There’s a post about the previous Contemporary Blah-Blah post on Exoskeleton… I would like to point out that I don’t think they are depressing at all. My comments are an homage to the work done at Action Books, which publishes exciting new material that transcends classification. The range of voices they publish, Abe Smith, Tao Lin, and my good friend Brent Hendricks, etc… shows a great attention to publishing what is “good” versus what is classifiable.
We at Sonora attempt to work outside the margins of what can be labeled as “types” of poetry, instead opting to publish good art versus what is trendy or who we know personally. What is experimental, avant, or mainstream doesn’t really enter our minds when we consider work, rather we’d like to think of ourselves as blind auditors in the vast world of authors who either have something interesting to say or vomit words. Mostly, there’s word puke, but we’re lucky enough to receive enough work to feel out some gems and get them published. In the world of publishing I feel like Action Books is a bright light in the vastness of crap. The fact that I am excited and will read whatever they publish is testament to their quality… There are maybe a few presses I can think of off the top of my head that I respect that much, few that respect the word in their work.
Like my friend Maggie Golston says, there’s time for both pie and poetry…
Love, JL
