DIY Poetry

Mills' MFA program organized two events this last week around the topic of publishing. One was a cocktail party and the other was a conference with various panels about publishing. The party (at the Uptown Nightclub) appeared to be less than useful for us poets, since there weren't any poetry publishers at the event.

Of course, the main thing I learned at the conference was: start your own stuff, promote your friends, get promoted by them. It was actually kind of empowering, in a whole 'You don't have to wait around for things to happen to you, you can make them happen yourself.' And there's a lot less of a stigma around self-publishing.

My plans for the coming few months: start a reading series and attend more readings; get my online magazine up and running, finally; do a chapbook series in a rather substantial size. I just want to make sure that after graduation I'm still involved in writing and performing and publishing and getting my work seen and heard.