Via Doug Holder of and the Sommerville News:

The small or alternative press does not have a small place in literary history. Poets as diverse as Whitman, Frost, Ginsberg or Bukowski, have cut their teeth in the world of little magazines and small presses. The thousands of small presses, defined as press runs of fewer than 5,000 and less than twelve titles per year, have provided a way for the emerging poet to have his or her art find an audience.

Major university libraries like University of Buffalo, Brown University, and the University of Wisconsin at Madison have huge collections that archive many of the booklets, chapbooks, and broadsides which have been produced to date.

For instance, Mike Basinski, the curator of the University of Buffalo Poetry and Rare Books Collection, is dedicated to collecting first edition poetry books from small press poets and publishers from around the globe.

Somerville has a rich history of small presses. From Robert Smith’s still thriving Yellow Moon Press to the now Brookline-based Zephyr Press, there have always been a number of small presses publishing in the area. Magazines such as Dark House, Aspect, and the Boston Literary Review, all have roots in Somerville.

Feb. 19 at 8:00 p.m., three Somerville small presses, Ibbetson Street, Sunnyoutside, and Cervena Barva Press will take part in a celebration of the city’s small presses at Club Passim at 47 Palmer St. in Cambridge.

Read the rest of Doug's piece at the Sommerville News

Source: Sommerville News

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