All April, thanks to Judith Fitzgerald and Peter Scowen, I’ve been curating twenty spaces on the Globe & Mail book blog, asked for poets to write on other poets. The suggestion on the Globe site is deceptive: I didn’t pick any of the subjects (but for mine, obviously), but asked twenty writers of poetry to write on whomever they chose. Over the weeks, some were forced to drop out for various reasons, unable to complete the task, and even further were asked (originally I wasn’t planning on writing any at all, but somehow managed to write two, which wasn’t my intention). It was pretty entertaining, the idea of including all sorts of writers who might otherwise not be allowed a Globe & Mail anything (where have all the poetry reviews gone? Why doesn’t the Focus section write on poets more often? Etc) Thanks to all the writers who contributed magnificent pieces (there were days when twenty weren't nearly enough)! Here’s the entire list of pieces back;
1 – When did Moria the online journal, and then the trade books, 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?
Moria first started when I was living in Baton Rouge in 1998.I could not get easy access to the materials that I most wanted to read, and I was a poor graduate student, so I could not pay for them.Thinking about my own case, I decided to start a journal focusing on innovative that could be read anywhere.The trade/ebooks started in 2005.I just thought it would be a good way to offer books without the complicated process of a full printing.
2 – What first brought you to publishing?
I came to it in the beginning to read innovative work.Publishing brought me to the work, and after that, publishing brought me into the broader world of contemporary poetry.
3 – What do you consider the role and responsibilities, if any, of small publishing?
Small presses need to exist to publish work that the large corporate presses are not willing to take on.In essence, small presses needs to be there for innovation.
4 – What do you see your press doing that no one else is?
I could answer that question when the presses started, but I’m not sure that Moria does anything that is completely distinct.It publishes a decent amount of Vispo and post-language work, but that could be found also in other journals.
5 – What do you see as the most effective way to get new publications out into the world?
The e-zine is a quick way to spread work around the world, but really, I think getting work published has become much easier than it used to be, and the big part today seems to be drawing attention to a publication, not just publishing it.
6 – How involved an editor are you? Do you dig deep into line edits, or do you prefer more of a light touch?
The light touch—I do not edit the pieces much at all on Moria.I do that more in my critical editing positions.
7 – How do your books get distributed? What are your usual print runs?
Through the website.Since Moria focuses on free ebooks with the possibility of printing, I don’t try to distribute the books.The ebooks get quite a bit of traffic, so I’m not too worried about attracting new attention.
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?
I work alone with Moria.In other projects I work with others, but I like to keep Moria as my own project.If I like a piece, I put it online, and I don’t have to argue with someone else about it.
9 – How has being an editor/publisher changed the way you think about your own writing?
I think it influences all aspects of my writing.I think about writing for online and the page different.I think of paper sizes when writing for print.I think of method of distribution.I think I focused just on writing before I became involved in publishing.
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?
I will publish my own writing if I think it fits in the project, but I have stopped publishing my work through Moria.I like to see my work in a variety of places, so I don’t want to tie it up myself.
11 – How do you see the press evolving? How do you see the journal evolving?
I’d like to add more advanced media pieces, like movies, mixed media—basically I’d like to see more works that use the properties of the Internet in the work.
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?
Moria has published many poets in its ten plus years.I’m happy about publishing poets without worrying about who they are.I try to focus on the work, so that sometimes has me saying yes to a first time writer
13 – Who were your early publishing models when starting out?
I don’t think I had anything specific in mind.Publishing on the Internet was a new thing when I started.
14 – How does Moria engage with your immediate literary community, and community at large? What journals or presses do you see your books in dialogue with? How important do you see those dialogues, those conversations?
Moria does not engage much with my local community; however, it has a large readership.People visit the site from roughly 44 countries a month.I think the international readership is important for the journal.I dialogue about publishing issue with many other editors, and I think that help me stay aware of what is working and not working in the publishing field.That gets reflected in Moria.Ultimately, through talking with other publishers, I began to see the need for the ebooks/POD books, so I started that part of Moria.
