I BUY POETRY (2015)

I recently stumbled across an interview with a poet -- let's call her "Ms. A" -- who's fairly well known in the poetry world. Ms. A is well known because her day job provides support to many literary figures. As regards her poetry? She released one book and then apparently stopped. She apparently gave up on the book, not because it would be hard for her to find a publisher but, because she realized so few people -- even with the many writers she supports -- actually "buy" her books. I work in this same environment and, in 2015, I released three books and one chapbook. In 2016, I expect to release four books and one chapbook. 

I understand Ms. A's decision. In the U.S. at least, the bulk of poetry book sales mostly happen if your poetry book is picked up as a textbook. This has both exaggerated the benefits of, as well as exacerbated the constraints created by, academia (I'm not bashing academia; I'm just observing and reporting). As indicated by my publishing activities, I obviously have chosen to respond differently from Ms. A.  One's book sales, if at a low figure, can't be taken personally. People simply are not reading a lot nowadays (across all genres, let alone for poetry). And, as a non-academic I can't play (not, I believe, that I would want to or that all writer-academics do play) the game of "I'll teach your book if you teach mine." So how do I know my faith in the book is warranted?  

Well, this morning, I received a request for seven of my books to help form a new collection at a public library. What was moving to me about this request is that the request-maker identified which books were desired as "a good introduction to your output as author, editor, curator...and conceptualist." This is rare--I'm not that different from Ms. A (or many poets): many people don't pay attention to our works. But this one reader did, and now he becomes a portal through which perhaps others may read my books, one of which is more than ten years old.

And a few months ago, I met a reader who joked with me, "I'm catching up with your output! I'm up now to the year 2007!)"

These are turbulent times for book publishing. Technology affects the ways we read, including the role of print.  And I see a business gap that needs to be reconciled between (a) the unprofitability of many new books and (yet) the (b) growing industry in used book sales/distribution.

But to make (including write) a book is not the same as to sell a book. I choose to be prolific (to the extent others are willing to keep publishing me--thank you!) because I don't confuse making a book with selling a book. I think it's easy for folks to know to castigate someone if that someone tried to tell a writer how or what to write. In those cases, we're usually talking about content or writing styles. But the commercial aspect can be another form of dictator -- why let the limit of commerce dictate how you as a writer should behave?  But it happens. It's not just a case like Ms. A's.  It's, for example, the typical length of a poetry collection (as facilitated, too, by the prevalence of contests which are based on particular page constraints to maximize a contest's profitability to the sponsor). And I recall more than one instance of a teacher telling me certain of my books will rarely be assigned because they're too thick.

Let me pause here to note that in the above, I have not touched on literary quality as a factor even though many pay lip service to that factor as a primary determinant to what becomes published. And of course literary quality matters. But I -- unlike those writers her day job supports -- have actually read Ms. A's poetry. Guess what, she's a damn good poet. But she's decided to ... forego the book.

**

Meanwhile, I buy books. Here below is a list of the 146 poetry publications I bought for 2015. I obviously read much more than I buy (I am fortunate to be sent a lot of comp copies). But I do want to buy books for reasons related to the above. I don't think I bought enough in 2015, but at least I know that I bought more than I did the prior year (2014).  

This is one of my book purchases -- the incredibly lovely poet-artist collaboration between Arthur Sze and Susan York, THE UNFOLDING CENTER. Interestingly, I speculate that its fabulous book production (it's a hardback sized at 11.5 x 17") benefited from its association with the visual arts (vs. literary) world. I think there's more money in the visual arts vs literary world. To me, this book is an example of what happens when money and marketing are not such constraining factors (though there must have been marketing constraints; this book was released in 2013 yet I only heard of it recently).

Anyway, I don't have all the answers. So let me just end this by praising this wonderful project, and sharing a list of what I bought last year. FYI.

HOMAGE TO LEROI JONES by Kathy Acker

THE BOOK OF FERAL FLORA by Amanda Ackerman

AMERICAN SUBLIME by Elizabeth Alexander

THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD: A MEMOIR by Elizabeth Alexander

FRAGILE REPLACEMENTS by William Allegrezza

PORT LIGHT: A HAY(NA)KU COLLECTION by William Allegrezza  

HOLLYWOOD STARLET by Ivy Alvarez

MARTIN & MEDITATIONS ON THE SOUTH VALLEY by Jimmy Santiago Baca

SINGING AT THE GATES: SELECTED POEMS by Jimmy Santiago Baca

MULES OF LOVE by Ellen Bass

KALI’S BLADE by Michelle Bautista

DIAGNOSIS by Alessandra Bava

UNPROTECTED TEXTS: SELECTED POEMS (1978-2006) by Tom Beckett

JOHN BROWN’S BODY by Stephen Vincent Benet with illustrations by Fritz Kredel and Warren Chappell

