some author activity: Saklikar, Eleftherion, Tierney, Cook, Campos, Niespodziany + Rogal,

Renée Sarojini Saklikar is interviewed by The British Columbia Review; Melissa Eleftherion, Orchid Tierney, Juliet Cook, Isabel Sobral Campos and Benjamin Niespodziany all have work up in the new issue of Action, Spectacle; and Stan Rogal has three poems up at The Temz Review.

some author activity: Tierney, Skrabalak, Carr, Robinson, Shea + Eleftherion,

Orchid Tierney is the third in the above/ground press author spotlights via the above/ground press substack; Ryan Skrabalak is interviewed alongside Robbie Wing by Miriam Atkin for "Specific Objects," WGXC: Radio for Open Ears; Julie Carr and Elizabeth Robinson have new work in the latest issue of Posit; Michael Martin Shea has some new translations of poems by Augusto Lunel over at Black Sun Lit; and Melissa Eleftherion has new work up Stone Circle Review.

some author activity: Cone, Eleftherion, Armantrout, Skrabalek + Gontarek,

forthcoming author Jon Cone has new work up at Ant5; Melissa Eleftherion has new work up at Moira; Rae Armantrout has a new poem, "craft talk," up at The Best American Poetry blog; the video recording of Ryan Skrabalek's Woolsey Heights reading in South Berkeley, California, alongside Cecily Nicholson, Ted Rees and Joni Flint Gonzales, is now online; and I missed it before, but apparently Maxwell Gontarek had some work online as part of the online journal for Pamenar Press.

some author activity: Chang-Richardson,Witek, mclennan, Kaplan, Eleftherion, MacEachern, Moure + Houglum,

forthcoming author Ellen Chang-Richardson answers the '12 or 20 questions'; forthcoming author Terri Witek is featured in the spotlight series; rob mclennan is interviewed by JWT BookAdventures; Genevieve Kaplan has work in the latest Word for Word; Melissa Eleftherion reads for the DMQ Virtual Salon; Jessi MacEachern answers four questions for Erín Moure via YouTube; and did you see that Brook Houglum is the second in the new series of author spotlights over at the above/ground press substack?

some author activity: Radmore, Eleftherion, Niespodziany, Ross, mclennan + Armantrout,

Claudia Coutu Radmore has two new poems up at The Pi Review; Melissa Eleftherion has a new poem up at The Citron Review, and a further poem up at Verse Daily; Benjamin Niespodziany has begun a substack to post weekly poems and prompts every Sunday ; Stuart Ross has posted his annual poem for New Year's; a further section of rob mclennan's work-in-progress "the green notebook" is online at Community Mausoleum, and he has posted a couple of videos reading short stories via substack; and Rae Armantrout has two new poems and commentary up at Plume.

some author activity: Rogal, mclennan, Eleftherion, o'brien + O'Reilly,

Stan Rogal has some new poems up in The Temz Review; rob mclennan participates in Finnian Burnett's 5 Questions interview series; Melissa Eleftherion has four new erasure poems and a short essay on her poetics of reading books that terrify us at a young age over at cul-de-sac of blood; katie o'brien has a poem in the 'poetry pause' series via The League of Canadian Poets; and Nathanael O'Reilly has three new poems up at The Galway Review.

an above/ground press (zoom) launch, May 19, 2024: Ballard, Eleftherion Carr, Deutch, Ebbitt + Polyck-O'Neill : video now online,

In case you missed it, the video for the above/ground press (zoom) launch from May 19, 2024 is now online, posted to the same YouTube channel that also hosts the ongoing  virtual reading series via periodicities: a journal of poetry and poetics. With readings and launches by five different above/ground press authors: Micah Ballard (San Francisco CA), Melissa Eleftherion Carr (Ukiah CA), Amanda Deutch (Brooklyn NY), Katie Ebbitt (New York NY) + Julia Polyck O'Neill (Toronto ON). lovingly hosted by rob mclennan,

 

 
You can find the link to author biographies, as well as to each of the new chapbooks they were launching, here.