15 – Do you hold regular or occasional readings or launches? How important do you see public readings and other events?
Moria does not host readings or launches.If there were more people helping me, I would.Most of the advertizing for the ebooks/PODs happens through e-mail, Facebook, and other such sites.
16 – How do you utilize the internet, if at all, to further your goals?
Well, as an e-zine, the Internet is crucial, but really I think have an e-zine is good because it makes the work more widely available than a print magazine.
17 – Do you take submissions? If so, what aren’t you looking for?
Yes, I do.I posted something about this topic on my blog a few years ago, and I think it is still works.I’ll just paste that here:
*read the journal before submitting. most of the poems i reject are in styles not published in the journal.
*don't forward submissions that have obviously been rejected many, many times. go ahead and remove the "forwarding" marks from your e-mail.
* don't rant about how good you are in the cover letter. (related: don't tell me about the five million places you have published your work.)
* don't be degrading to women.
* don't send extremely religious work.
* don't tell me about all the wonderful poets you know in poetryland. unless i know one of the poets as a friend, it doesn't make me take a second look at your work.
* don't ask for advice. i get too many submissions to do that. join a writing group for advice.
* don't write me two weeks after you submit looking for an answer.
* don't center all of you poems.
* tell me about work that you like in the journal.
here are some suggestions for what to do after you are rejected.
* don't write me to complain. that doesn't make me change my mind. plus, if i am on the edge about your work, that just makes me not want to look at future work from you.
* get over it. who the hell am i? who is any editor really? if your work is good, keep trying to get it out there.
* go read some contemporary poetry. if you, a poet, don't read contemporary poetry, who does?
* write and publish a poem on how much you hate me. (make sure to send it to me.)
to be forthcoming, i'll give you some of my poetry prejudices for moria.
* i like innovative/experimental/playful poetry for moria. that's what it's supposed to be about.
* i don't publish extremely religious poetry or poems about breasts (in praise, lust, whatever).
* i think poetry should uphold life, not denigrate it.
* i don't publish poetry written by poets named harold unless they remind me of haroldo de campos.
18 – Tell me about three of your most recent titles, and why they’re special.
Ed Baker’s Goodnight is a fascinating book that plays with words on the page and images.Mark Young’s More from Series Magritteexpands on his first book from Series Magritte, and really, I just think that Mark is an incredible writer.Last, I always like the new issues of the e-zine, and I just posted one with many interesting writers.
signing my copy of his new poetry collection, Too Bad: Sketches Toward a Self-Portrait (University of Alberta Press) last Wednesday at U of A's Faculty Club, during a little reading tour he & I did with Alice Major.
L.A. Weekly recently declared, “Davis has an amazing head for aural experiments—creating expansive compositions out of found sounds and computer manipulations—that are smart on paper and fascinating in execution.” Slate.com called I, Tania, “The book of your fever dreams.”
1 - How did your first book change your life? How does your most recent work compare to your previous? How does it feel different?
My first book was an accident that turned me into a spoiled, unbearable, monster. I think I even said at one point, "See, I don't need no stinking university degree. I got a Coach House book!" while hitting someone across the face with Portable Altamont.
I, Tania humbled me. Some tell me it's a good book but it will be years before I'll ever read it again. My life was absolute shit when I wrote it and I learned art is not transcendent. Writing is like a recording. Whatever sound is in the room at the time will be on tape.
2 - How did you come to fiction first, as opposed to, say, poetry or non-fiction?
I come from art so those three things weren't separate to me when I started. Text was just something you used to achieve something. I really try not to forget that. In the States it's a little easier. In Canada, designations matter more as a side effect of granting. In the States they just want to know what you do, minus the adjectives.
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?
Depends. The huge monologue projects like Johnny or Voice Over take years--I just did one more edit on Voice Over for inclusion in Ronald Reagan, My Father. Since being exposed to theatre and working with actors, the fiction stuff is getting easier the more I understand dramatic structure. A short story I'll think about for a few weeks then I'll get three plot points down on paper then get into it. The new novel I just started on is coming out of five pages of bullet points and then will end up in years of re-writing.
