| Issue Published in Iota 87, April 2010 by Templar Poetry An Economy of Talents By Paul Maddern |
In the late 1980s I worked at Braganza Restaurant, an über-designed, three floor indulgence in
Soho, ideal for the media and PR companies flooding the area. In the bowels was a talented
young chef straight from training in France. Over the course of one particular week I watched
him carve and arrange tiny pieces of carrot into the shape of a lobster and set the whole thing
in aspic, reducing each practice piece until the final creation was the size of a 50 pence coin.
And after all this, its fate was to dissolve away to nothing in a bowl of lobster broth: a perfect,
almost sublime marriage of content and form. The chef’s efforts were rewarded when he won
a prestigious culinary competition, bringing him to the attention of the stars of the London
restaurant scene, whose ranks he eventually joined. The young chef was Gordon Ramsay.
Back then, he was happy to produce a delicate object of beauty, the admiration of his
colleagues reward enough.
I mention the aspic lobster because I think there are parallels with the creation and
consumption of poetry and more specifically, for this article, with poetry pamphlets. The
writer Jackie Kay, in a Guardian article, describes pamphlets as “the connoisseur’s version of a
very taster starter. Straightaway, they give you a sense of somebody, an idea, a voice, just
enough to make you know that you’d like more – or not.” I’d agree, but instead of ‘starter’ I’d
substitute the sub-genre amuse-bouche, literally ‘mouth-amuser’. Presented before the main
course, the amuse-bouche is a chance for chefs to produce a one-bite creation of concentrated
flavours that’s imaginatively constructed and presented. Its function is to delight both
visually and on the palate. But, like the pamphlet, for a thing so small, so transitory, it has
grand aspirations. Like the carrot lobster, it is, in essence, the chef’s distillation of the
philosophy that underpins his or her cooking. And its creation involves a bit of one-
upmanship: boundaries will be pushed, gauntlets thrown down.
But the amuse-bouche is very much a product of nouvelle-cuisine and, along with that style of
cooking, is out of fashion. Its preparation regularly involves an entire kitchen brigade and,
without doubt, it’s an extravagance. Like our politicians, we now want our food to be ‘honest’
and provide value for money. It’s here where the poetry pamphlet comes into its own. Those
keeping an eye on the UK poetry scene can’t have failed to notice the recent increase of
interest afforded the pamphlet and the reason for this, I think, is that it retains the philosophy,
function and often the flamboyance of the amuse-bouche, while at the same time being
affordable, direct and honourable.
As political and religious tracts especially, pamphlets have always incorporated the idea of
directness, its reason d’être being the quick and cost-effective delivery of a message to the
people. And its history is honourable inasmuch as it’s a democratic platform for
disseminating ideas. Its etymology suggests the pamphlet was around in Britain from at least
the time of the popular 12th-century Latin love poem Pamphilus seu de Amore. And here it
appears in Philobiblion (circa 1344): “But, indeed, we prefer books to pounds; and we love
manuscripts better than florins; and we prefer small pamphlets [in the Latin original, panfletos]
to war-horses.” The Greek from which the Latin derives is pamphilos (loved by all), from pan
(all) + philos (loving, dear). All of this suggests that from its earliest days the pamphlet has
been regarded as something carefully crafted, physically and/or intellectually, for
consumption by the general public. Such was its appeal to Everyman that Dame Juliana de
Berners, in Fysshynge with Angle (1496), felt compelled to reassure her target audience:
As de Berners implies, the general availability of the pamphlet imbues it with the power to
challenge dominant ideologies and institutions. This link to the traditional use of the
pamphlet to provide a radical, challenging viewpoint is taken up by the poet Jane Weir,
It was certainly seen to contain such huge possibilities by Wyclif, Thomas Moore, Milton,
Defoe, Swift, Samuel Johnson, Thomas Paine and Edmund Burke, to name a few of the great
pamphleteers.
Contemporary poets continue to use of the pamphlet to spread the word. It was an early fold-
and-staple job from Seamus Heaney, for example, that brought him to Faber’s attention. Other
contemporary exemplars include T.S. Eliot, W.H. Auden, Edward Thomas, Ted Hughes,
Philip Larkin, Michael Longley, Penelope Shuttle, Tom Paulin, Ciaran Carson, Carol Ann
Duffy and Daljit Nagra. And, as with those listed, the pamphlet remains an important format
for today’s emerging writer, especially at a time when many of the poetry behemoths are
closing their lists to anything that smacks of ‘emerging’. Increasingly, the pamphlet is the only
option for talented writers to get a foot on the ladder. Fortunately for the new writer, the
closed-shop policy (dictated, in fairness, as much by financial policies as editorial stances) has
produced a proliferation of boutique pamphlet presses.
