Sorrowland Press - Reviews and Respect III

Ottawa XPress

April 17th, 2005

Matthew Firth

Ottawa's Micro Press: Smaller than Small

Ottawa micro presses feed the spirit of hope.

Ottawa's literary publishing underground is alive and well among micro presses. A micro press is just what it sounds like: a smaller-than-small independent press, producing zines, chapbooks, broadsheets and pamphlets in tiny print runs for a few feverishly faithful readers.

Above/ground press, Mercutio Press, Hand Maiden Press, Sorrowland Press might not roll as freely off the tongue as HarperCollins but they're viable enterprises all the same. From the perspective of the new and emerging writer, micro presses are the door to the publishing universe. A lot of writers would never see their work in print-blurry ink or otherwise-if not for micro presses.

Micro press print runs are typically 50 to 500 copies per publication. Zines and chapbooks are reasonably priced: $3 to $8 for those on sale, while other stuff is given away. Sales come via mail orders, websites, small press fairs, readings, supportive local bookstores and networking, but most micro presses have a regular day job in the background. Some get help. The poetry journal Bywords received a City of Ottawa grant. Friday Circle press benefits from its association with the University of Ottawa English department through donations from faculty and alumni.

Micro press publications are not created equally. Above/ground press favours a utilitarian photocopy, fold, staple method. Montreal's Mercutio Press incorporates more graphic design with striking colour covers. Hand Maiden Press went over the top with its chapbook Merge

My Body With the Light: serrated-edged purple paper inside, convoluted fold-over cover, spine sewn with red ribbon and a red wax sealer. A lot of effort went into the design but it creates a precious feel counter to indie publishing's open and accessible vibe.

Rob McLennan has been running above/ground press since 1993. It's Ottawa's flagship micro press and, according to McLennan, "the most active chapbook press in Canada." He spits out 50 to 60 items a year, ranging from single-poem broadsheets, to multi-author chapbooks. McLennan uses a system where $30 gets subscribers a copy of everything he publishes in a calendar year. He likes the "inexpensive and immediate" feel of micro presses although he acknowledges some folks dismiss chapbooks because of their perceived substandard look. Still, McLennan's motivation is simple: It's "bloody good fun" and a great way to help to new writers get a leg up.

There's clearly a labour of love dimension to micro presses, plus a desire to promote new writing. Amanda Earl of Bywords says the poetry journal strives to be "open to fresh and original writing." Seymour Mayne of Friday Circle wants to, "give encouragement to younger writers who find it difficult to break into print." A certain amount of altruism is necessary to be a micro presser. Control and creative freedom are also lures, according to Ottawa publisher Cristian S. Aluas and Mercutio Press's Ben Kalman.

Writers who get their start in micro presses champion the form. Anita Dolman just had her first chapbook-Scalpel, Tea and Short Glass-published by above/ground. She says micro presses, "Let you know whether people actually want to read your work or whether they think it sucks."

Ottawa's Bill Brown, author of the short story collection Folly, appreciates the scale of micro presses: "My writing was being guided, rather than leaned on; polished, rather than sanded down." Brown also feels micro presses have more latitude to publish what they like because they're not held accountable to arts funding agencies' directives.

But it's naïve to always grunt "big bad, small good." So too with micro presses. Being critical of chapbooks and zines might be seen as akin to telling a five-year-old you don't like her finger painting. You're just not allowed to do it.

Charles Bukowski, one of the most successful and influential poets of the last few decades and a writer who started in small mags and chapbooks, wrote in a 1972 letter, "I'm afraid the small presses, the mimeo presses, have kept alive too many talentless darlings ... starvation and obscurity are not necessarily signs of genius." A little harsh, maybe, but his point is apt: Just because something is small and precious doesn't mean it's inherently good. It's fair to be just as critical, just as wary of hand-sewn chapbooks as mass-produced, blockbuster novels.

Most micro press writers will never move beyond that level, although that's not always their intent. Many revel in the moment, being able to create and express regardless of how small their audience may be. And as long as there are a few dozen readers buying their works, micro press publishers will endure. It's a tradition, in slightly varying forms, that literally goes back centuries.

Sorrowland Press Reviews and Respect