Publisher's Diary

A regular diary from Salmon Poetry's editor, Jessie Lendennie
9th July, 2001

July -  rainy, overcast and chilly here, we're still waiting for summer. If the weather reaches 60F, people dash to the beach! If I ever wondered why Ireland stays green all year, that question is lost in the mists (literally) of my 20 years here.

Ah well, I have my window over the valley and I can see the beach in all weathers. Most times I have my nose to the computer though --

We've published 10 books so far this year, collections originating in such diverse regions as the Yukon (Erling Friis-Baastad), St. Paul, Minnesota (Jude Nutter), Co. Galway (Mary O'Malley) Dublin (Mary Dorcey) and Boston (Nadya Aisenberg). This may not seem a big deal to U.S. readers, but for an Irish press to have such a wide sweep is very unusual. I'm delighted with this geography, and eager to get on with our fantastic list of Australian poets starting next year. Unfortunately for several years now the Arts Council has been urging us to cut our yearly output. This is a complicated issue, but the pressure is increasing for us to comply. This is a bigger challenge for me than starting the press in the first place, and involves deeply personal issues.  The make up of a publisher's list is complex, and must be innovative, without restriction. Restrictions caused by dependency on outside funding are difficult to accept. Much of my energy right now is taken up with planning and rescheduling.

Virtually all Arts groups have to cope with financial restrictions, but in Ireland (and the U.S., I believe) literature is at the bottom of the funding list for Arts Councils. This may well be because literature lacks the profile which ACs need in order to justify the use of public money. Literary festivals are more likely to be funded than poetry books, and a general arts festival more likely than a literary festival.

What about sales? Yes, of course, but the paradox is that a poetry press can be extremely successful and still be on a cash flow knife edge. In literature a reputation is built not on market power, but on criteria to do with artistic merit. Unfortunately merit doesn't necessarily cover costs. A good sales figure for a poetry book is 1000 copies. After bookshop and distributor discounts a press is lucky to clear even part of the printing cost of the book. There are many, many other costs involved, as well. Hence the need for state funding. Ideally one would like to have the freedom from financial constraints which would allow the nurturing and development of many unique poetry voices. In reality poetry presses often have to choose books that have "market value" over innovation in order to break even. This is a truism, yes, but still a fact of life for many literary presses, and other publishers who deal with literature. It's a sad statement of what societies value, but I'm not the first person to think this and won't be the last. No change in sight. We are forced back into our own ingenuity in selling as well as in commissioning books. Striking a balance; compromising.

I've often talked about the need for poets to understand the realities of publishing, but I don't believe that many people consider the motivations underlying a decision to set up a poetry press.  I believe that it's up to the poet to get involved in a positive way with the publication of her/his book. Being critical of the process is all too easy; complimentary action is challenging, but much, much more rewarding.

Those who do set up presses are themselves often poets and understand full well the difficulties of creative work, but a downside of this is that the publishing of poetry can become a personal crusade, all encompassing. There are few explicit rewards (such as money) so that one operates almost solely on personal conviction and vision. This can be exhausting, and it can have a debilitating affect on one's own work. After the zeal of Salmon's initial start, as we became more "mainstream" it was harder to maintain the impetus, the feeling of having a mission. After almost 
20 years, there is a tread mill feeling to production. I didn't set out to be a poetry publisher, but became involved because I'm a poet and I recognized the urgent lack of diversity in contemporary Irish poetry. This fact means that there is a different management psychology at work from the running of an "ordinary business". This split thinking - when innovation is a driving force, but must conform to strict norms - can erode the delicate foundation of creative freedom.

I know that my attention flags when all my creativity goes into the constant demands of the press, but I'm battling to make time for my own writing. I believe that this will good for me, and for Salmon as well.

I have to 'confess': It's my fervent ambition to write a good science fiction novel. On a more useful level, perhaps, I'm working on a book which will explain the ins and outs of poetry publishing. I receive hundreds of queries and I'm on a continuing campaign to make it easier for emerging poets to learn about publishing. This will save them (and publishers) time and trauma. Also, I'm adding a Frequently Asked Questions component to the Advice page.

Well, the sun has come out as I've been writing this;  I can see that the tide is out in Lahinch, and it's almost dog walking time. Ah.. the poetry business!
 

Jessie

Daughter and Other Poems by JESSIE LENDENNIE The long- awaited re-release of Jessie Lendennie's prose poem "Daughter", first published over a decade ago, accompanied in this volume by a selection of Lendennie's previously uncollected poems.   MORE INFO>>>>