At the Margins: Chapbook Presses in Canada
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University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies The Vault: Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2016 At the Margins: Chapbook Presses in Canada Martin, Colin Jan Martin, C. J. (2016). At the Margins: Chapbook Presses in Canada (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/25065 http://hdl.handle.net/11023/3247 doctoral thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY At the Margins: Chapbook Presses in Canada by Colin J. Martin A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE PROGRAM IN ENGLISH CALGARY, ALBERTA AUGUST 2016 © Colin J. Martin 2016 Abstract Pierre Bourdieu has famously argued that the rules and currencies in artistic fields differ than those in financial or political fields of social interaction. In the restricted economy of the avant-garde, those artists who produce work for the least money or power gain the greatest influence among their peers. In the realm of Canadian ephemeral publishing, those presses that produce poetry chapbooks, broadsheets, and experimental books function in a field similar to that of the avant-garde artist committed to working in such a restricted economy. These poetry micropresses operate at the fringe of mainstream literary publishing, and they disrupt the publishing activity, changing it from a commercial activity into a creative practice for a small, but influential audience of other artists and producers. In this study, I draw from previous, smaller surveys of micropresses published variously by Angela Rawlings and rob mclennan, and I examine their outcomes alongside my own, survey of micropress publishers operating in Canada within the last 30 years. This study permits a clearer understanding of how these little presses transform literary publishing within Canada, and shows that the micropresses innovate both the aesthetics of contemporary poetry and the practice of publishing poetry. The presses draw influence from the little magazines that dot the Canadian literary landscape from the mid-1920s to the late 1970s, and that generally eschew institutional hierarchies in order to experiment with innovative publishing and distribution strategies. In doing so, the micropresses revolutionize the Canadian publishing institution, but fail to avoid being co-opted and undermined by that institution. ii Acknowledgements Many people have contributed in varying ways to this study, and I extend my heartfelt appreciation to everyone who has responded to my study, whether by circulating a call for presses, or submitting a survey, or offering insight into helpful resources. Some people, however, have given extraordinary support and I wish to thank them by name. My deep thanks go to my Doctoral Supervisor, Dr. Christian Bök, whose patience and insight has been invaluable. My Supervisory Committee Members, Dr. Harry Vandervlist and Dr. Jonathan Kertzer have given excellent advice, particularly in the early stages of the study, and I thank Dr. Gregory Betts and Dr. Charles Tepperman for serving on my Examination Committee. Rob mclennan and derek beaulieu have been tireless supporters of my work and of hundreds of other people working in Canada’s ephemeral poetry communities. Hazel and Jay MillAr, and Meredith and Peter Quartermain have given significant insight into the working of their presses. Dr. Nikki Sheppy has provided much-needed help as an external reader, and members of the Natalie Simpson Writing Group – particularly Natalie Simpson, Marc Hermann Lynch, Eric Zboya, Ian Kinney, Beth Langford, Emily Ursuliak, and Caitlynn Cummings – have variously provided welcome emotional and logistic support. Finally, I wish to thank my partner, Jani Krulc, who has witnessed the highs and lows of doctoral study firsthand, and who decided to marry me anyway, and to start building a life together forever. I will spend that forever trying to figure out the words for how grateful I am for her acumen, strength, and love. iii Table of Contents Abstract ……………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………ii Acknowledgements ……………………………………………….….…………………………………………..……..iii Table of Contents …………………………………………………………………………………………………...…….iv List of Figures and Illustrations ………………………………………………………..………………….………..vi Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..1 Defining the Micropress …………………………………………………………………………..………..…1 A Field of Production …………………………………………………………………….…………….…….11 Chapter 1: From Little Magazine to Micropress ……………………………………………….…..