Furniture Press Inauguration v.2

Two or three years have passed into the clouds since Furniture Press and I last reared our textualisme through the doors of the libraries. It’s about time I get back to work on disseminating innovative works of art and sponsoring poets/writers who work closely with texts-at-large, or, in other words, inter-textuality and appropriation. We created a huge catalogue of handmade chapbooks and pamphlets between the years 2003-2005, all of which have disappeared into the hands of the fortunate. The next phase of the press is to expand production.

Originally, our chapbooks were published in editions of 50, each handsewn with screenprinted covers. Now that we have been given the resurrection treatment via Towson Arts Collective, we finally have our 501(c)3 status, which means better quality works that span a greater universe of new and innovative writing. And the meager 50 runs can move into the hundreds.

I’m not quite sure what the new face of the press will look like, but I assure you it will cover a wider area of poetics including VisPo, theory, fiction and sound – yes, sound. Recently I invested in a home sound studio (aka laptop with soundforge) and I’m thrilled to begin works in space and on page.

The old philosophy is still the same: great poetry without the hassle of dollars and cents. Because we’ve achieved non-profit status our ability to publish without perishing has been solidified. The money that comes in goes directly to the publishing projects – every cent. There’s no capital and no overhead – just poetry and its derivatives!

Part of that philosophy is to extend our reach to the far corners of the earth, and that means working closely with presses and poets to locate talent in the ‘spheres. It’s scouting, if that’s what you want to call it. But it makes the difference because the publishers are actively involved in creating communities of disparate writers.

Let’s start here. Share your comments and your ideas. Wake us up to new and emerging writers that work closely and blatently with inter-textuality and appropriation.

I look forward to working with each and every one of you – in professional and in less formal settings.