4 &5 - Are public readings part of or counter to your creative process? Are you the sort of writer who enjoys doing readings?
One thing that annoys me about the idea of "a writer" is the assumption that a book is this separate thing from other art forms, that having a book is its own reward. I think writers should work more with performers, musicians, scientists. I'm just in the middle of doing a radio play of the short stories in Ronald Reagan, My Fatherand it's great. It reminds me that all that matters is the writing and performing. A book, again, is kind of a side effect and the least entertaining part of the process.
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?
I do have those concerns, everyone does, but if they find their way into the writing, you're fucked. Art does not/cannot provide answers. If it did it would make way more money.
Canadians, I'm just figuring out, are a dogmatic lot. "Entertainment" here is always this "teachable" crap.
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?
Society will always need people who can manipulate other people with words.
8 - Do you find the process of working with an outside editor difficult or essential (or both)?
I am an excessive mess of a person. If I didn't have editors like Darren Wershler, Michael Holmes or my wife Emily Schultz who sees the worst of it, you wouldn't be talking to me.
9 - What is the best piece of advice you've heard (not necessarily given to you directly)?
You can always lose the first reel.
10 - How easy has it been for you to move between genres (fiction to non-fiction)? What do you see as the appeal?
I've been a journalist off and on for 10 years. It's tough but fiction is more difficult-- as its laws are completely up to you. One rule that applies to both is this: get to the point.
11 - What kind of writing routine do you tend to keep, or do you even have one? How does a typical day (for you) begin?
On days I'm paid to write I wake up and do it. I can't do fiction and journalism on the same day.
12 - When your writing gets stalled, where do you turn or return for (for lack of a better word) inspiration?
I'd like to say problem solving always comes from being relaxed, from maybe just firing up the Moog and noodling or playing with the dog but the truth is ideas hit you when they do, sometimes because of the noise or distraction. I just cracked the spine of my new novel in the middle of simultaneously dealing with Joyland's first cease-and-desist letter and coaching an actor through the problems of doing a British accent.
13 - What fragrance reminds you of home?
Cold gasoline.
14 - 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?
Money.
15 - What other writers or writings are important for your work, or simply your life outside of your work?
I'm afraid of reading fiction I really like. I am truly terrified of how much it could effect me.
16 - What would you like to do that you haven't yet done?
Nothing. I'm as happy as a hard-on.
17 - 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 don't have an occupation, which I think is the only qualification for writing.
18 - What made you write, as opposed to doing something else?
See above. That's the exact same question.
19 - What was the last great book you read? What was the last great film?
Ryan Murphy is the author of The RedcoatsandDown with the Ship. He has received awards from Chelsea Magazine and The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art as well as a grant from The Fund for Poetry. He is an associate director of Four Way Books and teaches at Pratt Institute.
1 - How did your first book or chapbook change your life? How does your most recent work compare to your previous? How does it feel different?
I thought that my first book would change my life, but I woke up the next morning to same person, sadly.
I hope the new book is better than my first, and that I am improving as a writer.
2 - How did you come to poetry first, as opposed to, say, fiction or non-fiction?
I came to poetry first, I read plenty of fiction, but I don’t have the mindset to write like that.
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?
My writing comes very slowly. The generative process is the most difficult. I typically write a great deal down and when I feel as though I’ve reached a sort of critical mass, I try to put it together, which for me is the most fun. There are often many many drafts. I am certainly more of a grinder than someone with a great deal of fluency.
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?
I try not to think in terms of “books” I think I would find that overwhelming. I have enough faith in a kind of continuity of time that will bind the poems together, but again, it generally takes several years.
5 - Are public readings part of or counter to your creative process? Are you the sort of writer who enjoys doing readings?
