12 or 20 (second series) questions with Michelle Brown

Michelle Brown's work has appeared in The Walrus, Arc, The Puritan, CV2, The Malahat Review and Prism, amongst others. A runner up for the Young Buck poetry prize and the CBC poetry prize, her debut collection is Safe Words (Spring 2018, Palimpsest Press). Originally from Victoria, she now lives in Toronto.

1 - How did your first book change your life? How does your most recent work compare to your previous? How does it feel different?

I have a better opener at parties now, but that’s about it!

2 - How did you come to poetry first, as opposed to, say, fiction or non-fiction?

I’ve got a painfully short attention span and tend to live and die on my weird whims so poetry was what fit.

3 - How long does it take to start any particular writing project? Does your writing initially come quickly, or is it a slow process? Do first drafts appear looking close to their final shape, or does your work come out of copious notes?

It comes quickly! I write in short little bursts of stolen time between day job obligations, dog walking, side-business running, etc. so it always ends up a little frenetic. My patient editors sift through the mess later, which I’m ultra grateful for.

4 - Where does a poem usually begin for you? Are you an author of short pieces that end up combining into a larger project, or are you working on a "book" from the very beginning?

Always a book! I love having lofty plans for myself (that rarely pan out, o’ course) but it keeps me accountable. Plus, as above, I like having something to brag about at parties.

5 - Are public readings part of or counter to your creative process? Are you the sort of writer who enjoys doing readings?

They’re my absolute favourite part. (I’m a double Leo and an Aries rising – yikes!) I love testing things out in a room, making people laugh (if I’m lucky), telling a good tale, etc. I also LOVE writers who can really command a room (thinking of Light Zachary, Meghan Harrison, Safiya Sinclair, Danez Smith, Aisha Sasha John especially) – that performative, cacophonous, jovial part of poetry is often uncelebrated and it’s a real shame.

6 - Do you have any theoretical concerns behind your writing? What kinds of questions are you trying to answer with your work? What do you even think the current questions are?

No lofty questions, usually. I’m still just trying to figure my own shit out. I’m a big proponent of the literary diary. (Though, of course, I’d be tickled if someone saw themself in my stuff!) I love peeling apart my past experiences & twisting them around. Themes that tend to emerge are questions around selfhood, anxiety, female friendships, sex stuff, marriage, codependency – all very fun and fluffy.

7 – What do you see the current role of the writer being in larger culture? Does s/he even have one? What do you think the role of the writer should be?

I think anyone who writes has a divine responsibility to question their beliefs, even (especially) if it’s uncomfortable.

8 - Do you find the process of working with an outside editor difficult or essential (or both)?

I like it! I’m pretty detached from my work by the time it gets to the editing stage, so no hard feelings. Plus, I was an advertising copywriter for a long time and that gave me a good thick skin.

9 - What is the best piece of advice you've heard (not necessarily given to you directly)?

Always start before you’re ready.

10 - What kind of writing routine do you tend to keep, or do you even have one? How does a typical day (for you) begin?

I’m really trying to get more of a routine going. I’m stupid busy but trying to be less so (and hate that as an excuse!). I can’t write unless I’m out of the house, at a coffee shop, blaring loud music & without any connectivity to the internet whatsoever.

11 - When your writing gets stalled, where do you turn or return for (for lack of a better word) inspiration?

Poetry, forever, always.

12 - What fragrance reminds you of home?

Salt, fir, firewood, lavender.

13 - David W. McFadden once said that books come from books, but are there any other forms that influence your work, whether nature, music, science or visual art?

Sitting beside people who are on a first date at a restaurant, that part in a song when the mood changes and you can feel it vibrate, a dance floor where no one’s wearing shoes – sorry, that’s such an annoyingly twee answer but I really do get inspired by daily magic!

14 - What other writers or writings are important for your work, or simply your life outside of your work?

Aisha Sasha John, Natalie Shapero, Matthea Harvey, John Ashbery, Robert Hass, Suzanne Buffam, Carl Phillips, Souvankham Thammavongsa are all perfect writers. Vincent Colistro is important for my life outside of work.

15 - What would you like to do that you haven't yet done?

I’d like to write another book!

16 - If you could pick any other occupation to attempt, what would it be? Or, alternately, what do you think you would have ended up doing had you not been a writer?

I have an online fabric store and find it the most fun. Running a small business is really where I feel my best and get to access all the skills that are dormant while I write (spreadsheets! taxes! customer service!). When I was a kid I wanted to be a figure skater who also sang and wrote poetry – is there still time?

