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

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

and

prose Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the f ...

. 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 River. ...

, the company produces full-length books,

chapbook A chapbook is a small publication of up to about 40 pages, sometimes bound with a saddle stitch. In early modern Europe a chapbook was a type of printed street literature. Produced cheaply, chapbooks were commonly small, paper-covered bookle ...

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) is a non-profit literary arts organization located in Berkeley, California. As their name indicates, the core of their mission is to act as an umbrella distributor and marketer for hundreds of smaller literary publi ...

, where three titles have appeared on the distributor's "bestsellers" list, including

Danielle Dutton Danielle Dutton (born October 18, 1975) is an American writer and publisher. Early life and education Dutton was born in Visalia, California, on October 18, 1975. She received her B.A. in history from the University of California, Santa Cruz in ...

'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 Noah Eli Gordon (1975 – July 10, 2022) was an American poet, editor, and publisher. Overview Gordon was the co-publisher of Letter Machine Editions, an editor for ''The Volta'', and an assistant professor in the MFA program in creative writing a ...

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 grand ...

, with images by Noah Saterstrom, ''Figures for a Darkroom Voice''; hand-bound and perfect-bound editions of the second book by

Jenny Boully Jenny Boully (born 1976) is an author and recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowships award in 2020 for general nonfiction. She is the author of ''The Book of Beginnings and Endings'' (Sarabande Books, 2007), ''The Body: An Essay'' ( Slope Editions, 200 ...

, '' 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 Chad Sweeney (born 1970) is an American poet, translator and editor. Life Sweeney is the author of four books of poetry, ''Wolf's Milk: The Lost Notebooks of Juan Sweeney'' ( Forklift Books), ''Parable of Hide and Seek'' (Alice James Books 2010 ...

. 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 and Los Angeles- based 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 raise ...

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 i ...

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 Ethan Paquin is an American poet and a native of New Hampshire. Biography Ethan Paquin grew up in Londonderry, New Hampshire. He earned a BA in English/writing from Plymouth State University in Plymouth, New Hampshire, and his MFA in creative wri ...

Eleni Sikelianos Eleni Sikelianos (born 1965) is an American experimental poet with a particular interest in scientific idiom. She is Professor of Literary Arts at Brown University. Early life Sikelianos is the great-granddaughter of the Greek poet Angelos Sike ...

Juliana Spahr Juliana Spahr (born 1966) is an American poet, critic, and editor. She is the recipient of the 2009 Hardison Poetry Prize awarded by the Folger Shakespeare Library to honor a U.S. poet whose art and teaching demonstrate great imagination and dari ...

, 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, fiction ...

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

Bhanu Kapil Bhanu Kapil is a poet, and author of books, including ''The Vertical Interrogation of Strangers'' (2001), ''Incubation: A Space for Monsters'' (2006), and ''Ban en Banlieue'' (2015). Career Kapil's first book, ''The Vertical Interrogation of ...

, and Selah Saterstrom.

References

{{reflist

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