Tarpaulin Sky Press is a small press publisher of hybrid texts as well as

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

and

prose Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinary grammatical structures, or, in writing, typical conventions and formatting. Thus, prose ranges from informal speaking to formal academic writing. Prose differs most n ...

. Founded by Christian Peet in 2006 and based in

Grafton, Vermont Grafton is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 645 at the 2020 census. History In the early 19th century, sheep raising became popular and multiple woolen mills sprang up along the branches of the Saxtons Rive ...

, the company produces full-length books,

chapbook A chapbook is a type of small printed booklet that was a popular medium for street literature throughout early modern Europe. Chapbooks were usually produced cheaply, illustrated with crude woodcuts and printed on a single sheet folded into 8, 1 ...

s, trade paperbacks, hand-bound books, and a literary journal that appears in online and paper editions.tarpaulinsky.com
/ref> Their trade paperbacks are distributed by

Small Press Distribution Small Press Distribution (SPD) was an "exclusively literary" nonprofit book distributor for the small press that operated from 1969 to 2024. It abruptly closed in March 2024. History SPD was founded in 1969 in Berkeley, California, by Peter Howar ...

, where three titles have appeared on the distributor's "bestsellers" list, including Danielle Dutton's ''Attempts at a Life,'' which stayed on the list for seven months. In addition to Dutton's book, the press's titles include the first full-length work of fiction by poet Joyelle McSweeney, ''Nylund, the Sarcographer''; a collaborative book of poetry by Noah Eli Gordon and

Joshua Marie Wilkinson Joshua Marie Wilkinson (born December 2, 1977) is an American poet, editor, publisher, and filmmaker. Life He was born on December 2, 1977, and raised in Haller Lake neighborhood, Seattle, Washington. His given name is Joshua Wilson; his grandm ...

, with images by Noah Saterstrom, ''Figures for a Darkroom Voice''; hand-bound and perfect-bound editions of the second book by Jenny Boully, '' ne love affair''; and hand-bound and perfect-bound editions of the first full-length collection of poems by Max Winter, ''The Pictures''. The press's

s include prose poetry and verse by Sandy Florian, Andrew Michael Roberts, and Chad Sweeney. According to a ''Poets & Writers'' feature on small presses, Tarpaulin Sky editors are "intrigued by work that doesn’t announce its genre," and they "enjoy found items, lists, odd constraints and mathematical constructs." They are "happy to read texts that are distinctly un-poetic . . . indices, email, job descriptions, instruction manuals, etc."; but, as a caveat, they also offer this: "We’re looking for work in which experimentation with language and form is a means to an end, rather than an end unto itself; innovation alone doesn’t do much for us." The press's books have been described as "fresh, daring, creepy, and significant.... The opposite of boring....an ominous conflagration devouring the bland terrain of conventional realism, the kind of work that tickles your inner ear, gives you the shivers, and tricks your left brain into thinking that your right brain has staged a coup d'état."Review of ''Nylund, the Sarcographer'' in ''Bookslut''
/ref> In November 2007, after thirteen online issues, Tarpaulin Sky Press published the first paper edition of its literary journal, ''Tarpaulin Sky'' (established as an online journal in 2002). Since its creation, the journal has published over three hundred writers including

Chris Abani Christopher Abani (born 27 December 1966) is a Nigerian American author. He says he is part of a new generation of Nigerian writers working to convey to an English-speaking audience the experience of those born and raised in "that troubled Afr ...

Brian Evenson Brian Evenson (born August 12, 1966) is an American academic and writer of both literary fiction and popular fiction, some of the latter being published under B. K. Evenson. His fiction is often described as literary minimalism, but also draws ins ...

Matthea Harvey Matthea Harvey (born September 3, 1973) is a contemporary American poet, writer and professor. She has published four collections of poetry. The most recent of these, ''If the Tabloids Are True What Are You?'', a collection of poetry and images, ...

, Douglas A. Martin, Ethan Paquin, Eleni Sikelianos,

Juliana Spahr Juliana Spahr (born 1966) is an Americans, American poet, literary criticism, critic, and editing, editor. She is the recipient of the 2009 O. B. Hardison, Jr. Poetry Prize, Hardison Poetry Prize awarded by the Folger Shakespeare Library to honor ...

, and

John Yau John Yau (born June 5, 1950) is an American poet and critic who lives in New York City. He received his B.A. from Bard College in 1972 and his M.F.A. from Brooklyn College in 1978. He has published over 50 books of poetry, artists' books, ficti ...

, among others. Since 2006, the content of the online journal has been curated by guest editors including Rebecca Brown,

Bhanu Kapil Bhanu Kapil (born 1968) is a British-born poet and author of Indian descent. She is best known for her books ''The Vertical Interrogation of Strangers'' (2001), ''Incubation: A Space for Monsters'' (2006), and ''Ban en Banlieue'' (2015). In 202 ...

, and

Selah Saterstrom Selah Saterstrom is an American author, originally from the south. She is the author of five books: ''Rancher'' (Burrow Press, 2021), ''Ideal Suggestions: Essays in Divinatory Poetics'' (Essay Press, 2017), ''Slab'' (Coffee House Press, 2015), '' ...

References

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External links

Tarpaulin Sky official site''Tarpaulin Sky'' journal (print and online issues)
Small press publishing companies Book publishing companies of the United States Poetry publishers Literary magazines published in the United States Literary publishing companies Magazines established in 2002 Publishing companies established in 2006 American companies established in 2006 2002 establishments in Vermont

See also

References

External links