17 - What made you write, as opposed to doing something else?

Bad at math AND science.

18 - What was the last great book you read? What was the last great film?

The Vegetarian by Han Kang. I’m still reading Chicken by Lynn Crosbie but I’m convinced it’s great, too. Burning was a capital-G GREAT film – recently saw that and pretty sure I was agape the entire time.

19 - What are you currently working on?

A new book! I can’t say too much (mostly because I am very superstitious) but it will be debaucherous.

12 or 20 (second series) questions;

12 or 20 (small press) questions with Catriona Wright (and Emma Dolan) on Desert Pets Press

Desert Pets Press was founded in 2015 by illustrator Emma Dolan and writer Catriona Wright. Based out of Toronto, Ontario, the press publishes limited edition poetry and prose chapbooks and strives to combine exciting contemporary writing with innovative design.

Catriona Wright is a writer, editor, and teacher. Her poetry has appeared in Prism International, Prairie Fire, Arc Poetry Magazine, Rusty Toque and Best Canadian Poetry 2015 (Tightrope Books). She is the poetry editor at The Puritan and a co-founder of Desert Pets Press. @CatTreeWright

Emma Dolan is a Toronto-based designer and illustrator. In 2015 she co-founded Desert Pets Press. @emmadarkandweird

1 – When did Desert Pets Press first start? How have your original goals as a publisher shifted since you started, if at all? And what have you learned through the process?

My friend Emma and I discussed starting a chapbook press several years ago when I was enrolled in the MA in Creative Writing at the University of Toronto and she was working as a book cover designer. We’ve been friends for over 15 years, and we wanted to collaborate on something creative together. But then we procrastinated for a long time (including many months of brainstorming a name). Finally we got our act together in early 2015, and Desert Pets Press was born!

We’ve published four books so far over two seasons (Fall 2015 and Spring 2016). Our original goal was to have fun, publish people we like, and make beautiful books, and I don’t see those goals changing any time soon.

We’ve learned a lot through the process! I’m also the poetry editor at The Puritan, where I work with a big team of people who do the publicity, grant writing, event organizing etc., so it was eye-opening to be responsible for everything ourselves. The thing that amazes me most is the sheer number of emails we’ve sent. So. Many. Emails.

2 – What first brought you to publishing?

I still consider myself primarily a writer, so I came to publishing from that perspective.  I first became aware of the small press world in Ottawa when I took a workshop with you at Collected Works in 2007, and when I moved to Toronto, I learned about many other presses, both large and small. I was a spectator/consumer for many years, and I eventually found the courage (and the right partner) to participate more actively.

After completing a literature degree at Queen’s, Emma enrolled in the Book and Magazine Publishing Program at Centennial, so she was exposed to that side of things. She worked for several publishers before going freelance as a book designer and illustrator.

3 – What do you consider the role and responsibilities, if any, of small publishing?

We can only speak for ourselves, but for us it’s all about putting out work we’re proud of and that we’ve enjoyed producing. We love to support other presses by collaborating and attending their events, but at the end of the day, putting the work in and getting the books out into the world is our biggest focus.

4 – What do you see your press doing that no one else is?

I think it’s a bit unusual to have an artist and a writer working together. Emma has done an exceptional job with the design (covers, interior illustrations, etc.). We were inspired by two other small presses, Ferno House Press and Odourless Press, both of which are no longer publishing new books. I’d like to think we’ve done justice to their strong emphasis on design.

5 – What do you see as the most effective way to get new chapbooks out into the world?

I have no idea! We’re still new to this. We’ve definitely found that the majority of our sales have occurred at launches, but our Etsy store has been active, as well. Toronto boutiques and independent bookstores have also been taking notice of chapbooks and independent publications and are carrying them in their stores, and we have some chapbooks for sale at TKVO on Dundas and Type Bookstore on Queen. Chapbook creation is a collaborative process, so we also rely on our authors to spread the word through social media and their personal networks.

6 – How involved an editor are you? Do you dig deep into line edits, or do you prefer more of a light touch?

I’m still finding my editing rhythm, and so far my approach has depended on the book. For example, E Martin Nolan’s chapbook had already been heavily edited by Bardia Sinaee before it came our way. I was more involved in Michelle Brown’s editing process, but I’m also in a poetry workshop with her, so some of that editing came in the form of earlier workshop comments. Before we start on a new project,  I like to ask writers about their expectations to get a sense of what they want from me, and then I go from there.

