That spare room poetry press stalwart, Martin Holroyd, in a statement of intent, has announced that Poetry Monthly Press and Poetry Monthly International are "to close down" due to a post-Christmas slump in sales and also for other reasons leading to a lack of enthusiasm; and so, to borrow a song title from Queen, "another one bites the dust".
This means, as far as Poet-in-Residence readers are concerned, that my only book (to date), Genteel Messages, is out of print. Anyone wanting a leftover copy would do well to order it via the Poetry Monthly website (A-Z Links >>>) at the earliest opportunity.
The final edition of Poetry Monthly as an Internet magazine will appear in June 2010.
Any reckless publisher wishing to discuss working with me in the future can e-mail me at gwil(squigglything)aon(dot)at.
But maybe, the chosen few aside, poetry book publishing has had its day?
Nice to have you back in blogland G. Do hope all is well with you. I have thought of you often.
ReplyDeleteDominic bought me Genteel Messages for Christmas stocking - I love it.
Sorry to hear that Martin is packing up but these things are ineviatble.
ReplyDeleteGood to have you back, Gwilym. Hope things are as well as they can be.
ReplyDeleteSnap as regards your poetry book and mine (different title and poems obviously!). Sad to see Poetry Monthly close but perhaps online poetry is now more popular, more speedily produced and accessed, and dare I say cheaper. But there is still a place for published books - shame that bookshops never seem to have offers/reductions on poetry books like they do on the popular chart books.
great to see you afloat again
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Hi Gwilym. Thanks for your account of the salt works. In one account I read the salt twigs were given to tourists descending the mine - this was a hundred years or more ago. Probably a prettier souvenir than a package of salt.
ReplyDeleteIt's a tough time for poetry presses, but given the number of people who post their work online, and the number of people who read that work, it doesn't seem like a tough time for Poetry. I suppose we should be grateful for that. Gordon Mason's comment was true though. You seldom see a poetry book discounted. I wonder why that is.
Wow! Keep those reactions and all your lovely words coming in! :)
ReplyDeleteI have e-mailed Martin Holroyd to wish him luck in the future.
Maybe there's an 'insider' Dylan Thomas blogspot or website, as only you can do, somewhere in your future Martin? I wonder. I hope so.
Has it had its day? I'm in two minds. The internet seems to me a wonderful way to publish poetry. Poetry is usually shortish. Everyone is their own Gutenburg. (Prose is usually too long for easy internet reading).
ReplyDeleteThe only difficulty (apart from the financial one - but then poets always were in financial difficulties, plus ca change) is that of being one's own editor.
On the other hand, at the moment I've got a whole lot of poems together which I feel ought to be read as a whole - this would suggest a book.
Been reading your other blog. Good post about the three peaks et al.
Tempting... It doesn't hurt anymore, but I'm still vaguely "aware" of my groin strain though. I might have to stick to a few leisurely 10ks later in the year, sadly. I did manage a totally discomfort free sortie a third of the way up Tryfan the other day, so you never know... (And I was amazed how much fitness I'd retained after taking it easy for so long).
Dominic, I wish you a speedy recovery from the groin strain you incurred during your Snowdonia Marathon training. You probably overtrained last year so the active rest and winter pause will have done you quite a bit of good. As for myself, I'm now running in the woods again and also doing a bit cycling in front of the TV. I tend to run very little from Dec-Mar because of the weather but also to give my body chance to recover from those niggling injuries I've invariably picked up during the previous year. I ease back into it in April and build up speed and distance to peak during Sep/Oct and then ease off into the winter months and a little running hibernation again. I aim to keep going for quite a few years yet, so I cautiously avoid the burn-out syndrome that many faster runners or overtrained runners fall victim to. At 63 I'm inspired by that Indian guy who ran the London Marathon at age 92. Something similar, perhaps a half-marathon, is my long-term goal. If I take care I must have 20+ running years left! There's nothing better you can do ona sunny day - and you are so lucky with all those Pennine Hills on your doorstep, not to mention the Lakes and Wales etc.!
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