Second Anniversary of Terrapin Books

October marks the second anniversary of Terrapin Books. It was just two years ago that I began the journey towards becoming a small press publisher of poetry books. In spite of my initial trepidations, I must say that it’s all gone quite smoothly. I love this new work. it keeps me out of trouble and gives me the joy of putting more poetry books into the world. Among the greatest pleasures is giving a poet a book.

There have been challenges, among them and top of the list was learning how to format a book. I really had no idea how to do that when I decided to do open a press, but I asked the right people the right questions and received the right answers. I then sat in front of my computer until I figured it out. Now I can do all kinds of fancy stuff like adjust margins, place page numbers at bottom right and left (instead of center), and design a cover. One step at a time and a belief that I could do it with patience and persistence—that’s what worked for me.

I could not be more proud of the books that Terrapin has thus far published. Terrapin now has 9 single author poetry books, two craft books, and two anthologies. Four additional titles have just been accepted for publication. I’ve held 5 open reading periods and have accepted 2-4 books each time. I am committed to taking only a limited number of manuscripts so that I can get the books out in good time and give each book the attention it deserves. There will be no cranking out one book after another.

I’m also proud to say that I’ve run no contests and don’t plan to run any. All of my authors are winners.

I’m proud, too, of the attention that the poetry world has been paying to Terrapin Books. We’ve had multiple features in Verse Daily, two in Poetry Daily, one forthcoming in Ted Kooser’s American Life in Poetry, and one in The Missouri Review. We’ve been getting some lovely reviews in such places as the Washington Independent Review of Books, Broadkill Review, and Rain Taxi Review of Books. More on the way.

Terrapin now has its very own online bookstore. Check it out. We pay shipping and handling. Our books are also available at Amazon, B&N, and lots of other online sites.

Look for our next open reading period January/February 2018.

New Book in Progress

I have great news—a new book coming forth! Not a collection of my poems but a craft book for practicing poets. The Crafty Poet: A Portable Workshop was recently accepted by Wind Publications and is tentatively scheduled for release summer 2013.

Putting together the manuscript was this past summer's project. The book includes the craft tips from my Poetry Newsletter—all of them written by accomplished poets. It also includes the model poems and prompts based on those poems. Again, the poems are all by accomplished poets. The prompts, written by me, call attention to the various elements of craft in the poems and ask readers to practice those elements in a new poem of their own. I've also included the Poet on the Poem features that I have posted on my blog over the past two years. Each poem is followed by a 5-question Q&A between me and the poet. The questions are primarily focused on elements of craft in the poem. Finally, there are Bonus Prompts.

The principal challenge of writing this book was organizational. How to get all that material into some sensible kind of structure? I hemmed and hawed for days and days. I tried one plan and then another. At last I landed on the one that made sense. So it's now organized into 10 sections. Each section includes several Craft Tip pieces, each relevant to the section's concept. Each craft tip is followed by a model poem and a prompt. Each section concludes with a Poet on the Poem piece and a Bonus Prompt.

The subtitle, "A Portable Workshop," indicates the various ways in which this book might be used. Many of us can only work from home. We might not have been able to go for an MFA. Or we have done so and now want to continue our education independently. This book gives readers what they need to work on their own. It assumes that the reader already has an understanding of the basics of poetic craft and it builds on that knowledge. But the book can also be used in a group workshop or as a text in a classroom. It's portable and will go where you go.

This has been a new kind of venture for me, and I'll confess to being pretty excited about it. I'm especially happy about the number of astonishing poets who are part of this book. Now I'm refining the bios, obtaining permissions and writing the credits, and compiling a list of recommended books. There are a few more pieces to plug in, but I'm confident that I'll meet my deadline.

I'll keep you posted.