I enjoy readings when they are over. I find them overwhelmingly nerve-wracking. I also tend to think of my work as being written almost exclusively for the page, which can make readings difficult.
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?
Not consciously at least. I think that I am trying more than anything to get then questions themselves to emerge (that primarily of the impulse even to be writing) more that answer them.
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 that it depends upon the writer and it depends upon the reader and what they are coming to literature for.
And I wouldn’t dare speculate on what role a writer should be. It’s just too individualistic.
8 - Do you find the process of working with an outside editor difficult or essential (or both)?
Essential. I can write some terrible shit and not know it.
9 - What is the best piece of advice you've heard (not necessarily given to you directly)?
I can’t remember, and almost certainly didn’t follow it.
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 don’t keep to any sort of routine, and suffer terrible anxiety that whatever I have just written will be the last thing I ever write.
Most days are coffee cigarettes and off to work.
11 - When your writing gets stalled, where do you turn or return for (for lack of a better word) inspiration?
I turn to a lot of poets, Ashbery I think is always great for loosening one’s grip, Berrigan, Oppen, Spicer, Armantrout. Visual artists, Baseball statistics, television.
12 - What do you really want?
I dare not jinx it with an answer.
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?
I think that other forms do influence my work, but I do generally think that my work as a writer is more or less generated by an over-enthusiasm for other books.
14 - What other writers or writings are important for your work, or simply your life outside of your work?
So so many. I would forget too many if I tried to list them, and just embarrass myself and feel bad later.
15 - What would you like to do that you haven't yet done?
I don’t know.
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?
Well I went to trade school to be a boatbuilder, so that is probably what I would have remained.
17 - What made you write, as opposed to doing something else?
Well, I was a visual arts student, though I couldn’t really draw unless I made a big enough mess and pushed things around a lot. And then obviously carpentry, which was sort of the same thing, making things fit in a certain way from raw material, and I think writing is the same way for me, fulfills those same impulses. And again, I just became an over-enthusiastic reader, which I think is what made me write.
18 - What was the last great book you read? What was the last great film?
Margaret Christakos' brilliant Influency series now has an online component, Influency Salon, thanks to Coach House Books; check it out here; as she writes in an email, "roam amorous in poetics."
Arc Poetry Magazine was founded in Ottawa, Canada in 1978 by the Arc Poetry Society to nurture and promote the composition and appreciation of poetry in Canada. In its uninterrupted 32 years of publication—it is the longest-running, uninterrupted poetry publication in the country—the magazine has remained steadfast in this purpose. It gives out several annual prizes and awards, and can be found online at arcpoetry.ca
Anita Laheyis the author of the poetry collection Out to Dry in Cape Breton(Vehicule Press, 2006), which was nominated for the Trillium Book Award for Poetry and the Ottawa Book Award. She has been involved with Arc since 2001 and has served as editor since 2005. She is also a journalist who has written on a wide range of topics for publications such as The Walrus, Cottage Life, Maisonneuve, Canadian Geographic, Chatelaine, the Ottawa Citizen, Quill & Quire, and several others. She lives in Montreal.
1 – When did ARC magazine 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?
Arc was founded in 1978 by three English professors at Carleton University, including the poet Christopher Levenson, who remained as editor of the magazine for many years after its association with Carleton ceased. Since its early days it has been independent from any larger organization such as a university or writers’ guild. In issue 2, an editorial stated the magazine had no manifesto: “Our only commitment is to good poetry and to good criticism, wherever we can find it.” Though many editors have taken the helm, including John Bell and Mark Frutkin, John Barton and Rita Donovan, myself and Matthew Holmes, and though a long list of Ottawa writers & literary folk have served on the editorial board (including David Staines, Colin Morton, Sandra Nicholls, John Buschek, Susan McMaster, Barbara Myers, Paul Tyler, Sandra Ridley), this has not changed—we at Arc are steadfastly anti-manifesto (though that in itself might be seen as a manifesto). Currently our board includes Rob Winger, Rhonda Douglas, Shane Rhodes, Grant Wilkins and several others. My own goal as editor of Arc is to contain within its pages, alongside strong new poetry, a lively conversation about poetry—I want Arc to be a locus for that often fractious but often enlightening conversation among poets and readers of poetry in Canada. What I have learned editing Arc I could spend a whole week talking about, but one thing in particular is that the poets function as a kind of small town—a community that is spread out in tendrils over the entire country. There is no province or territory from which we don’t receive submissions, and our contributors, be they poets, critics, essayists or all three, live in farflung locales all over the map. There is something remarkable about finding oneself part of this half-hidden world, and engaging with it, and always finding new lines and branches to follow. It is a privilege and an adventure.
