JMW: Gold Wake Press is located in the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts. We started off publishing e-chaps on the web in 2008 and moved to print in 2010. Yes, I am the founding editor.
NA: What inspired you to want to be the editor of an independent press?
JMW: My experience of having my first book published was inspiring to me because it was such a smooth process. I wanted to provide an outlet for first time authors as well as established writers.
NA: How would you describe Gold Wake Press? What makes it unique?
JMW: I would lean towards the lyrical, and experimental within and outside of the boundaries of poetry. We are unique in that we only publish around 4-6 titles per year, so we have to be fairly selective, and the books themselves though different may share common structures.
NA: How did you come up with the name, Gold Wake?
JMW: Gold Wake comes from a line in my first published book, Silent Actor. I was searching for meaning within the poem itself, & asked what I should do. I believe I was thinking of Moses parting the seas at the time, though I forget. It’s a nice image. Also, I think the name can be a general metaphor for “good news.” If there’s a Black Ocean, there’s got to be a Gold Wake.
NA: Do you run book contests or solicit manuscripts?
JMW: Once in a while I solicit a manuscript if I’ve been following a writer’s style online for a while. I did so with Evan Kennedy’s Shoo-Ins to Ruin. I saw a poem of his in the Brooklyn Rail and offered publication of a full-length collection of his.
NA: What kind of writer do you hope to publish? Or, asked another way, if you could publish three established poets, who would they be?
JMW: Darcie Dennigan, Sandra Beasley & Mary Ann Samyn
NA: And how would you describe the kind of poetry you are not interested in publishing?
JMW: A lot of people shy away from greeting card verse. I dislike heavily emotional poetry.
NA: I heard of Gold Wake Press from Kristina Marie Darling who has a new book coming out with you, X Marks the Dress. It’s a book she co-authored with Carol Guess. I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about the book?
JMW: Sure. X Marks the Dress is a very unique book in its structure and titles. The poem titles are all objects from a wedding registry and the book flows in a storytelling mode until a house fire comes at the end. The form of the text follows suit, ending with fragments of words and poems that depict as a house fire would.
NA: What are some of the happiest or proudest moments for the press? Feel free to provide links to reviews, events, readings, etc.
JMW:For me, AWP 2013 was great because it was in Boston so I was able to represent the press (a bit) at the table and the reading at Trident Booksellers. Kathleen Rooney’s poems from Robinson Alone were selected by the Poetry Foundation. This was an apex. Three of her poems are featured on their website. (http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/kathleen-rooney#about)
NA: I was thinking it would be nice to end with a poem from a Gold Wake author.
JMW: This poem is from X Marks the Dress: A Registry by Kristina Marie Darling & Carol Guess.
{Cups & Saucers}
My tea stains came from your picnic. Now the kettle boils & shrieks. Tomorrow you'll fasten your diamond cufflinks & leave me disheveled, waiting: torn dress, wilted corsage, clutching a few dollars for a cab. When I open the door I feel a little old for a trinket or flowers pressed in a book. But I should warn you: there are always mementos, & I've only begun my collection. Before long I'll enshrine you on a red satin pillow. I'll display your former self in a glass cabinet.
Jared Michael Wahlgren is a publisher for Gold Wake Press. He is author of Silent Actor (Bewrite Books, 2008), Valency (Blazevox [books], 2010) & CREDO (Greying Ghost).
Nin Andrews received her BA from Hamilton College and her MFA from Vermont College. The recipient of two Ohio Arts Council grants, she is the author of several books including The Book of Orgasms, Spontaneous Breasts, Why They Grow Wings, Midlife Crisis with Dick and Jane, Sleeping with Houdini, and Dear Professor, Do You Live in a Vacuum. She also edited Someone Wants to Steal My Name, a book of translations of the French poet, Henri Michaux. Her book, Southern Comfort was published by CavanKerry Press in 2010. Follow Nin's blog here. Follow Nin on Twitter here.
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