Established before 1990, Shearsman, Lapwing, Hearing Eye and Smith/Doorstop have been
joined by the likes of Donut (2001), tall-lighthouse (1999), HappenStance (2005), Templar
(2005) and Oystercatcher (2008). The last four presses were nominated for the 2009 inaugural
Michael Marks Awards, sponsored jointly by the British Library, the Poetry Book Society and
the Michael Marks Charitable Trust. Established to recognize the pamphlet’s enormous
contribution to the contemporary British poetry scene, two prizes are awarded annually, one
for the outstanding pamphlet of the year (which can be self-published) and one to the
publisher judged to have contributed most to the health and promotion of the pamphlet.
£5,000 goes to each winner. At the first awards ceremony, Elizabeth Burns’s twelve-page The
Shortest Days (Galdragon Press, Orkney) won for outstanding pamphlet, proving that, in the
world of pamphlet publishing at least, quality matters rather more than size. Oystercatcher,
established by poet and painter Peter Hughes, won the publisher’s award, a well-deserved
and fantastic accomplishment for so young a press, but perhaps a little surprising considering
the impact made on pamphlet publishing by both Templar and tall-lighthouse in the years
immediately leading up to the awards.
Two of most the influential revampers of contemporary British pamphlet publishing are
Roddy Lumsden (under Les Robinson at tall-lighthouse) and Alex McMillen (Templar). Both
editors have recognised the importance of not only producing quality work but also the
importance of marketing. Lumsden ingeniously devised the Pilot Series, a well-publicized
string of eighteen pamphlets by poets under the age of thirty. Wisely spurning the old trick of
promoting such ventures as some new school of poetry, Lumsden’s selection suggests an
editor with an informed and broad appreciation of talent. Many of those he selected have
subsequently been included in other ‘emerging-talent’ anthologies. It’s a case-study for clever,
high-impact pamphleteering.
Templar has taken a different but equally effective approach, holding an annual competition
to publish four winning pamphlets, selected by a different independent judge each year. In
addition to a healthy print run and £500 to the winners, Templar also offers the possibility of
developing a winner’s full collection. The competition attracts over two-hundred and fifty
entries and is open to new as well as established writers. Indeed, the 2009 competition saw
one of England’s leading poets, David Morley, among Templar’s winners with The Rose of the
Moon, one in a series of publications that explores Morley’s Romany heritage. (See Morley’s
pamphlet from Nine Arches Press, The Night of the Day, 2009, and his full-length collection
from Carcanet, The Invisible Kings, 2007.) And here I need to declare an interest. Along with
Morley, Nuala Ní Chonchúir and Dawn Wood, I was fortunate to be selected by Tim Liardet,
the 2009 competition judge, as one of the four winners. But as these names might indicate, one
of the strengths of the Templar enterprise is that it manages to avoid a London-centric focus.
Writers from Ireland and the North of England feature heavily in the winners; writers who are
not part of the capital’s powerful reading circuit/peer review coterie. It’s a refreshing change,
and as with like-minded pamphlet projects (see Smith/Doorstop’s annual competition), it
references the historic ability of the pamphlet to effectively reach new audiences and promote
new work.
But while tall-lighthouse and Templar are interested in attracting quality work, they also
share a keen interest in design. Gone is the home assembly-line feel to their pamphlets.
Instead, they’ve adopted a consistent in-house design strategy, providing a uniform
appearance across their pamphlet series. The design decisions give the pamphlets a spine that
is both metaphorical and real. Spine-tingling-ly (apologies), the perfect bound pamphlet can
now be displayed on bookshelves alongside the big guns – if only more booksellers could be
persuaded to take them on. Despite being significantly cheaper than full-length collections,
readings and websites remain the main points of sale.
