A Publisher's Diary -- Oh the Places these Poets Take Me

I was looking forward to Poetry in Pittsburg, first because it was my chance, finally, to meet Olive Sullivan, author of Wandering Bone (Meadowlark 2017) in person. Olive has had a rather tough time, health wise, since the publication of her first poetry book. So I was thrilled to get this opportunity to help Olive debut her book in her hometown. We were joined by Ronda Miller, WaterSigns (Meadowlark 2017) and Izzy Wasserstein, When Creation Falls (Meadowlark 2018).

Any author who has ever organized a book event knows that they can be hit and miss. It's not unusual to hear a story about an author traveling for a reading to find perhaps only an audience of three. So there is always a certain amount of anxiety prior to a book event, and as soon as even a handful of attendees show up, you can hear the authors breathing great sighs of relief.

At this book event, however, we had more than a handful. We pretty much filled up our seating and ended up adding a few extra seats. Even better, the audience was warm and appreciative. It was truly one of the best poetry readings I have attended.

Much credit, of course, goes to Olive and the work she did sharing the news of our event with the locals. I spent the rest of the weekend feeling pretty blissful and relaxed. I wanted to figure out how to bottle the entire experience and perhaps repeat it, town by town, all across the state of Kansas.

 (And the second reason I was looking forward to Pittsburg? I attended school there, my freshman year of college, nearly 30 years ago! I have made a few trips back to visit friends, but the last one was too long ago. I was due for a return visit. And how wonderful that it was such a great one!)

I had a fabulous time in Pittsburg, Kansas, with poets Olive Sullivan, Ronda Miller, and Izzy Wasserstein. We were hosted at the fabulous Eclectic Soul Studio. It was a beautiful setting and the audience was warm and welcoming. As well, we were treated to music by the band, Amanita. 

For our Poetry in Pittsburg event, we also enjoyed the following before and after press!

July 20, 2018 - Joplin Globe
Pittsburg Poet Sullivan to Read from Latest Book

July 21, 2018 -- KOAM TV, Channel 7 Pittsburg
Book Launch

Celebrating Poetry in Pittsburg at the Eclectic Soul Studio on July 21

Pittsburg, KS – Three poets will be reading and talking about poetry on Saturday, July 21, 4-6pm at the Eclectic Soul Studio, 601 North Broadway. All have had books published by Meadowlark Books, Emporia, within the last year.

Olive Sullivan, Pittsburg, debuts Wandering Bone, her first full-length book of poetry. In addition to writing, Sullivan performs in the band Amanita, and in her free time, likes to fly-fish with her husband, the scholar and writer Stephen Harmon; takes long walks with dogs; and travel anywhere that requires a passport. She is an apprentice bookbinder.

Sullivan will be joined by Ronda Miller, Lawrence, author of

WaterSigns and MoonStain, both published by Meadowlark Books. Miller is the current state president of Kansas Authors Club, a writing organization that has been supporting authors since 1902. She is a Life Coach who specializes in working with clients who have lost someone to homicide.

The third poet in the trio is Izzy Wasserstein, Topeka,  author of When Creation Falls. Wasserstein teaches English at Washburn University, writes poetry and fiction, and shares a house with a variety of animal companions and the writer Nora E. Derrington. Her first poetry collection, This Ecstacy They Call Damnation, was a 2013 Kansas Notable Book.

Meadowlark Books is an independent publisher, specializing in printing books by authors from the heartland since 2014. Learn more at www.meadowlark-books.com.

The event will take place at Eclectic Soul Studio in Pittsburg. Eclectic Soul Studio offers a variety of classes and workshops including belly dancing. Owner Lastacia Ross is a certified intuitive healer. who offers reiki and meditation as well as sound healing and other services. 

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A Publisher's Diary - When Creation Falls

Izzy's first box of books arrived on Friday and I've been turning the cover over and over in my hands, caressing it, loving the image and the color. When we first began talking about the cover concept for When Creation Falls, I had never heard of the Stone Flower monument in Jasenovac, Croatia.

A monument stands
at Jasenovac, a flower
or a plume of smoke
opening to the sky.

~from "I find My Own Name in Shoah Records," Izzy Wasserstein, 

When Creation Falls (Meadowlark, April 2018)

I have read these poems at least a dozen times  throughout the process of selecting Izzy's book for publication, editing the book, and working with Meadowlark's layout and design intern, Sammy Beck, turning a manuscript into pages with a cover. I am struck by the number of times Izzy's poetic phrases have come to me, as comparison to things I've seen/done, as related to something I've read in the news, as memory. And I look at this cover and think that it is a perfect example of how the world is tied together in so many ways we don't often give ourselves time to imagine. Izzy Wasserstein was born and raised in Kansas. Meadowlark is a publisher of books with strong ties to the Midwest. Yet this cover depicts a stone flower that stands in Croatia, a monument that until a few months ago did not exist for me, a monument that has opened my eyes to far-reaching results of a story I thought I knew.

Nothing is so strange or new if you open your eyes wide enough, if you allow your mind to process the fact that everything is connected, that all of us are connected. Family Photo, I Rarely Write Before Dawn, Confessions of a Homeschooler, A Time Traveler Sends a Postcard Home... these are the titles of one poet's work, Izzy Wasserstein. These are the titles of poems where I see myself, as well, and because each time I come up with new connections, I will read these poems again and again.

...from "You Will Come Up Short", by Izzy Wasserstein:

The walls you build around yourself will crack.

