare’s plays were the foundation for Sloboda’s ten poems... [read more]
The Brucciano Poems by Thomas Rain Crowe
sunnyoutside press, 2010
Reviewed by Cynthia Reeser
Crowe's greatest strength is in evoking a sense of place. Local culture is given color and the Italian language bubbles to life in lively piazzas. Unfortunately, pretension and sentimentality are the usual fare along with mundane writing, the latter of which is evinced in lines... [read more]
New from Ampersand Books. . .
Under What Stars by Ryan J. Davidson
Ampersand Books, 2009
Reviewed by Edward Mullany
...Only a little imagination is needed to see how this sentiment might apply to all poets, regardless of gender, though not all poets would necessarily agree with the specifics of Davidson’s vision. Because, for Davidson, the life of the poet is at once romantic and fatalistic. Though not an American by birth, he roots himself in the tradition of... [read more]
New from Hanging Loose Press. . .
Dialect of a Skirt
by Erica Miriam Fabri
Hanging Loose Press, 2009
Reviewed by Kirsty Logan
The poems in Dialect of a Skirt are flowers worn in the hair, rhinestones stitched along a hem, lacey corselettes under a vintage dress. They are lovely and loving. They shape a world of underskirts and negligees, lipstick and gem-studded rings. In the first poem, 'Dear Poetry Editor, Please Publish My Poems', Erica Miriam Fabri offers to show us a view of her city and herself. [read more]
New from Six Galleries Press. . .
Stories II by Scott McClanahan
Six Galleries Press, 2009
Reviewed by Patricia Caspers
If you've ever sat around a kitchen table with a cup of coffee, catching up with one of those tale-spinning family members, Uncle Bob, perhaps, then you know what it's like to read Scott McClanahan's Stories II. At a superficial glance, McClanahan's second book, which includes seventeen short stories, is a quick, simple read, but when the book is closed a few of the stories won't let go. [read more]
New from Ig Publishing. . .
Sarah/Sara by Jacob Paul
Ig Publishing, 2010
Reviewed by Laura Ellen Scott
Sarah will never answer that question on its own terms because to do so means to unravel her sole remaining commitment. Her conversion to orthodoxy is heartbreaking to her skeptical mother, and confusing to her father, an investment banker who was in Tower One on 9/11. Deeply haunted, he has only one wish... [read more]
New from BlazeVOX Books. . .
The Antiracism Trainings by David Reich
BlazeVOX [books], 2010
Reviewed by Kadzi Mutizwa
There are two kinds of people in this country. The ones who refer to non-whites as “minorities”; and those who studiously opt for the term “people of color.” It’s tempting to think of the more politically correct “people of color”-favoring subset as the more progressive of the two. The problem is that there’s a subset of this subset that’s way too obsessed... [read more]
New from Pudding House Publications. . .
Narcissistic Injury by Amy Riddell
Pudding House Publications, 2009
Reviewed by Eric Weinstein
A haunting, indirect, almost periphrastic account of a father’s violence toward his family, his subsequent incarceration, and his pleas for release from prison, Amy Riddell’s Narcissistic Injury is an emotionally salient first collection. Although not technically adventurous, these poems often foray into dark and visceral psychological territory... [read more]
New from Tilt Press. . .
In the Voice of a Minor Saint by Sarah J. Sloat
Tilt Press, 2009
Reviewed by Kathleen Kirk
...In a way, it seems a violation to say anything about these poems at all, since they speak for themselves in the voice of a minor saint. They speak in various voices—quirky, tender, sly, and wise—and in various personas, but surely in the small and humble voice of a saint perhaps easy to overlook but, once seen and heard, not easy to forget. [read more]
© 2010 prickofthespindle.com
Prick of the Spindle poetry editor Eric Weinstein’s poetry has recently appeared or is forthcoming in Best New Poets 2009, Cincinnati Review, Colorado Review, and Third Coast. He is an MFA candidate at New York University.
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