2 – What first brought you to publishing?
Writing. I studied magazine journalism at Ryerson in Toronto, and have worked in various capacities as a writer or editor ever since.
3 – How do you approach the idea of taking over, and even altering a publishing mandate that pre-dates your own tenure as editor? Is this intimidating at all, or exciting, or both? How do you approach continuity?
In my case I became involved with Arc because I liked the magazine—I read it and tried to publish my work in it (my first published poem appeared in Arc before I knew anyone involved with the magazine)—so continuity of sensibility existed. I did not step in to alter the mandate or drastically change the magazine. Even the redesign that happened after I became editor with Matthew Holmes became reviews editor—we worked for a couple of years as a kind of co-editorship until he moved away and got a full-time job (and a family!)—was something the former editors were thinking about and wanting to do; this was not a radical shift. Changes have happened based on discussions around the table with the editorial board, different ideas people put forward, and probably to some extent my own personality and the journalistic experience I bring, my sense of what a magazine is as a whole. It’s gradual and organic. I think Arc with me has increased its essay quotient considerably—I like, as I said above, for the magazine to be engaging in, and in some sense even leading or trying to set a tone, for discussion about poetry and poetics in Canada at this time. Some might say doing that takes space away from being able to publish a few more new poems, and it does, but to me it’s a worthwhile and even an important trade-off. I like to put things in context, and as a reader to see things in context, and this has led us to do some explorations into issues and themes such as Canada’s “forgotten and neglected poets,” about whom we did a special issue, and the question of ego and poetry, which led to our “anonymous” issue. It is also why we have more little features in the magazine surrounding the new poetry and criticism, such as the Arc Dozens essay, the letters, and even a regular editor’s note. For me it also needs to be fun, so we try not to take everything too seriously: while we conduct very earnest investigations into the state of poetry, we try to be playful about it.
4 – What do you consider the role and responsibilities, if any, of small publishing?
Small publishers are like the training ground and apprenticeship for writers and editors. They are also the places where any kind of discussion can happen, where work can be tried out and shared, without concern over popular appeal—in essence where writers at any level can be free to follow their noses. In that sense, we are the incubators of art and ideas. We support, we encourage, and we provide a space, again, in which to play. A society needs these spaces, because it is here where the ideas that will later spread more widely take root, where many the writers who will later speak to the masses hone their craft and their skills, and also where the writers who may never speak to the masses, but who still speak in important and necessary ways, can exercise their voices and by doing so influence and enrich our world and our lives,.
5 – What do you see your press doing that no one else is?
We provide a forum for discussion and criticism of contemporary Canadian poetry that is more broad and in-depth than I see elsewhere. Each issue of Arc contains a couple of dozen brief reviews of recent collections as well as 1-4 longer reviews—nowhere else is there this much room for informed and thoughtful discussion of new poetry being published in the country. We set a tone (I hope) of openness and exploration—others do this too for literature in general, but in a purely poetic context I think we are unique. Aside from supporting the creation of new work—which we do not just by publishing and offering prizes but also through our Poet-in-Residence program, which nurtures emerging writers who show promise and also gives room for a more established poet to work on a new project—we revisit and examine what is already before us and with us, in ways that matter the poets writing today: through our How Poems Work column and through such projects as the aforementioned “Forgotten and Neglected issue, and our more recent issue examining the legacy of John Thompson and the rise in popularity of the ghazal form since his death. We also try to push the boundaries of the poetry community and invite others in—this by such initiatives as in our recent How Poems Work Annual, in which we invited readers from all walks of life to comment on the poems being featured and discussed.
