LIGHTNING'D PRESS

The title says it all. We are most honored to publish the beginning of our ongoing interview with Peter O'Leary. Also, we have some amazing poems to share from:  Thomas Meyer, Michael Farrell, Lucy Burnett, Jeff Miller, Brooks Lampe, Erin Wilson, Bruce McRae, Lewis Gesner, Steven Manuel, Jamie Felton, Corey Wakeling, Patrick James Dunagan, John Colburn, Ric Carfagna, Whit Griffin, and R.N. Horner.

Again, we accept submissions on a rolling basis. Issue #3 will be out in May. 

So, this was my (our) first book festival. I have been to them as a volunteer for Wave Books, but this was me at my own table for the first time. The festival was held at Hugo House, a lovely literary non-profit on Capitol Hill in Seattle. They have a zine library (Zapp) and workshops and readings and open mics, etc. Jeff and I are fairly reclusive, little bears in the winter, but I am hoping we will get more involved with what's happening at Hugo. They are such a fantastic community. Below are pictures from the event. We bound and printed Issues 1 and 2 to sell, and I printed off my poetry zine I created while farming last year. We also handed out copies of Peter's essay on Apocalypticism. Overall, I think poetry is a hard thing to market to people because it's such a personal, intimate experience. You can't necessarily open up our journal, read one poem, and understand what we're all about. Whereas with books, it's easier to connect to immediately. But I met a lot of great people doing creative and innovative things in publishing so it was worth it. 

Sneak peek of Issue #2! My poetry zine, Blackbird Singing is on the right.

Our table. I made little "Business cards" to hand out and vegan cupcakes. 

Lightning'd was between HOUSEFIRE, a press out of Portland, and PageBoy, a Seattle lit mag. Riley is on the left w/ HOUSEFIRE, and Thomas is on the right w/ PageBoy. 

Tinhouse on the left is being represented by a girl with the most beautiful smile whose name I can not remember, Octopus Books, and INTRUDER Comics. Aidan works with INTRUDER, and we had a super nerd out regarding comics and our shared love for Theo Ellsworth. 

And here's Wave Books' table with the lovely Brittany representing their fantastic array of titles. 

This is Alice Blue Books' table. Amber was at the festival, and she makes wonderful handmade books using handmade paper and innovative techniques such as the fabric book on the left. I fell in love with some of these. 

Of course, John, from Open Books was here. If you are ever in Seattle, Open Books is the very very best poetry bookstore anywhere ever. I have only ever been to one, but  it must be the best. They have everything. And John and Christine, the owners, are open, kind-hearted people who are genuinely passionate about poetry. 

What I found: 
1. Adam Novy's Avian Gospels Part 1 and 2 from Hobart 
2. 4 gorgeous postcards from Tinhouse
3. Diana Salier's wikipedia says it will pass from Red&Deadly
4. Latest issue of PageBoy illustrated by Drew Christie, a Seattle illustrator
5. Elizabeth Ellen's Fast Machine from Hobart
6. Tired Wheels by hannibal from Morgan Press (1973) from Open Books
          a poet is an astronaut
          taking pictures as the world
          blows away...
7. NADA The Dada Magazine About Nothing
8. Broadside of one of Robert Duncan Gray's poems
9. Amber Nelson's Diary of When Being With Friends Feels Like Watching TV from Alice Blue Books
10. What Inexorable Fate Brought You to Me CD from Hobart (a CD of songs about super villains. I couldn't resist)
11. Robert Duncan's Tribunals Passages 31-35 from Open Books (seriously, they have the best books)

Jamie posted a response to a recent Christopher Higgs piece on her blog; definitely check it out!

Jeff

We will be offering at our table:
1) Lightning'd Press #1
2) Early bird Lightning'd Press #2 (out online April 1st)
3) Jamie's poetry zine (early work), Blackbird Singing
4) Peter's essay on Apocalypticism
5) Cupcakes and coffee! These are on the house, of course. 

Hope to see you there March 31st at Hugo House in Seattle!

And the local press I am interning for, Wave Books, will be there too!

The second issue of Lighting'd Press is on its way. We have some amazing poems to share, and we've gotten great feedback on the first issue. Additionally, I am working on a Contributor's page under the Current Issue menu so that poets can link to their work online. 
We are also getting ready for APRIL on the 31st!


We are taking ongoing submissions so please consider sending us your work anytime! 

While researching the concept of ta'wil (via Corbin via Suhrawardi) for an upcoming essay, I stumped upon this discussion of the idea in regards to poetry with Robert Kelly. (Thank you to the Henry Corbin Project, and its ongoing discussion of American Poetry's relationship with Corbin.)

Enjoy!

Jeff

Over at my blog, I just linked to Peter O'Leary's spectacular review/dissection/etc of Gustaf Sobin's book, Collected Poems out from Talisman House. 

I will let his work speak for itself:

worlds un-
ravel
worlds, the

wrought heavens: our blanched
reflectives.
would
leave, who’d

perched, already, a tribe-in-
flight, at the
breath’s

flaked
edges 

(CP 171-2)




You can get his book from SPD.

Lightning'd Press is going to be at April, a small press book festival in Seattle! Please stop by and say hi if you happen to live in Seattle. We'd love to meet you.


Where: Richard Hugo House
When: March 31st @ 10 am- 4 pm

Check out their calendar of events here. The festival runs from March 22nd - March 31st, and they have all kinds of things planned. 

We are pleased to announce the inaugural issue of Lightning'd Press! Poems by Ryan Barker, Alessandro Cusimano, Whit Griffin, Jeff Miller, E.K. Gordon, Howie Good, Steven Manuel, Jamie Felton, Erin Wilson, Patrick James Dunagan, & Ric Carfagna, as well as some thoughts about apocalypse and poetry from your editors. 

Submissions are open for Issue #2, with a deadline of March 15th, which will arrive April 1st (the birthday of editor Jamie Felton!). If you are considering submitting, please make sure to read the first issue as well as Peter O'Leary's essay, Apocalypticism: A Way Forward for Poetry. We can't wait to read your poems!