…27 1.1 The Little Magazines in Canada ………………………………………………………...………..…27 1.2 The Massey Report and its Aftermath …………………………………………..……………….45 Chapter 2: A Study of Micropresses …………………………………………………………………………74 2.1 Taking Stock of the Field ………………………………………………………………………………74 2.2 Rawlings’ Survey ………………………………………………………………………………………….83 2.3 12 or 20 Questions ……………………………………………………………………………………….97 Chapter 3: The Current Survey ………….………...…………………………………..……………………108 3.1 Introducing the Survey .………………………………………………………………....…………...108 3.2 The Preliminary Section ..……………………………………………………………....…………...110 3.3 Survey Section 1 …………………………...……………………………………………………………119 3.4 Survey Section 2 …………………………………………...……………………………………………125 3.5 Survey Section 3 …………………………………………...……………………………………………135 Chapter 4: Micropress: A Conversation in Three Parts …………………………….……………145 4.1 The Fugitive Presses …………………………………………………………………………………..145 4.2 A Lasting Imprint: Slug Press, Keefer Street Press, Nomados Literary Pub. ……...160 iv 4.3 A National Conversation: above/ground press ……………………………………………..172 4.4 Talking to Oneself? housepress/No Press …………………….……………………………….180 4.5 Moving in from the Fringe ………………………………………………………………………….189 Chapter 5: New Ways of Doing Old Things …………………………………………………………….193 5.1 Canadian Publishing Paradigms ………………………………………………………………….193 5.2 Publishing Social Spheres: The Business of Little Magazines ………………………..198 5.3 A Literary Life ……………………………………………………………………………………………212 5.4 The Transition Press ………………………………………………………………………………….223 Chapter 6: Boxes for Books: Archiving as Publishing ……………………………………………236 6.1 Digital Inks in the Stacks …………………………………………………………………………….236 6.2 Archive as Publisher …………………………………………………………………………………..245 6.3 Moving Online ……………………………………………………………………………………………265 Works Cited ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….275 Appendices A: Survey Recruitment Statement ……………………………………………………………..287 Appendices B: Consent Form ………………………………………………………………………………………288 Appendices C: Survey Questions …………………………………………………………………………………292 Appendices D: Lists of Surveyed Presses ……………………………………………………………………..296 Appendices E: Survey Results …………………………………………….……………………….………………299 Appendices F: PennSound Manifesto …………………………………………...………………….…………..326 v List of Figures and Illustrations Figure 1.1 Field of Cultural Production …………………………………………………………………………14 Figure 1.2 Detailed Field ………………………………………………………………………………………………16 Figure 2.1 Time Publishing …………………………………………………………………………….……………..88 Figure 2.2 Size of Print Run …………………………………………………………………………….…………….88 Figure 2.3 Frequency of Publication ………………………………………………………………….…………..89 Figure 2.4 Methods of Distribution …………………………………………………………………….………….90 Figure 2.5 Design and Publishing Methods Used …..………………………………….…………………….92 Figure 2.6 Time Publishing ………………………………………………………………………….………………..99 Figure 2.7 Accomplishment and Frustration ………………………………………….…………………….102 Figure 2.8 Methods of Distribution ……………………………………………………………………………..103 Figure 2.9 Size of Print Run ……………………………………………………………………………….………..105 Figure 3.1 Frequency of Publication ……………………...…………………………………………………….110 Figure 3.2 Size of Print Run …………………………………………………………………………………...……112 Figure 3.3 Number of People …………………………………………………………………………...………….114 Figure 3.4 Use of ISBNs ……………………………………………………………………………………...……….116 Figure 3.5 What Gets Published ……………………………………………………………………..……….…..117 Figure 3.6 Sources of Income …………………………………………………………………………...…………119 Figure 3.7 Does the Press Make Money? …………………………………………………………...…………123 Figure 3.8 Production Techniques ……………………………………………………………………...……….126 Figure 3.9 Reason for Production Technique …………………………………………………..…………..127 Figure 3.10 Recruitment Strategies ……………………………………………………………………………..129 vi Figure 3.11 Motives for Publishing ……………………………………………………………..………….……131 Figure 3.12 Methods of Distribution ……………………………………………………….…………………..136 Figure 3.13 Primary Audience …………………………………………………………………………………….138 vii Introduction I had become convinced in my own work that the most penetrating analysis would always be of forms, specifically literary forms, where changes of viewpoint, changes of known and knowable relationships, changes of possible and actual resolutions, could be directly demonstrated, as forms of literary organization, and then, just because they involved more than individual solutions, could be reasonably related to a real social history, itself considered analytically in terms of basic relationships and failures and limits of relationship. -Raymond Williams, “Literature and Society,” 1980/2005 Defining the Micropress