Smaller than small
Matthew Firth
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Rob McLennan : maybe Ottawa's most prolific publisher
photo: Aaron McKenzie Fraser
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Ottawa micro presses feed the spirit of hope
Ottawa's literary publishing underground is alive and well among micro presses. A micro press is just what it sounds like: a smaller-than-small independent press, producing zines, chapbooks, broadsheets and pamphlets in tiny print runs for a few feverishly faithful readers.
Above/ground press, Mercutio Press, Hand Maiden Press, Sorrowland Press might not roll as freely off the tongue as HarperCollins but they're viable enterprises all the same. From the perspective of the new and emerging writer, micro presses are the door to the publishing universe. A lot of writers would never see their work in print-blurry ink or otherwise-if not for micro presses.
Micro press print runs are typically 50 to 500 copies per publication. Zines and chapbooks are reasonably priced: $3 to $8 for those on sale, while other stuff is given away. Sales come via mail orders, websites, small press fairs, readings, supportive local bookstores and networking, but most micro presses have a regular day job in the background. Some get help. The poetry journal Bywords received a City of Ottawa grant. Friday Circle press benefits from its association with the University of Ottawa English department through donations from faculty and alumni.
Micro press publications are not created equally. Above/ground press favours a utilitarian photocopy, fold, staple method. Montreal's Mercutio Press incorporates more graphic design with striking colour covers. Hand Maiden Press went over the top with its chapbook Merge
My Body With the Light: serrated-edged purple paper inside, convoluted fold-over cover, spine sewn with red ribbon and a red wax sealer. A lot of effort went into the design but it creates a precious feel counter to indie publishing's open and accessible vibe.
Rob McLennan has been running above/ground press since 1993. It's Ottawa's flagship micro press and, according to McLennan, "the most active chapbook press in Canada." He spits out 50 to 60 items a year, ranging from single-poem broadsheets, to multi-author chapbooks. McLennan uses a system where $30 gets subscribers a copy of everything he publishes in a calendar year. He likes the "inexpensive and immediate" feel of micro presses although he acknowledges some folks dismiss chapbooks because of their perceived substandard look. Still, McLennan's motivation is simple: It's "bloody good fun" and a great way to help to new writers get a leg up.
There's clearly a labour of love dimension to micro presses, plus a desire to promote new writing. Amanda Earl of Bywords says the poetry journal strives to be "open to fresh and original writing." Seymour Mayne of Friday Circle wants to, "give encouragement to younger writers who find it difficult to break into print." A certain amount of altruism is necessary to be a micro presser. Control and creative freedom are also lures, according to Ottawa publisher Cristian S. Aluas and Mercutio Press's Ben Kalman.
Writers who get their start in micro presses champion the form. Anita Dolman just had her first chapbook-Scalpel, Tea and Short Glass-published by above/ground. She says micro presses, "Let you know whether people actually want to read your work or whether they think it sucks."
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| Bukowski : cynically anti-small press Photo: Gottfried Helnwein |
Ottawa's Bill Brown, author of the short story collection Folly, appreciates the scale of micro presses: "My writing was being guided, rather than leaned on; polished, rather than sanded down." Brown also feels micro presses have more latitude to publish what they like because they're not held accountable to arts funding agencies' directives. But it's naïve to always grunt "big bad, small good." So too with micro presses. Being critical of chapbooks and zines might be seen as akin to telling a five-year-old you don't like her finger painting. You're just not allowed to do it.
Charles Bukowski, one of the most successful and influential poets of the last few decades and a writer who started in small mags and chapbooks, wrote in a 1972 letter, "I'm afraid the small presses, the mimeo presses, have kept alive too many talentless darlings ... starvation and obscurity are not necessarily signs of genius." A little harsh, maybe, but his point is apt: Just because something is small and precious doesn't mean it's inherently good. It's fair to be just as critical, just as wary of hand-sewn chapbooks as mass-produced, blockbuster novels.
Most micro press writers will never move beyond that level, although that's not always their intent. Many revel in the moment, being able to create and express regardless of how small their audience may be. And as long as there are a few dozen readers buying their works, micro press publishers will endure. It's a tradition, in slightly varying forms, that literally goes back centuries.
I would not doubt that rob mclennan is the most prolific publisher in Ottawa if I set aside what the federal government and the City of Ottawa might produce. Rob has been a leading light within the community of poets and has been recognized across Canada as a poet, writer and critic. He always appears to enjoy what he is doing, be it seving as an MC at readings, contributing his personal poetry or simply sharing his poetry and that of others through the "single-page broadsheets" which are free at gatherings and book fairs.
In a letter to the editor of the Ottawa Citizen on May 9, 2004, in response to an editorial on George Bowering, Canada's poet laureat of the day, I wrote: "Ottawa is a major Canadian centre for poetry. There are poetry reading opportunities and many poems are being published. As an example, one of Ottawa's poets, rob mclennan is recognized on an international basis .... He, among many others could serve as a deserving parliamentary poet laureat." That year, I had my first experience with a micro press and had six chapbooks published by Crow Eagle Press. More poets should have that type of opportunity; Canada's literature and that of world would be the richer!
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Louis Reeves
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{2 votes}
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I believe there is a need for both big and small publishers. First time authors, even the good ones, often have a hard time getting noticed by an editior working for the big, anonymous companies who prefer a sure thing and formula writing to actually putting out something good from someone nobody has heard of. Of course, that's not always the case, but when you consider how many submissions these editors get, it's no wonder that they lose their ability to recognize the potential of a new author. They read through hundreds of pages of crap already!
Publishing on a smaller scale with a micro press may not look like the doorway to huge success, bot oddly enough, sometimes just being able to say you have been published will get you noticed by the bigger publishers. It means more legwork for the author selling his own work without a big "advance", but it will teach the author about the marketing aspect of publishing.
It has drawbacks though. Some small companies are truly trying to open up opportunities for new or unnoticed talent, but some are just out to make a quick buck at the naive greenhorn's expense. Ask who they have published. Ask where you might find some of the works they have published and check out the library or local book store to see if any of their work is on the shelves or available for order.
The internet has opened up the possibility of print-on-demand, another option for budding writers to invest a little, then market their work the hard, old fashioned, leg work way. These publishers only print what is ordered from the consumer. Again, how eager is the author to sell his own work? It has pros and cons.
In the world of publishing, everybody seems to be a big fish, and the authors? We're all feeder guppies.
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Jennifer McCullen
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{26 votes}
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| "Naïve to always grunt big bad, small good........." |
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On small scales, micro-publishers exist because of the considerable expense in being published by large name companies.
Authors may not care if their work is read by 10 people or 10,000 people but what it comes down to I guess if they want to make money out of it or simply enjoy writing or sharing their opinion with others as a means of a hobby to pass the time.
Ottawa has lots of talent in the literary field. The availability of publishing resources allows for circulation to take place of lesser known authors to practice their craft and develop their talents.
I wonder if some of this thinking was missing when the decision was made recently to put The Dominion out of business (a publication that could be classified as micro-published and intended to help put a different face on our homeless population as they would give out a copy in exchange for a small donation to passersby?).
This city reeks of too many politics but should support positive endeavors like the article above talks about and reinstate the Dominion for what it's great purposes intended to do.
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Steve Landry
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{2 votes}
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Bravo to the micro press! I am delighted to know that there are still small publications around, in this day and age of the internet we sometimes forget how much literary written talent their is out there and sometimes its nice to just have a newspaper with you on your commute. It is up to us as consummers to continue to support this type of journalism so that writers can continue to work!
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Renessa Cabrera
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{4 votes}
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