7 – How do your books get distributed? What are your usual print runs?

We sell most of our books at launches, but we’ve sold several at Meet the Presses and the Ottawa Small Press Fair, and we’re lucky enough to have some on the shelves at Type bookstore. We also have an Etsy store, which has been quite successful this season.

For our first season of books, we did a 50 book print run, but we sold out almost immediately. This time we did 100 of each book.

8 – How many other people are involved with editing or production? Do you work with other editors, and if so, how effective do you find it? What are the benefits, drawbacks?

As I mentioned before, Bardia Sinaee edited most of E Martin Nolan’s book, but that was an unusual circumstance, and we don’t generally work with other editors. We get our books printed at Colour Code, a great local printer and a press themselves, and we’ve been very pleased with their work.

9– How has being an editor/publisher changed the way you think about your own writing?

I’m not sure it’s changed the way I think about my writing, but it’s certainly increased my respect for publishers and all the tough work they do. Before Desert Pets Press I didn’t fully realize how much attention has to go into each stage of the process (editing, layout, design, etc.), so I hope I’ll be more understanding when my own books are going through production.   

10– How do you approach the idea of publishing your own writing? Some, such as Gary Geddes when he still ran Cormorant, refused such, yet various Coach House Press’ editors had titles during their tenures as editors for the press, including Victor Coleman and bpNichol. What do you think of the arguments for or against, or do you see the whole question as irrelevant?

Still working out my thoughts on this question! I haven’t published my own work yet and have no plans to do so soon (but a part of me would love to have Emma create some illustrations for my poems, so we’ll see).  

11– How do you see Desert Pets Press evolving?

We’re content at the moment, but we’ll probably try to start publishing more books a season (3 rather than 2), and we’d like to start printing some broadsides. We’re hoping to attend more book fairs (Expozine, Brooklyn Art Fair, etc), as well. I don’t anticipate Desert Pets Press ever expanding into a full trade press. We’d like to keep our scale small and our ideas big.

12– What, as a publisher, are you most proud of accomplishing? What do you think people have overlooked about your publications? What is your biggest frustration?

We’re still babies in the publishing biz so just getting our chapbooks into the world has been our greatest accomplishment. Blissfully free of bitterness and frustration…perhaps that happens later.  

13– Who were your early publishing models when starting out?

As I mentioned earlier, Ferno House Press and Odourless Press were our main models. They both created some beautiful, intelligent books. Spencer Gordon and Bardia Sinaee have also been helpful sources of information about making and distributing the books.

14– How does Desert Pets Press work to engage with your immediate literary community, and community at large? What journals or presses do you see Desert Pets Press in dialogue with? How important do you see those dialogues, those conversations?

We collaborate with several other small presses. In the spring, we co-ran our launch with the excellent Emergency Response Unit, and we’re hoping to work with Metatron and words (on) pages on some events/readings/launches in the next year. I’m also an editor at The Puritan, so we have close ties with those folks.

These connections are absolutely vital to our existence, and we support other presses by attending/publicizing events and trading/buying books. We got into publishing because we wanted to create something for a community, and we are continually inspired by the ingenuity of the Canadian literary world.

15– Do you hold regular or occasional readings or launches? How important do you see public readings and other events?

We’ve held two launches/readings so far, both at Reunion Island Coffee, and they were magical. It’s so gratifying to see the authors read and share their work. Public readings are important for publicity and sales, but even more important for celebratory purposes. No one is making any money from these books. It’s a gift economy, an exchange of creative energy, and we want to nurture this connection by bringing people together in person.   

16– How do you utilize the internet, if at all, to further your goals?

Selling online has been a big help because it allows us to reach more people. We’ve had lots of sales all over Canada and the US (and even New Zealand!). Posting on social media has been our main method for getting the word out about our projects and events and getting people excited about what we’re doing.

17– Do you take submissions? If so, what aren’t you looking for?

We’re not taking submissions at the moment.

18– Tell me about three of your most recent titles, and why they’re special.

Moon Bones/Silver Tooth by Brooke Lockyer is our first fiction chapbook. A flip book with two covers/stories, this chapbook delves into the dark heart of childhood. The writing is compassionate, sad, subtle, and gorgeous.

Foreign Experts Building by Michelle Brown is silly on the surface, but don’t let that fool you. These poems are anxious and death-obsessed. Plus, the chapbook features some gorgeous animal illustrations.