some author activity: Eleftherion, Baker, Armantrout, Dolman + mclennan,

Melissa Eleftherion has new work at Rogue Agent; Jennifer Baker is interviewed by Grace Wildman for Common House Magazine; Rae Armantrout is interviewed over at Better Than The Times; AJ Dolman has new work in the Spotlight series; and rob mclennan is interviewed by Han VanderHart for the Of Poetry podcast.

an above/ground press (zoom) launch, May 19: Micah Ballard, Melissa Eleftherion Carr, Amanda Deutch, Katie Ebbitt + Julia Polyck-O'Neill,

Micah Ballard (San Francisco CA)
Melissa Eleftherion Carr (Ukiah CA)
Amanda Deutch (Brooklyn NY)
Katie Ebbitt (New York NY)
+
Julia Polyck O'Neill (Toronto ON)

lovingly hosted by publisher/editor rob mclennan
Sunday, May 19 2024: 3pm PST/6pm EST ZOOM
please contact host or readers for zoom link:
rob mclennan : rob_mclennan (at) hotmail (dot) com or Melissa Eleftherion Carr : melissa.eleftherion (at) gmail (dot) com

Micah Ballard is the author of over a dozen books of poetry including Waifs and Strays (City Lights Books), Afterlives (Bootstrap Press), The Michaux Notebook (FMSBW), Krewes (Bootstrap Press), Selected Prose, 2008-19 (Blue Press), Evangeline Downs (Ugly Duckling Presse), Daily Vigs (Bird & Beckett Books), Vesper Chimes (Gas Meter), Muddy Waters (State Champs), and Negative Capability in the Verse of John Wieners (Bootstrap Press). He lives in San Francisco with poet Sunnylyn Thibodeaux, their daughter Lorca, and co-edits Auguste Press and Lew Gallery Editions.

He will be launching BUSY SECRET (2024), his first chapbook with above/ground press, although he did co-edit G U E S T [a journal of guest editors] #21, "Castle Greyskull," with Garrett Caples (above/ground press, 2022).

Melissa Eleftherion (she/they) is a writer, a librarian, and a visual artist. Born & raised in Brooklyn, she holds degrees from Brooklyn College, Mills College, and San Jose State University. They are the author of the full-length poetry collections, field guide to autobiography (The Operating System, 2018), & gutter rainbows (Querencia Press, 2024), as well as twelve chapbooks including trauma suture (above/ground press, 2020), & sunflower spell (poems-for-all, 2022).  Her work has been widely published & featured in venues like Quarter after Eight, Sixth Finch, Entropy, & Barren Magazine. Melissa now lives in Northern California where she manages the Ukiah Branch Library, curates the LOBA Reading Series, and serves as Poet Laureate Emeritus of the City of Ukiah. Recent work is available at www.apoetlibrarian.wordpress.com.

She will be launching abject sutures (2024), her third chapbook with above/ground press, after little ditch (2018) and trauma suture (2020).

Amanda Deutch is a poet born and raised in New York City. She is the author of several chapbooks including Bodega Night Pigeon Riot (above/ground press, 2020), and Surf Avenue & 29th Street, Coney Island (Least Weasel Press, 2018). Deutch’s poetry has been published in The Brooklyn Rail, The New York Times, Oversound, The Rumpus, Cimarron Review and in many other journals and magazines. An artist book collaboration with Sarah Nicholls, wild anemone, is forthcoming in 2024. She lives in Brooklyn where she is the founder of Parachute Literary Arts.

She will be launching new york ironweed (2024), her second above/ground press title, after bodega night pigeon riot (2020).

Katie Ebbitt is a poet/psycho-behavioralist living in NYC. She is the author of the chapbooks ANOTHER LIFE (Counterpath, 2016), Para Ana (Inpatient, 2019), and Air Sign (Creative Writing Department, 2024). Fecund, her first full-length book, will be released by Keith LLC.

She will be launching HYSTERICAL PREGNANCY (2024), her first title with above/ground press.