The poem you write will fail.

This poem will fail.

Your song of protest will not sway the President,

nor the mayor, nor the mayor's dog.

You will pull apart your pockets seeking change,

and finding none, you will give up the milk,

   or the eggs, or the flour.

---

Starting with her Kansas childhood, Izzy Wasserstein explores questions of science and faith, myth and politics, When Creation Falls. From nights listening to Royals baseball on the radio to paleontology, from prehistoric past to end of world, these poems explore how we relate to an indifferent universe, how we make meaning, and how we might create something better.

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Cover Image: Bobonajbolji (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jasenovac_HDR_C.jpg), removed tree, mirrored image, added overlay - image alterations by Meadowlark Books. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode

A Publisher’s Diary – Celebrating Poetry Month in April

I don’t read poetry.

If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a dozen times.

Beyond a collection of poems I wrote in high school, an early book-binding experiment that included glitter on the cover, I adopted the “I don’t read poetry” stance for more years than I would care to admit. Thankfully, I've gotten the opportunity to spend a lot of time with poets in the last couple of decades. I have found poetry workshops among my favorite gatherings of writers to attend, and I absolutely love going to readings, learning to hear the voice of a poet so well they continue reciting poetry to me, inside my head, as I turn the pages of their books.

Poet by poet, I fall in love with poetry.

Ronda Miller is the current president of the Kansas AuthorsClub, a life coach for people who have lost someone to homicide, and an advocate for special needs children. I first began reading/listening to Ronda’s poetry through KAC workshops and readings where she not only brought me to attention with her poetry (she sometimes writes on subjects I might once have been too shy/prudish to talk about), but Ronda encouraged me to exercise my voice, to tell my own truths through poetry, as well. Ronda’s two books of poetry have a special place on my bookshelf. MoonStain was the very first poetry book published by Meadowlark in 2015, and we were delighted to add WaterSigns in 2017.  I have learned so much through Ronda’s poetry. I have gained an intimacy with subjects I only knew peripherally (or perhaps simply would not admit I knew) and greater empathy for women’s issues and women, in general. Ronda has become one of my near-daily touchstones. If I am not reading her poetry, we might be exchanging notes on our shared interest in Kansas Authors Club, our common appreciation for fine desserts, or advice and life tidbits as they occur.

Kevin Rabas is the 2017-2019 Kansas Poet Laureate, and I always enjoy bragging that he was a Meadowlark author and poet first. Without Kevin in my life, there would be no Meadowlark. He was a co-conspirator on Green Bike, as well as author of the beautiful volume of poetry and short prose, Songs of My Father (Meadowlark 2016). Kevin’s enthusiasm for the arts and poetry is catching. If I am ever in need of a spark of creative confidence, a bit of time in Kevin’s presence will usually do it. There is ample opportunity to hear from Kevin directly as he tours Kansas finding the Extraordinary in the Ordinary (a complete schedule can be found at the Kansas Humanities website) or you can almost always find him at First Fridays at Ellen Plumb’s City Bookstore in Emporia. Kevin will also be the keynote speaker at the Kansas Authors Club annual writing convention, which takes place in Salina this year. I am excited to add Kevin’s new book, Like Buddah-Calm Bird, to the Meadowlark poetry shelf in 2018.

Cheryl Unruh is my sister from another mother, as well as my first friend in what was once-upon-a-time my new life in Emporia. I fell in love with Cheryl via her writing on her website and her long-running Emporia Gazette column, “Flyover People,” which eventually became two amazing volumes of Kansas essays. I was delighted in 2017 to publish Cheryl’s first volume of poetry, Walking on Water, where she explores the themes of Kansas/Kansans/children of the prairie in poetry with the same attention to detail she gives her prose. Cheryl’s humor shines in her poetry, as well as her heart. So relatable, I find myself tacking words from Cheryl to my mirror and inside the covers of my personal journals.

Olive Sullivan is a poet I have had the pleasure of getting to know solely through her poetry. Her book, Wandering Bone, contains some of my favorite poems, which I am sharing as part of my personal celebration of poetry this month.

There are currently five books of poetry on the Meadowlark bookshelf, with three terrific new volumes planned for 2018, including collections by Izzy Wasserstein and Tyler Robert Sheldon.

To celebrate National Poetry Month, I decided to give a gift of poetry to any reader who asked. Meadowlark Books has created a Poetry Sampler that includes selections from all of our poetry books, including our 2018 poetry books! Sign up via the form below to get this sampler (PDF format) delivered to your email inbox. It’s nearly ready to go!

Tracy Million Simmons

Meadowlark Books

Click here to get a copy of The Meadowlark Books Poetry Sampler - 2018

Submission Guidelines Updated and New Author Announcement

The guidelines for submitting manuscripts (poetry, fiction, and non-fiction) to Meadowlark Books have been updated. Note that we will only be accepting submissions in the months of October, November, and December. Please take a moment to review the guidelines, however, and mark your calendars so that you are ready for our submission period.

If you have submitted a manuscript to Meadowlark Books and have not heard from us, please be patient. The 2018 publishing calendar is fuller than we had anticipated, but likely not complete. There is a good chance we will be sending another round of responses by mid-year.

Meanwhile, congratulations to our 2018 authors (so far)! We will be sharing more about these fine new books for the Meadowlark bookshelf.

Joann Williams

Izzy Wasserstein

Tyler Robert Sheldon

Kevin Rabas