6 – What do you see as the most effective way to get new issues out into the world?
I’m not sure whether you mean issues of a magazine—or issues, as in, topics for discussion. If the former, I don’t know. We sell in stores, we have subscribers, we host readings and launches, we take part in Word on the Street and other book fairs, and even sometimes more general arts fairs, such as the Artspark event in the Ottawa neighbourhood of Hintonburg every May. Here we run an Arc Poetry Factory, at which people can “order” a poem from a member of Arc or an Arc associate, who is sitting at a typewriter ready to write on the spot. (We use this as a fundraiser for a local schools organization, and it is extremely popular, and again, a kind of outreach beyond our typical audience.)
7 – How involved an editor are you? Do you dig deep into line edits, or do you prefer more of a light touch?
I am as involved as I need to be, by which I mean to say, some pieces are very well realized and only need a light touch, while others require more revision and rethinking—a deeper intervention from an editor. I am talking about prose. Most longer pieces require more editorial involvement, which is normal: it is the rare writer who doesn’t need an editor (as someone who is often on the other side of this relationship, I am often wary if an editor doesn’t wade in, for an outside eye and fresh perspective is helpful and in many cases even necessary). As for poems, I only ever offer minor suggestions for changes, if any; in general, the poetry we accept is selected because we like it as it is.
8 – How does ARC get distributed? What are your usual print runs?
As mentioned above, Arc is distributed through mailed subscriptions, sold on newsstands, (Magazines Canada distributes us to newsstands, as they do most small publications in the country), and sold at special events such as launches and festivals.
9 – 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?
Working with a team is important because everyone has different strengths and different ideas, and because hearing and considering a diversity of viewpoints—while this sometimes presents challenges—is important. A one-person operation risks being narrow in scope. We have an editorial board of 8, all of whom are involved to some extent in selection of content. Everyone reads submissions and we have editorial meetings where we discuss poems that are in contention for acceptance. Among this crew is a poetry editor and a reviews editor, both of whom help a little more with the process (the poetry editor is someone I consult with regularly, and the reviews editor does some of the assigning of reviews and also some of the initial editing). We have a board member who assists with copy editing, an art director who takes part in art selection and is very involved in our production process, a layout designer who formats all the content, and a managing editor who runs the show—by which I mean everything that doesn’t involve editing itself, from paying the bills to grant applications to managing submissions and distributing mail. Having this crew involved with all these practical matters (which wasn’t always the case at Arc) helps the editor be able to focus on editorial matters which is very difficult to do when one is busy writing cheques and managing budgets and that sort of thing.
10 – How has being an editor/publisher changed the way you think about your own writing?
I have always shifted back and forth between the two sides of the writing business, so I’m not sure I can answer that—it’s almost too meshed to be able to parse. But when I’m working as a writer, I know, for example, that if I don’t hear from an editor for a spell it may have to do with their production cycle, rather than meaning they’ve forgotten I exist. The other thing I would say is that, for me, it’s tough to do both simultaneously. When I’m working as an editor, and feeling responsible for a host of different tasks, it’s hard to carve out the mental space necessary to write. In my case. For others, it might not be so difficult.
11 – 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?
I would never publish my own poetry. No editor of Arc can be published in the magazine, in fact. Prose is another matter. We are all sometimes prose contributors to the magazine; this is appropriate and even desired, because in that case we are sharing our knowledge and perspective on poetic subjects with Arc’s readers, as any of our other contributors do.
12 – How do you see ARC continuing to evolve?
I hope we will continue to host a lively and meaningful and topical discussion of poetry and poetics, and that we will find more and better ways to do this, and to expand out to a broader audience. We will also continue to further develop our educational & support activities, by maintaining our Poet-in-Residence program, which is in its pilot year and which continues into a second year in 2010-2011, and by doing more activities such as supplying lesson plans for teachers of poetry and writing with issues of the magazine (we did this first with the 2010 Arc Annual).