Julia Polyck-O’Neill (they/she) is an artist, curator, critic, poet, and writer. They are currently the Michael Ridley Postdoctoral Fellow in Digital Humanities at the University of Guelph and a former SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow at York University’s Sensorium Centre for Digital Arts and Technology. Starting in July 2024, they will be an Assistant Professor of Communication and Media Studies at Memorial University in Newfoundland. Her research explores feminist, digital approaches to interdisciplinary artists’ archives and intersections between archives and creative praxis. Her publications appear in Amodern, Zeitschrift für Ästhetik und Allgemeine Kunstwissenschaft (The Journal for Aesthetics and General Art History), English Studies in Canada, BC Studies, Canadian Literature, and other places.

She will be launching Process (2024), her fourth above/ground press title, after femme (2016), Everything will be taken away (2018) and poem | image | self (2019).

some author activity: Davis, Robinson, Eleftherion, Mohammadi, Earl + Boyle,

Jordan Davis has a new poem up at the arts fuse; Kevin Heslop interviews Ben Robinson over at The Miramichi Reader; Melissa Eleftherion has new work up at Barren Magazine; both Khashayar "Kess" Mohammadi and Amanda Earl have new work in the ex-puritan; and Frances Boyle has a poem in the new issue of consilience.

new from above/ground press: abject sutures, by Melissa Eleftherion

abject sutures
melissa eleftherion
$5

SHELL

six little explosions
“under a glass bell”
how we’re taught
to contain
the abject
little burst sutures
in ammonite

published in Ottawa by above/ground press
March 2024
a/g subscribers receive a complimentary copy

Melissa Eleftherion (she/they) is a writer, a librarian, and a visual artist. Born & raised in Brooklyn, she holds degrees from Brooklyn College, Mills College, and San Jose State University. They are the author of the full-length poetry collections, field guide to autobiography (The Operating System, 2018), & gutter rainbows (Querencia Press, 2024), as well as twelve chapbooks including trauma suture (above/ground press, 2020), & sunflower spell (poems-for-all, 2022).  Her work has been widely published & featured in venues like Quarter after Eight, Sixth Finch, Entropy, & Barren Magazine. Melissa now lives in Northern California where she manages the Ukiah Branch Library, curates the LOBA Reading Series, and serves as Poet Laureate Emeritus of the City of Ukiah. Recent work is available at www.apoetlibrarian.wordpress.com.

This is Eleftherion’s third chapbook with above/ground press, after little ditch (2018) and trauma suture (2020).

To order, send cheques (add $1 for postage; in US, add $2; outside North America, add $5) to: rob mclennan, 2423 Alta Vista Drive, Ottawa ON K1H 7M9. E-transfer or PayPal at rob_mclennan (at) hotmail.com or the PayPal button at www.robmclennan.blogspot.com

some author activity: drystek, Eleftherion, Niespodziany + Reid,

nina jane drystek has new work up at The Hellebore; Melissa Eleftherion has new work up at Hot Pink Magazine; Benjamin Niespodziany lists his "30 favorite authors (and their books) that I read in 2023"; and Monty Reid has work in the new issue of Pinhole Poetry.

some author activity: Sikkema, Eleftherion, Oniță, Boyle + Berlatsky,

Michael Sikkema has some new writing up at Cream Scene Carnival; Melissa Elefttherion has new work up at The Mantle; Adriana Oniță has new work up at the ex-puritan; Frances Boyle is interviewed over at Amanda Earl's The Small Machine Talks podcast; and Noah Berlatsky has a new poem up at Synchronized Chaos.

some author activity: van Vliet, Armantrout, Niespodziany, Eleftherion, Novak + Heroux,

forthcoming author Robert Van Vliet and Rae Armantrout have new poems up at Guesthouse; Benjamin Niespodziany has a new piece up at Maudlin House; Melissa Eleftherion has a new poem up at Sixth Finch; JoAnna Novak is featured in the Between the Covers podcast via Tin House; and Jason Heroux has a poem in the "Tuesday poem" series via the dusie blog.

some author activity: Eleftherion, Hunter, Waldrop, Trivedi, Mohammadi + Melançon,

both Melissa Eleftherion and Carrie Hunter have new work in the bisexual issue of Hot Pink Magazine; Rosmarie Waldrop is interviewed on the Between the Covers podcast via Tin House by David Naimon; Amish Trivedi has four new poems up at The Brooklyn Rail; Khashayar Mohammadi has new work up at Iterant, and Jérôme Melançon reads in October at the Festival International de la Poésie, Trois-Rivières.