SELECT POEMS by John M. Bennett

SOME NOTES ON MY PROGRAMMING by Anselm Berrigan

COLLECTED POEMS 1957-1982 by Wendell Berry

BOUGH BREAKS by Tamiko Beyer  

THE  MESHES by Brittany Billmeyer-Finn

NEW COLLECTED POEMS by Eavan Boland  

POEMS 1959-1975 by Yves Bonnefoy, Trans. by Richard Pevear

OCCUPATIONAL TREATMENT by Taylor Brady

BEYOND LUMPIA, PANSIT and SEVEN MANANGS WILD, edited by Evangeline Canonizado Buell

BURYING THE TYPEWRITER, memoir by Carmen Bugan

THEN GO ON by Mary Burger

THE TRAVEL AGENCY IS ON FIRE by William S. Burroughs

LAST WORDS: THE FINAL JOURNALS OF WILLLIAM S. BURROUGHS

WISTERIA FROM SEED by Jeremy Cantor

HARD LOVE PROVINCE by Marilyn Chin  

MAISON FEMME: A FICTION with text by Teresa Carmody and images by Vanessa Place

KANSOZ by Joel Chace 

LATE RETURNS: A MEMOIR OF TED BERRIGAN by Tom Clark, with 11 LETTERS FROM BERRIGAN TO THE AUTHOR

RED EPIC by Joshua Clover

LAST [TRANS] MISSION, wordless story by E. Steen Comer and art by Trista Musco

RESURRECTION by Nicole Cooley  

EVERYDAY THINGS by Fidelito C. Cortes

CONCEPTUALISMS AND OTHER FICTIONS: THE COLLECTED WRITINGS OF EDUARDO COSTA 1965-2015, Edited by Patrick Greaney

PERFECT WORDS by Kay Day

WET LAND by Lucas de Lima

DINNERS AND NIGHTMARES by Diane di Prima

REVOLUTIONARY LETTERS by Diane di Prima

LEAVE YOUR BODY BEHIND by Sandra Doller

THE CLOUD CORPORATION by Timothy Donnelly

FACING THE WAVE: A JOURNEY IN THE WAKE OF THE TSUNAMI by Gretel Ehrlich

ANGINA DAYS: SELECTED POEMS by Gunter Eich

SELECTED POEMS OF SALVADOR ESPRIU, Trans. by Magda Bodin

A LILY LILIES, poems by Josey Foo and Notes on Dance by Leah Stein

THE BEAUTY OF GHOSTS by Luis Francia

ROBERT FROST: A One-Volume Edition of the Authorized Biography by Lawrance Thompson and R.H. Winnick, Edited by Edward Connery Lathem

A SUDDEN SKY: SELECTED POEMS BY ULRIKKA S. GERNES, Trans. and Edited by Patrick Friesen and Per Brask

STAGE PRESENCE: CONVERSATIONS WITH FILIPINO AND FILIPINO-AMERICAN PERFORMING ARTISTS edited by Theodore Gonzalves

SWARM by Jorie Graham

I AM THE BEGGAR OF THE WORLD: LANDAYS FROM CONTEMPORARY AFGHANISTAN, Translated by Eliza Griswold with photographs by Seamus Murphy

A LISS by Carolyn Guinzio

POET IN ANDALUCIA by Nathalie Handal

LUCI: A FORBIDDEN SOTERIOLOGY by j/j hastain

LOVE AFTER THE RIOTS by Juan Felipe Herrera

DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION by Cathy Park Hong

LANGSTON HUGHES: POEMS, PHOTOS & NOTEBOOKS FROM TURKESTAN

ORPHAN MACHINES by Carrie Hunter

SECRET WEAPON: SELECTED LATE POEMS by Eugen Jebeleanu, trans. from Romanian by Matthew Zapruder and Radu Ioanid with Intro by Andrei Codrescu

COLLECTED VERSE by Nick Joaquin

GUIDE TO THE TOKYO SUBWAY by Halvard Johnson

JUNKYARD DOG by Halvard Johnson  

BAN EN BANLIEU by Bhanu Kapil

INCUBATION: A SPACE FOR MONSTERS by Bhanu Kapil

SCHIZOPHRENE by Bhanu Kapil

THE ART OF MEMOIR by Mary Karr

THE CONVECTIONS by Robert Kelly

SEVEN FOR BOETTICHER & OTHER POEMS by Rodney Koeneke

BLOOD, SPARROWS AND SPARROWS by Eugenia Leigh

POSES by Genine Lentine with drawings by Richard Diebenkorn

VOYAGE OF THE SABLE VENUS by Robin Coste Lewis

PRIME TIME APPARITIONS by R. Zamora Linmark

BOMBYONDER by Reb Livingston

SPINE STILL HOLDING by Bonnie Long 

IN SEARCH OF DUENDE by Federico Garcia Lorca

HERE COMES THE SUN: A JOURNEY TO ADOPTION IN 8 CHAKRAS, memoir by Leza Lowitz

TWO POEMS by Hugo Garcia Manriquez

ILLOCALITY by Joseph Massey

SCRATCHING THE BEAT SURFACE by Michael McClure

IT’S NO GOOD by Kirill Medvedev

ABU GHRAIB ARIAS by Philip Metres  

TO BEGIN WHERE I AM: SELECTED ESSAYS by Czeslaw Milosz, Edited by Bogdana Carpentier and Madeline G. Levine

