Overdue Thank You's

First, a big thank you to the good people at the Poetry Foundation for their recent post about Architrave. When I started this project I had grave doubts about whether my fellow poets would embrace a press that sought a general reader. After all, "accessible" is a dirty word in many poetry circles. We all (and I include myself in this) want to be seen as progressive writers. But as an ever increasing number of fictioneers, essayists and other creatives confided to me that they "just didn't get" my art form, I knew it was a leap of faith I had to take. I'm glad I did. So far it's been wonderfully rewarding and it turns out there are plenty of poets willing to share their work in a venue such as this. Getting noticed by one of America's premiere poetry organizations is sweet, sweet icing on an already tasty cake.

Second, thanks to Burke's Books in Memphis and Woodland Pattern in Milwaukee for stocking Architrave poems. There's a fair bit of paperwork to tracking consignment sales, so I'm appreciative whenever a merchant likes the product enough to want to invest their time in it. Please check out their stores this holiday season.

And third, thanks to Barbara Harbach for organizing the Women in the Arts Conference at UMSL. I really enjoyed presenting and hearing the other great presentations. I hope the conference becomes an annual or biannual event!