some author activity: Niespodziany, Eleftherion, Deutch, Yeary + mclennan,

Benjamin Niespodziany has a new prose poem in elsewhere, as well as up at autofocus; Melissa Eleftherion has new work up at Dream Geographies; Amanda Deutch's Coney Island Poetry Map is written up in an article for the Brooklyn Paper; James Yeary has a poem up in the Tuesday poem series; and rob mclennan is interviewed by Andrew French for Page Fright: A Literary Podcast.

some author activity: Niespodziany, Brown, Unsworth, Melançon, Mody + Eleftherion,

Benjamin Niespodziany is interviewed over at Touch the Donkey; Simon Brown has some work in the eleventh and final issue of antilang; Lydia Unsworth has new work online at Pamenar Press; Jérôme Melançon is interviewed over at Touch the Donkey; Monica Mody is interviewed over at poetry mini interviews; and Melissa Eleftherion has new work up at The Hunger, hot pink mag and The Hopper.

some author activity: Barwin, Eleftherion, Barbour, Notley + Earl,

Gary Barwin's "Letraset Canon," "A canon for 3 tenor saxophones," is now up at YouTube; Melissa Eleftherion has a poem in the new issue of Lammergeier; The Book Publishers Association of Alberta has announced that they have renamed their "Speculative Fiction Book of the Year" to the "Douglas Barbour Award for Speculative Fiction"; abstracts are sought for a roundtable on the work of Alice Notley; and Amanda Earl has new visual work posted at Train : a poetry journal.

TODAY IS THE TWENTY-EIGHTH BIRTHDAY OF ABOVE/GROUND PRESS!

Oh, I know. What are anniversaries without big ridiculous parties? But we'll get there again. Remember the twenty-sixth anniversary? Or the twenty-fifth? The twenty-third? And the Toronto same? Or the nineteenth? Those sure were good times, yep. Amanda Earl even did a nice write-up for last year's anniversary, which was quite nice (and my birthday post for last year I thought was pretty good, also). And remember all those essays we posted by a variety of above/ground press authors etc for the twenty-fifth anniversary? But don't worry, just because we're all still home (but slowly emerging, it would seem), above/ground press is still working on the usual array of a million, billion things (see the sidebar for the growing names of authors with forthcoming chapbooks). Twenty-eight years; that seems nutty, doesn't it? And the press has produced (to date) some 1120 items (with a handful sitting at the printer even as we speak). And I've already started thinking about the thirtieth anniversary anthology (the third "decade" anthology), to be produced through Invisible Publishing (keep in mind you can purchase a copy of the twentieth anniversary volume through them as well, yes?).

Over here at above/ground press worldwide poetry solutions, we're working on multiple upcoming chapbooks, a few new broadsides and even the next two issues of G U E S T [a journal of guest editors], which will be edited by Melissa Eleftherion and Pearl Pirie! And you've been paying attention to Touch the Donkey [a small poetry journal] and periodicities: a journal of poetry and poetics, yes? And I've even added a blog post to keep track of the above/ground press "prose/naut" prose chapbook series, so you can see what's forthcoming over that way. In the meantime, there will be other anniversaries (maybe we can celebrate twenty-eight and a half, or something). I'll be here, still, working away. I'm the one with the perpetual array of scotch tape and paper, clean scissors by the ready.

some author activity: Boyle, Kratz, Joseph, Johnson, Eleftherion, Koss, Cortese, Kaplan + Betts,

Frances Boyle has a new poem up at Literary Mama, three at Anti-Heroin Chic, and further in issue #11 of CP Quarterly; Al Kratz has a new essay over at my (small press) writing day; Alexander Joseph's above/ground press debut is written up in an article for The Mountain Ear, and he was interviewed as part of The Mountain Ear Podcast; Chris Johnson has a new poem posted as part of National Poetry Month at the Chaudiere Books blog, as do Melissa Eleftherion and Frances Boyle and Zane Koss and Franco Cortese and Genevieve Kaplan; and Gregory Betts has a new poem posted as part of the "Tuesday poem" series.