Poems from Still by E Martin Nolan features spare, haunting poems about two post-industrial cities, New Orleans and Detroit. These poems will also appear in E Martin Nolan’s full-length collection, which is coming out in fall 2017 with Invisible Publishing.  

12 or 20 (small press) questions;

Ongoing notes: the ottawa small press book fair (part one,

[Stephen Brockwell, right, speaking to a seated Jim Johnstone] Okay: given our wee girls, it has taken more than a couple of weeks to start getting into the small mound of publications I ended up with, after our most recent small press fair in mid-June.

Ottawa ON: Only a few blocks away from where we live in Ottawa’s Alta Vista neighbourhood, poet and critic D.S. Stymeist (who has a first poetry collection forthcoming, by the by) runs Textualis Press, a small chapbook press only a couple of titles in. His newest title is by Ottawa poet Stephen Brockwell, the chapbook Where Did You See It Last? (June, 2016), a lovely title “Printed on Classic Laid (Avon Brilliant White),” with cover stock “Glama Natural (Pearl) and Royal Sundance Fiber (Ice Blue).” Even if you don’t know much about paper, you might just get a slight sense of how damned classy this small item looks. I’ve always been fascinated by the way, through some half-a-dozen trade poetry collections going back to the late 1980s, that Brockwell has composed poems as small ‘moments,’ composing small capsules utilizing voice and/or character studies. The poem “Biography of the Letterpress Father,” while I know I can’t automatically read as biographical, becomes curious knowing that his own father was actually the printer of Brockwell’s debut, The Wire in Fences (Toronto ON: Balmuir Press, 1988), a poetry collection that included a number of short, lyric ‘studies’ surrounding his mother’s home territory of Glengarry County, Ontario.

Biography of the Letterpress Father

The day after my father died, I swept

a thousand pounds of scrap—plates, rods, wires,

gears—with an industrial broom three feet wide.

I hurled reams of 90lb cover stock, rolls

of blank newsprint, corrugated cardboard,

pallets of die-cut printed boxboard packed

but never delivered to a customer who never paid.

I dumped his confession from drawers of lead type

on the concrete floor of the loading dock

and shoveled it into the bin below.

I poured endless canisters of wasted ink,

blending indigo, emerald, pink, gold and black

into this grey biography of his adulterous heart.

There is something about the production of this small item that really clicks with the meditative weight of Brockwell’s pieces in this short collection, eight poems moving through a variety of “biographies,” from “Biography of the Discovered Owl” to “Biography of the Barbed Wire Scar” and “Biography of the Praying Mantis,” as well as the enticingly-titled “Bacon Production on an Industrial Scale.” And for those who don’t already know, Brockwell also has a new poetry title out this fall—All of Us Reticent, Here, Together—with Mansfield Press.

[Mark Laliberte of Carousel beside Catriona Wright of Desert Pets Press] 

Toronto ON: From Toronto’s Desert Pets Press comes FOREIGN EXPERTS BUILDING (2016) by Michelle Brown, a poet who is, incidentally, also the author of a forthcoming debut poetry collection: in 2018, with Palimpsest Press. There are some intriguing moments in Brown’s short lyrics, such as the cadence of the poems “SUN RISES IN A CHINESE HOSPITAL” and “LEDGE.” There are moments in some of these pieces that require a bit more tightening, and other moments that do feel a bit too ‘clever’ for their own good, such as the opening to the poem “APARTMENT,” that reads: “The couple next door had a baby, and each night / we woke to his baby ennui.” As a whole unit, this small chapbook might not be perfect, but there is enough positive and intriguing in this debut that Michelle Brown now has my attention.

SOMETHING FUNNY

Here’s something funny. A clamshell that you couldn’t

open. In a market, and it was definitely funny.

The others thought so. They were all wiping their

Eyes with dirty napkins as they watched you dig your nails in.

In the market, as the night was closing up. The people were laughing

and you were angry because you wanted it so bad, wanted

it all, the hearts and brain of it all together, and I was laughing

because it was funny, so funny, and that’s what humour is,

it’s funny because you’re afraid it’s true, and here I was laughing

at your stubby fingers, laughing at the woman scrubbing the shells

in a bucket of seawater, laughing at the sea, that impossibility,

and knew that nothing would ever be funny again

as we stood up from the table and returned to the rain,

all of us laughing at you and the timing that death

seems to have, lapping at everything.