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Boston-area poets and poetry fans came in from the cold last weekend to read, listen, and mingle at one of the city’s best-known literary events: the Boston National Poetry Month Festival.
In response to the familiar complaint that some literary agents don't even bother to respond to author queries, agent Nathan Bransford launched on Sunday the "Be an Agent for the Day" Contest. "Think you can spot the good queries from the bad? Wondering how the view looks from our side? Think it's easy to respond to everyone?" he challenged.
Lloyd Jassin, chairman of the executive committee and the advisory counsel of the New York Center for Independent Publishing (NYCIP), has resigned from his posts at the organization.
On April 1 I had the joy of being in the audience at the New School in New York City for a reading by six poets of the Oulipo, or Ouvroir de littérature potentielle (“workshop of potential literature”), a writers group founded in France in 1960 by writer and mathematician Raymond Queneau and scientist François Le Lionnaisnown.
In addition to all the new books, public readings, and poem-a-day promotions that have so far marked National Poetry Month, a number of new films—from two-minute animated poems to feature-length documentaries—explore the work of poets and the impact it has on our lives. Here's a look at the poetry of John Ashbery, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Allen Ginsberg, and Lorine Niedecker in film.
Tony Lucki, CEO of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, announced in a recent memo to staff that he will retire from his position on April 15. Lucki, who will maintain his association with HMH as chairman of the company, will be succeeded by Barry O’Callaghan, the current chair of HMH’s Dublin-based parent corporation, Education Media & Publishing Group.
Counterpoint publisher Charlie Winton announced yesterday that Denise Oswald has been hired as editorial director of Soft Skull Press and senior editor of Counterpoint. She succeeds Richard Nash, who resigned in late February and whose last day at the press was March 10.
HarperCollins is sponsoring a contest for the best video book trailer that promotes Elmore Leonard's forthcoming novel Road Dogs. The publisher is seeking a video between thirty seconds and two minutes "that captures the spirit" of the novel. "It should have intrigue, edge, and energy."
Nick Piombino has been associated with various schools of poetry, but he is, perhaps, most well known for being one of the theorists who initiated the investigation into what became Language poetry. He spoke recently about collaboration, collage, and his collection Contradicta: Aphorisms, forthcoming from Green Integer Press this month.
The University of New Mexico Press, reportedly facing an operating deficit as a result of the current recession, recently announced layoffs and the possibility of outsourcing distribution, according to a strongly worded press release circulated yesterday.
