This is the thirty-fourth
in a series of short essays/reminiscences by a variety of authors and friends
of the press to help mark the quarter century mark of above/ground. See links to the whole series here.
25th
words
When I think of above/ground press it is not first and foremost the
publications which come to mind, but rob himself. I have only met rob once in
person, but, connected to him via social media and occasional emails, and of
course through the above/ground publications themselves, an impression is
shaped of this individual who is so devoted to the Canadian small press
community.
While I myself am rather isolated in my (writing) life, and admittedly
find it fairly difficult to make connections with the enviable ease of some
others, rob’s unmistakable generosity is a point of optimism, I would think, to
a great many writers who might otherwise never encounter each other’s work. It
is this broadness of consideration which one finds in the non-stop flow of
publications from across Canada and beyond that leads me back, every time I
receive a stack of chapbooks, to imagining rob reading the solicited and
unsolicited manuscripts that find their way to him. When I picture rob reading,
I come to understand the value of an attitude (and I might be off the mark
here, but I don’t think so) situated somewhere between an intense seriousness
(after all, how could such a project as above/ground have continued without
serious devotion?) and a casual faith in the potential of the writers and texts
he encounters.
The publications are not made to be beautiful objects. They’re not meant
to be. One reads in the mostly homogenous design of simple stapled booklet a
priority: text in hand. Those who submit a manuscript to above/ground know
exactly what they’re getting into in terms of production/result. Of course,
what writers consistently like is—circulation. Isn’t it nice that somebody, and
a few more, will read your work? But of course, we all know, it doesn’t end
there. rob is always reaching out with opportunities, solicitations,
interviews, mags… kind words and optimism (in succinct emails of one to two
sentences that never lack in presence and the open ear). All that is the energy
of one who knows how to embrace. Thank you rob, for that embrace which is
above/ground—a social embrace which does not reveal a community, but creates
it.
Sacha Archer is a writer
that works in numerous mediums as well as being the editor of Simulacrum Press
(simulacrumpress.ca). His work has been published internationally. Archer has
two full-length collections of poetry, Detour
(gradient books, 2017) and Zoning Cycle
(Simulacrum Press, 2017), as well as a number of chapbooks, the most recent
being TSK oomph (Inspiritus Press,
2018) and Contemporary Meat (The
Blasted Tree, 2018). His visual poetry has been exhibited in the USA, Italy,
and Canada. Some of that work, among other things, can be found on his website,
sachaarcher.wordpress.com. Archer lives in Burlington, Ontario.
Sacha Archer is the author of two above/ground press
chapbooks, including upROUTE : The Language of Plates (2017) and the forthcoming Autopsy Report (2018).
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