One of the big players who has little trouble persuading booksellers to take its books is Faber,
and they too have joined the pamphlet brigade. In fairness, Faber have a strong record of
pamphlet publishing, but it’s been some time since there’s been such a concerted effort to
push the format. Sponsored by the Arts Council, with the assistance of the Arvon Foundation
(the big guns really have been deployed), the New Poets scheme is part of Faber’s 80th
birthday celebrations and sees the publication of pamphlets by young poets selected for the
press’s mentoring programme. So far it’s all fairly safe, with the chosen few already tipped for
success prior to selection: Fiona Benson, Toby Martinez de las Rivas, Jack Underwood,
Heather Philppson, Joe Dunthorne, Annie Katchinska, Sam Rivere and Tom Warner. But, as
with failed X-Factor finalists, what happens to the youngsters who don’t go on to win full
Faber accreditation? This is a glorious opportunity for these poets but let’s hope Faber’s de-
mentoring scheme has been equally considered.
For those without Faber’s resources, only an absurd level of devotion fuels pamphlet
publication. Like all poetry endeavours, pamphlet publication is not an arena you enter for
the money. But as Jane Commane of Nine Arches Press has written of the pamphlet’s
attraction:
Apart from those already mentioned, there’s a raft of small, independent presses willing to
expend unremunerated energies: Arrowhead, Barque, Calder Wood, Classical Head, Clutag,
Heaventree, Imago Media, Kettilonia, Landfill Press, Leafe, Lemongrass Hut, Longbarrow,
Mariscat, Pighog, Rack, Roncadora, Pinkfoot Press, The Rialto, Rintoul, Touch The Earth,
West House Books and Wild Honey Press. Undoubtedly, I’ve failed to mention other
ventures. But a strong level of commitment to poetry is typical to all of them. Many nurture
their pamphlet authors, helping them to develop full-collections. But it’s a two-way street.
The writer Jane Weir again: “I’m not being flippant or promiscuous when I say that I see my
own pamphlets as mistresses to ensuing collections.” And it’s often the pamphlet that leads to
a writer developing a long-term readership. As Mark McGuinness, editor of Magma Poetry
magazine notes: “I’ve discovered several excellent poets via their pamphlets and have gone
on to explore their books with pleasure.”
Developing full-length collections isn’t the only manifestation of a press’s commitment.
Clutag, founded in 2000 by poet Andrew McNeillie of Oxford Press fame, has published
pamphlets from some of the UK and Ireland’s leading lights, including Paul Abbott, Seamus
Heaney, Geoffrey Hill and Anne Stevenson. Like Faber, which is establishing a six-month
writing course in Dublin, Clutag is venturing into teaching, instituting an MA at Exeter
University “based around the interests and ideals of Archipelago entitled ‘Nature, Writing &
Place’” – Archipelago being the journal produced by Clutag. And Roddy Lumsden (tall-
lighthouse) runs the ‘Towards a Pamphlet: a Practical Course’ at the Poetry School in London.
Several publishers are also involved with related but separate ventures: Leafe Press has the
online Litter magazine; Smith/Doorstop, who can boast Paul Batchelor, Michael Hamburger,
Tom Liardet and Pascal Petit amongst its pamphlet writers, publishes The North; and Rialto
is better known for the journal of the same name, rather than for its pamphlets. Templar, too,
is indirectly involved with journal publishing – this very one as it happens. In addition, it
hosts the annual Derwent Poetry Festival, held in Matlock-Bath. Elsewhere, Barque Press is
developing a nifty line in audio CDs and Longbarrow Press is forging a niche in alternative
poetry publishing formats, a matchbox containing a concertina-fold of fifty tankas by Matthew
Clegg being a splendid example.
In 2006 the Poetry Book Society had thirty-seven pamphlets submitted for its Quarterly
Choice Award. In 2007 it received forty-nine. In 2008, there were ninety. And the future is
looking brighter for the critical interest afforded pamphlets. Poetry journals are beginning to
pay attention and reviews on Blogs and other web-based initiatives are bringing pamphlets to
a wider audience. See, for instance, HappenStance’s excellent ‘Sphinx Chapbook Review’
section on its website. Nods for pamphlet writers – be it for individual poems or collections
developed from pamphlets – have come from the Forward Prize, the Glen Dimplex New
Writers Awards, and the Aldeburgh First Collection Prize, to name but a few organizations.
And apart from the Michael Marks Award, there’s also the equally prestigious Scottish
equivalent, the Callum Macdonald Memorial Award, sponsored by the National Library of
Scotland. There’s a thriving, stimulating pamphlet scene in the UK, delivering work in
imaginative ways, work that delights both visually and with regard to the quality of writing
being produced. With its economy of scale, offset by revamped design quality and levels of
commitment – together with the management, or economy, of talented writers – the poetry
pamphlet should continue to offer the reader, writer and publisher the most exciting avenue
open to poetry publishing in the market today.