CANT by David James Miller

MEDIATED by Carol Mirakove

OCCUPIED by Carol Mirakove

THE LAST INCANTATIONS by David Mura

CANCER ANGEL by Beth Murray

I MUST BE LIVING TWICE: NEW AND SELECTED POEMS by Eileen Myles

AUGUSTMENT (TRANSLATION WITHOUT LANGUAGE) by Nathanael

DAKOTA, memoir by Kathleen Norris

BENEDICTION by Alice Notley

NEGATIVITY’S KISS by Alice  Notley

NEW COLLECTED POEMS by George Oppen, Edited by Michael Davidson

ALL HAT, NO CATTLE by lars palm

WHEN YOU SAID NO, DID YOU MEAN NEVER? By Fani Papageorgiou

LITTLE ANODYNES by Jon Pineda

APOLOGY: a novel by Jon Pineda

THE GATES by Vanessa Place

PAIN, PARTIES, WORK: SYLVIA PLATH IN NEW YORK, SUMMER 1953 by Elizabeth Winder

(AL)MOST DELICIOUS by Cati Porter

TO LOVE AS ASWANG by Barbara Jane Reyes

FOX: Poems 1998-2000 by Adrienne Rich

NOT SO, SEA by Mg Roberts

SIMPLIFIED HOLY PASSAGE by Elizabeth Robinson

COOL DON’T LIVE HERE NO MORE: A LETTER TO SAN FRANCISCO by Tony Robles

VIOLET ISLAND AND OTHER POEMS by Reina Maria Rodriguez

FLOATING LANTERNS by Mercedes Roffe, Trans. by Anne Deeny

ON THE CUSP OF A DANGEROUS YEAR by Lee Ann Roripaugh

THE VALISE by Gregory Vincent St. Thomasino

MAGNETIC REFRAIN by Nicky Sa-eun Schildkraut  

LE SOLEIL SOUS LES ARMES [THE SUN UNDER THE WEAPONS] by Jean Senac

ALGERIAN DIARY by Vittorio Sereni

MY TRANQUIL WAR AND OTHER POEMS by Anis Shivani

WAR OF THE FOXES by Richard Siken

ELEMENTAL TANKA by Gary Silva

M TRAIN, memoir by Patti Smith

ORDINARY LIGHT: A MEMOIR by Tracy K. Smith

SPARSE ANATOMIES OF SINGLE ANTECEDENTS by Felino A. Soriano

THAT WINTER THE WOLF CAME by Juliana Spahr

FLIPS 2015: A FILIPINO AMERICAN ANTHOLOGY (a reprint) edited by Serafin Syquia and Bayani Mariano w/ new introduction by Juanita Tamayo Lott

THE UNFOLDING CENTER, poet-artist collaboration by Arthur Sze and Susan York

147 MILLION ORPHANS (MMXI-MML) by Eileen R. Tabios

AGAINST MISANTHROPY: A LIFE IN POETRY (2015-1995) by Eileen R. Tabios  

I FORGOT LIGHT BURNS by Eileen R. Tabios  

INVENT(ST)ORY: SELECTED CATALOG POEMS AND NEW by Eileen R. Tabios

YOU DA ONE by Jennifer Tamayo

ALL-PURPOSE VISPO by Nico Vassilakis

FANTASTIC VOYAGE TO THE ORDINARY PLANET by Erin Virgil  

SPAR by Karen Volkman

MANDARIN PRIMER by Rosmarie Waldrop

SOME VERSIONS OF THE ICE by Adam Tipps Weinstein

THE TAPEWORM FOUNDRY: AND OR THE DANGEROUS PREVALENCE OF IMAGINATION by Darren Wershler-Henry

“SOMETHING URGENT I HAVE TO SAY TO YOU”: THE LIFE AND WORKS OF WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS by Herbert Leibowitz

WINTER FRUIT by Beclee Newcomer Wilson

EVERLASTING QUAIL by Sam Witt

THE HISTORY OF MINING by Valerie Witte

25 LITTLE RED POEMS by Angela Veronica Wong

BREAKFAST LUNCH DINNER by Nellie Wong

TALKING BACK: VOICES OF COLOR, Edited by Nellie Wong

THE FACE BEHIND THE FACE by Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Trans. by Arthur Boyars and Simon Franklin 

HOTUS POTUS by Mark Young

URSULA OR UNIVERSITY by Stephanie Young

100 CHINESE SILENCES by Timothy Yu

THE PAJAMAIST by Matthew Zapruder