13 – 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?
I am frustrated by the federal government’s decision to cut its support of small publications—very frustrated. We are not money pits—the funding we received from Heritage Canada was minimal, but extremely useful: as a small operation we are able to accomplish a lot with a small amount of money. And we are indeed incubators of culture: our impact cannot be measured in numbers. Their quantitative approach to cultural endeavour is baffling. I am proud of our Forgotten and Neglected issue, of the fascinating discussion contained within our How Poems Work Annual (in which, for example, a chocolatier contends with a poem by bp nichol), and of our creation of a virtual Poet-in-Residence, the first of its kind in the country, who can provide guidance and feedback to promising poets anywhere. I can’t comment on what people may have overlooked; I have no idea!
14 – Who were your early publishing models when starting out?
15 – How does ARC work to engage with your immediate literary community, and community at large? What journals or presses do you see ARC in dialogue with? How important do you see those dialogues, those conversations?
I think I have mainly answered this above. But to add to that, we are currently in an active partnership with The New Quarterlyon a joint issue (scheduled for summer 2011) on science and literature. This issue will be called “Quarc” and we are very excited about it. We are also, for our upcoming Annual, which will focus on poetry that uses visual art as its inspiration (we’re calling it the Poet as Art Thief issue), conducting an experiment involving 10 Ottawa poets and artists, and working with the National Gallery of Canada on some aspect of the issue. All of this is important—readings, launches, cross-magazine and cross-disciplinary experiments. When you make something, you share it: and then you let people respond to it, and this has an impact on what you make next time. This is how a magazine has a relationship with its community and its readers, and why magazines matter at all.
16 – Do you hold regular or occasional readings or launches? How important do you see public readings and other events?
We hold an Ottawa reading/launch for each issue of Arc, and sometimes extra launches in different cities, such as Montreal or Vancouver, if there are lots of contributors to be found in one place.
17 – How do you utilize the internet, if at all, to further your goals?
Arc’s website features its own content (ongoing How Poems Work column, for example) as well as samples from each issue. We are currently engaged in a revamping of the site that will allow us to use it to more fully complement and build on the print issue, with different kinds of content, including interviews and readings.
18 – Do you take submissions? If so, what aren’t you looking for?
We take submissions from September to May every year. We want poetry that knocks our socks off, and we recognize that there are all manner of ways and means that this can be done. Indeed this variety excites us. There is nothing we aren’t looking for—except perhaps submissions from people who don’t read or like the magazine, or who haven’t read and followed our submission guidelines, which can be found on our website at arcpoetry.ca
19 – Tell me about your most recent issue, and why it's special.
Our most recent issue, Arc 63 (winter 2010), features a great essay by Ottawa poet Barbara Myers about ending a poem—reading poems endings and writing them, and what “closure” really means in poetry. It also features a list of 12 his favourite poems by Don Coles, and why he likes them—a marvellous tour of poets through the ages, from Tomas Transtromer to A.E. Housmann to Douglas LePan—and an in-depth feature review on one of the most celebrated Canadian poets of this generation, Karen Solie. As for poetry, there are some fascinating scientific experiments by Nova Scotia poet Sean Howard; some rich sensual offerings by PEI’s Anne Compton, new work by Daryl Hine and John Barton, two of the country’s most accomplished gay poets (though of different generations); and an Arc debut by Susan Brennan, a Canadian ex-pat in the U.S. who writes in a fast-paced, urgent, surreal, fearless, “look at me when I’m talking to you” kind of voice, using language that fairly drips from the page. One of her poems from this issue is also featured on our “arc card,” a postcard inserted into each issue with original artwork inspired by the poem on the back. In this case, Brennan’s “The Artificial Fern’s Lament” inspired a wonderfully creepy creation by Halifax’s Melissa Marr.