Pamphlet websites you might want to visit:
See ‘Scottish Pamphlet Poetry’ for publications from many of the smaller presses
Arrowhead Press
Barque Press
Calder Wood Press
Clutag Press
Donut Press
Flarestack Press
HappenStance Press
Kettilonia
Leafe Press
Michael Marks Awards
Oystercatcher Press
Pighog Press
Rialto
The tall-lighthouse
Templar Poetry
West House Books
Wild Honey Press
Paul Maddern was born in Bermuda. He is completing a PhD at the Seamus Heaney Centre, Queen’s
University Belfast, for which he is building an on-line digital archive of public poetry readings. His
pamphlet, Kelpdings, is from Templar Poetry, 2009.
Please note this is not an exhaustive list of pamphlet/chapbook publishers. Iota is happy to list any
publishers who do not appear on the list above. Please send your contact details to:
info@iotamagazine.co.uk and we will add as soon as possible.
Soho, ideal for the media and PR companies flooding the area. In the bowels was a talented
young chef straight from training in France. Over the course of one particular week I watched
him carve and arrange tiny pieces of carrot into the shape of a lobster and set the whole thing
in aspic, reducing each practice piece until the final creation was the size of a 50 pence coin.
And after all this, its fate was to dissolve away to nothing in a bowl of lobster broth: a perfect,
almost sublime marriage of content and form. The chef’s efforts were rewarded when he won
a prestigious culinary competition, bringing him to the attention of the stars of the London
restaurant scene, whose ranks he eventually joined. The young chef was Gordon Ramsay.
Back then, he was happy to produce a delicate object of beauty, the admiration of his
colleagues reward enough.
I mention the aspic lobster because I think there are parallels with the creation and
consumption of poetry and more specifically, for this article, with poetry pamphlets. The
writer Jackie Kay, in a Guardian article, describes pamphlets as “the connoisseur’s version of a
very taster starter. Straightaway, they give you a sense of somebody, an idea, a voice, just
enough to make you know that you’d like more – or not.” I’d agree, but instead of ‘starter’ I’d
substitute the sub-genre amuse-bouche, literally ‘mouth-amuser’. Presented before the main
course, the amuse-bouche is a chance for chefs to produce a one-bite creation of concentrated
flavours that’s imaginatively constructed and presented. Its function is to delight both
visually and on the palate. But, like the pamphlet, for a thing so small, so transitory, it has
grand aspirations. Like the carrot lobster, it is, in essence, the chef’s distillation of the
philosophy that underpins his or her cooking. And its creation involves a bit of one-
upmanship: boundaries will be pushed, gauntlets thrown down.
But the amuse-bouche is very much a product of nouvelle-cuisine and, along with that style of
cooking, is out of fashion. Its preparation regularly involves an entire kitchen brigade and,
without doubt, it’s an extravagance. Like our politicians, we now want our food to be ‘honest’
and provide value for money. It’s here where the poetry pamphlet comes into its own. Those
keeping an eye on the UK poetry scene can’t have failed to notice the recent increase of
interest afforded the pamphlet and the reason for this, I think, is that it retains the philosophy,
function and often the flamboyance of the amuse-bouche, while at the same time being
affordable, direct and honourable.
As political and religious tracts especially, pamphlets have always incorporated the idea of
directness, its reason d’être being the quick and cost-effective delivery of a message to the
people. And its history is honourable inasmuch as it’s a democratic platform for
disseminating ideas. Its etymology suggests the pamphlet was around in Britain from at least
the time of the popular 12th-century Latin love poem Pamphilus seu de Amore. And here it
appears in Philobiblion (circa 1344): “But, indeed, we prefer books to pounds; and we love
manuscripts better than florins; and we prefer small pamphlets [in the Latin original, panfletos]
to war-horses.” The Greek from which the Latin derives is pamphilos (loved by all), from pan
(all) + philos (loving, dear). All of this suggests that from its earliest days the pamphlet has
been regarded as something carefully crafted, physically and/or intellectually, for
consumption by the general public. Such was its appeal to Everyman that Dame Juliana de
Berners, in Fysshynge with Angle (1496), felt compelled to reassure her target audience:
As de Berners implies, the general availability of the pamphlet imbues it with the power to
challenge dominant ideologies and institutions. This link to the traditional use of the
pamphlet to provide a radical, challenging viewpoint is taken up by the poet Jane Weir,
It was certainly seen to contain such huge possibilities by Wyclif, Thomas Moore, Milton,
Defoe, Swift, Samuel Johnson, Thomas Paine and Edmund Burke, to name a few of the great
pamphleteers.
