Early AWP thoughts

So we just got home from NYC and then digested the Super Bowl--now seems like a good time for some opening thoughts on AWP. . .

One thought that always swishes around there is the overwhelming sense that the writing game is far more competitive than it was supposed to be. I know it's naive to imagine that writers simply peel off brilliant pieces and they are lapped up instantly by an adoring public, but AWP always makes me a feel a bit like professional darts should have been my career path--fewer people involved and almost no talking to other players necessary! There are so many voices vying for a spot, for a bit of recognition, it's no wonder publication is so hard. . .

And yet--this is the really spooky part--it feels like everyone there is published in some form or another. Every other person is talking about his/her first book like it was three books ago and I wonder, "are you that great, am I that lame, could we both be great (or at least, kind of great) and I just need to get off my ass, or are you totally full of shit?" There's no good way to know who to talk to, how to talk to them and then what to say, made even more mind boggling by the fact that I'm supposed to be writing, not yammering! If I had wanted that, I would have aspired to anything else that didn't require I stare, alone, at a screen for hours at a time, (that is, when I'm not staring at paper).

So how does one differentiate oneself? The good news, I think, is already built into UB's MFA--the publication design stuff. As I made my way around the book fair, there were rows and rows of books--literally hundreds of people trying to get heard. Many of these were journals (we all want to get published, but don't want to actually buy them) but some were, depressingly, novels or short story collections or, and there are tons of these, chapbooks.

Chapbooks especially, seem to have a very eighteenth century look about them--blank cover on slightly heavier paper than the rest of the book. Occasionally, the poet's picture is on the inside flap, but that seems like the least important picture in or on a book. Believe me, I know you want your poetry to speak for you, but most aren't even going to notice your book if it is exactly like all the other boring books on the table (I don't even have the boring book, so please, poets, excuse my bluntness and understand what I'm advocating here). The fact is, I passed far more books over with a simple glance than I actually picked up in order to assess.

The solution is a simple one: book design. Having pens and condoms to give away at the table is cute, but they have little to do with the book--an eye-catching cover and appropriate paper, in a real sense, are the book. Very few seemed interested in the book arts at AWP, but those that did (The Pinch is a journal that stands out in my mind as being well designed--more in a sec) stood out and begged to be opened. This is where UB should really distinguish itself, and probably does. While I'm not using the language of the designer, the mere fact that I'm posting this at all, I think, is testimony to the fact that I'm aware of the physical book more than I may have been. Many at the book fair were not.

The Pinch seemed as splashy and put together as something like Tin House, but it must be much smaller in terms of budget and print run. Published by the University of Memphis, http://cas.memphis.edu/english/pinch/home/home.htm I'm convinced there isn't a huge amount of money at the staff's disposal; nevertheless, the covers I saw had a lot of motion and seemed to complement or be a part of the logo. Many other journals (even quite good ones) seem to simply have a nice art piece and a pretty safe logo emblazoned across. The Pinch felt much more lively. I plan to check out some issues and submit to it--so something worked (okay, so I would probably have submitted no matter what it looked like). In any event, I think there needs to be some emphasis in the program on just what writers may be up against, should they wish to market themselves (and most will have to at some point) or their work from the program (like Welter--I thought Welter 2006 looked sharper than most things I saw there--you are invited to touch it!). Perhaps a greater emphasis on our selling our books (or displaying them) at functions like CityLit or Baltimore Book Festival. I know we already do those things, but maybe students should be required, at various points in their own journey through the program, attend such events and make formal observations--a sort of entree into the capstone course. Perhaps a part of a larger pillowbook or portfolio for the program (this counts as mine!).