Contemporary poets continue to use of the pamphlet to spread the word. It was an early fold-
and-staple job from Seamus Heaney, for example, that brought him to Faber’s attention. Other
contemporary exemplars include T.S. Eliot, W.H. Auden, Edward Thomas, Ted Hughes,
Philip Larkin, Michael Longley, Penelope Shuttle, Tom Paulin, Ciaran Carson, Carol Ann
Duffy and Daljit Nagra. And, as with those listed, the pamphlet remains an important format
for today’s emerging writer, especially at a time when many of the poetry behemoths are
closing their lists to anything that smacks of ‘emerging’. Increasingly, the pamphlet is the only
option for talented writers to get a foot on the ladder. Fortunately for the new writer, the
closed-shop policy (dictated, in fairness, as much by financial policies as editorial stances) has
produced a proliferation of boutique pamphlet presses.
Established before 1990, Shearsman, Lapwing, Hearing Eye and Smith/Doorstop have been
joined by the likes of Donut (2001), tall-lighthouse (1999), HappenStance (2005), Templar
(2005) and Oystercatcher (2008). The last four presses were nominated for the 2009 inaugural
Michael Marks Awards, sponsored jointly by the British Library, the Poetry Book Society and
the Michael Marks Charitable Trust. Established to recognize the pamphlet’s enormous
contribution to the contemporary British poetry scene, two prizes are awarded annually, one
for the outstanding pamphlet of the year (which can be self-published) and one to the
publisher judged to have contributed most to the health and promotion of the pamphlet.
£5,000 goes to each winner. At the first awards ceremony, Elizabeth Burns’s twelve-page The
Shortest Days (Galdragon Press, Orkney) won for outstanding pamphlet, proving that, in the
world of pamphlet publishing at least, quality matters rather more than size. Oystercatcher,
established by poet and painter Peter Hughes, won the publisher’s award, a well-deserved
and fantastic accomplishment for so young a press, but perhaps a little surprising considering
the impact made on pamphlet publishing by both Templar and tall-lighthouse in the years
immediately leading up to the awards.
Two of most the influential revampers of contemporary British pamphlet publishing are
Roddy Lumsden (under Les Robinson at tall-lighthouse) and Alex McMillen (Templar). Both
editors have recognised the importance of not only producing quality work but also the
importance of marketing. Lumsden ingeniously devised the Pilot Series, a well-publicized
string of eighteen pamphlets by poets under the age of thirty. Wisely spurning the old trick of
promoting such ventures as some new school of poetry, Lumsden’s selection suggests an
editor with an informed and broad appreciation of talent. Many of those he selected have
subsequently been included in other ‘emerging-talent’ anthologies. It’s a case-study for clever,
high-impact pamphleteering.
Templar has taken a different but equally effective approach, holding an annual competition
to publish four winning pamphlets, selected by a different independent judge each year. In
addition to a healthy print run and £500 to the winners, Templar also offers the possibility of
developing a winner’s full collection. The competition attracts over two-hundred and fifty
entries and is open to new as well as established writers. Indeed, the 2009 competition saw
one of England’s leading poets, David Morley, among Templar’s winners with The Rose of the
Moon, one in a series of publications that explores Morley’s Romany heritage. (See Morley’s
pamphlet from Nine Arches Press, The Night of the Day, 2009, and his full-length collection
from Carcanet, The Invisible Kings, 2007.) And here I need to declare an interest. Along with
Morley, Nuala Ní Chonchúir and Dawn Wood, I was fortunate to be selected by Tim Liardet,
the 2009 competition judge, as one of the four winners. But as these names might indicate, one
of the strengths of the Templar enterprise is that it manages to avoid a London-centric focus.
Writers from Ireland and the North of England feature heavily in the winners; writers who are
not part of the capital’s powerful reading circuit/peer review coterie. It’s a refreshing change,
and as with like-minded pamphlet projects (see Smith/Doorstop’s annual competition), it
references the historic ability of the pamphlet to effectively reach new audiences and promote
new work.
But while tall-lighthouse and Templar are interested in attracting quality work, they also
share a keen interest in design. Gone is the home assembly-line feel to their pamphlets.
Instead, they’ve adopted a consistent in-house design strategy, providing a uniform
appearance across their pamphlet series. The design decisions give the pamphlets a spine that
is both metaphorical and real. Spine-tingling-ly (apologies), the perfect bound pamphlet can
now be displayed on bookshelves alongside the big guns – if only more booksellers could be
persuaded to take them on. Despite being significantly cheaper than full-length collections,
readings and websites remain the main points of sale.
One of the big players who has little trouble persuading booksellers to take its books is Faber,
and they too have joined the pamphlet brigade. In fairness, Faber have a strong record of
pamphlet publishing, but it’s been some time since there’s been such a concerted effort to
push the format. Sponsored by the Arts Council, with the assistance of the Arvon Foundation
(the big guns really have been deployed), the New Poets scheme is part of Faber’s 80th
birthday celebrations and sees the publication of pamphlets by young poets selected for the
press’s mentoring programme. So far it’s all fairly safe, with the chosen few already tipped for
success prior to selection: Fiona Benson, Toby Martinez de las Rivas, Jack Underwood,
Heather Philppson, Joe Dunthorne, Annie Katchinska, Sam Rivere and Tom Warner. But, as
with failed X-Factor finalists, what happens to the youngsters who don’t go on to win full
Faber accreditation? This is a glorious opportunity for these poets but let’s hope Faber’s de-
mentoring scheme has been equally considered.
For those without Faber’s resources, only an absurd level of devotion fuels pamphlet
publication. Like all poetry endeavours, pamphlet publication is not an arena you enter for
the money. But as Jane Commane of Nine Arches Press has written of the pamphlet’s
attraction:
Apart from those already mentioned, there’s a raft of small, independent presses willing to
expend unremunerated energies: Arrowhead, Barque, Calder Wood, Classical Head, Clutag,
Heaventree, Imago Media, Kettilonia, Landfill Press, Leafe, Lemongrass Hut, Longbarrow,
Mariscat, Pighog, Rack, Roncadora, Pinkfoot Press, The Rialto, Rintoul, Touch The Earth,
West House Books and Wild Honey Press. Undoubtedly, I’ve failed to mention other
ventures. But a strong level of commitment to poetry is typical to all of them. Many nurture
their pamphlet authors, helping them to develop full-collections. But it’s a two-way street.
The writer Jane Weir again: “I’m not being flippant or promiscuous when I say that I see my
own pamphlets as mistresses to ensuing collections.” And it’s often the pamphlet that leads to
a writer developing a long-term readership. As Mark McGuinness, editor of Magma Poetry
magazine notes: “I’ve discovered several excellent poets via their pamphlets and have gone
on to explore their books with pleasure.”
Developing full-length collections isn’t the only manifestation of a press’s commitment.
Clutag, founded in 2000 by poet Andrew McNeillie of Oxford Press fame, has published
pamphlets from some of the UK and Ireland’s leading lights, including Paul Abbott, Seamus
Heaney, Geoffrey Hill and Anne Stevenson. Like Faber, which is establishing a six-month
writing course in Dublin, Clutag is venturing into teaching, instituting an MA at Exeter
University “based around the interests and ideals of Archipelago entitled ‘Nature, Writing &
Place’” – Archipelago being the journal produced by Clutag. And Roddy Lumsden (tall-
lighthouse) runs the ‘Towards a Pamphlet: a Practical Course’ at the Poetry School in London.
Several publishers are also involved with related but separate ventures: Leafe Press has the
online Litter magazine; Smith/Doorstop, who can boast Paul Batchelor, Michael Hamburger,
Tom Liardet and Pascal Petit amongst its pamphlet writers, publishes The North; and Rialto
is better known for the journal of the same name, rather than for its pamphlets. Templar, too,
is indirectly involved with journal publishing – this very one as it happens. In addition, it
hosts the annual Derwent Poetry Festival, held in Matlock-Bath. Elsewhere, Barque Press is
developing a nifty line in audio CDs and Longbarrow Press is forging a niche in alternative
poetry publishing formats, a matchbox containing a concertina-fold of fifty tankas by Matthew
Clegg being a splendid example.
In 2006 the Poetry Book Society had thirty-seven pamphlets submitted for its Quarterly
Choice Award. In 2007 it received forty-nine. In 2008, there were ninety. And the future is
looking brighter for the critical interest afforded pamphlets. Poetry journals are beginning to
pay attention and reviews on Blogs and other web-based initiatives are bringing pamphlets to
a wider audience. See, for instance, HappenStance’s excellent ‘Sphinx Chapbook Review’
section on its website. Nods for pamphlet writers – be it for individual poems or collections
developed from pamphlets – have come from the Forward Prize, the Glen Dimplex New
Writers Awards, and the Aldeburgh First Collection Prize, to name but a few organizations.
And apart from the Michael Marks Award, there’s also the equally prestigious Scottish
equivalent, the Callum Macdonald Memorial Award, sponsored by the National Library of
Scotland. There’s a thriving, stimulating pamphlet scene in the UK, delivering work in
imaginative ways, work that delights both visually and with regard to the quality of writing
being produced. With its economy of scale, offset by revamped design quality and levels of
commitment – together with the management, or economy, of talented writers – the poetry
pamphlet should continue to offer the reader, writer and publisher the most exciting avenue
open to poetry publishing in the market today.
Pamphlet websites you might want to visit:
See ‘Scottish Pamphlet Poetry’ for publications from many of the smaller presses
Arrowhead Press
Barque Press
Calder Wood Press
Clutag Press
Donut Press
Flarestack Press
HappenStance Press
Kettilonia
Leafe Press
Michael Marks Awards
Oystercatcher Press
Pighog Press
Rialto
The tall-lighthouse
Templar Poetry
West House Books
Wild Honey Press
Paul Maddern was born in Bermuda. He is completing a PhD at the Seamus Heaney Centre, Queen’s
University Belfast, for which he is building an on-line digital archive of public poetry readings. His
pamphlet, Kelpdings, is from Templar Poetry, 2009.
Please note this is not an exhaustive list of pamphlet/chapbook publishers. Iota is happy to list any
publishers who do not appear on the list above. Please send your contact details to:
info@iotamagazine.co.uk and we will add as soon as possible.
this present treatyse sholde not come to the hondys of eche ydle
persone whyche wolde desire it, yf it were enpryntyd allone by itself
& put in a lytyll plaunflet, therfore I haue compylyd it in a greter
volume of dyuerse bokys.
persone whyche wolde desire it, yf it were enpryntyd allone by itself
& put in a lytyll plaunflet, therfore I haue compylyd it in a greter
volume of dyuerse bokys.
I suppose that writing a pamphlet is a political act; in terms of a
statement of intent. How can I put it? In Fellini’s classic, La Dolce
Vita, there’s a scene in an apartment of his friend Steiner, a sort of
gathering of ideas. Marcello Mastroianni, who plays the gossip
columnist journalist, speaks to a woman poet who recites a couple of
lines from one of her poems. He says he’s read her poems and they
are:
‘Not at all like a woman’s, they’re concise, strong, free from flattery.’
Which is precisely my point. For me the conception and the writing
of a pamphlet are about addressing this very issue; this also fits the
original tradition of the pamphlet. After all a pamphlet by its very
nature has the possibilities to be thought provoking and
transgressive, as well as imaginative, liberating in its content and
formal structure; in other words it has huge possibilities.
statement of intent. How can I put it? In Fellini’s classic, La Dolce
Vita, there’s a scene in an apartment of his friend Steiner, a sort of
gathering of ideas. Marcello Mastroianni, who plays the gossip
columnist journalist, speaks to a woman poet who recites a couple of
lines from one of her poems. He says he’s read her poems and they
are:
‘Not at all like a woman’s, they’re concise, strong, free from flattery.’
Which is precisely my point. For me the conception and the writing
of a pamphlet are about addressing this very issue; this also fits the
original tradition of the pamphlet. After all a pamphlet by its very
nature has the possibilities to be thought provoking and
transgressive, as well as imaginative, liberating in its content and
formal structure; in other words it has huge possibilities.
The wonderful thing about them is that they are a labour of love, for
both poet and publisher, or at least they should be. And pamphlet
publishing does have that spirit of independence about it … they
[pamphlets] have something charming, personal and vital about them
as artefacts, things we want to own, cherish. It says something of the
value we give to the poems inside, too.
both poet and publisher, or at least they should be. And pamphlet
publishing does have that spirit of independence about it … they
[pamphlets] have something charming, personal and vital about them
as artefacts, things we want to own, cherish. It says something of the
value we give to the poems inside, too.
