|
Ralph Haselmann, Jr. interviewed
by Christopher Harter on the Bathtub Gin Questionnaire
Ralph, Here are the Q&A's. Bathtub Gin is $5/issue or $10/subscription. If you would include the website and my email address and the fact that portions were used in Bathtub Gin #5, that would be great. Christopher Harter, Bathtub Gin editor Pathwise Press charter@bluemarble.net PO Box 2392 Bloomington, IN 47402 http://www.bluemarble.net/~charter/btgin.htm Dear Christopher Harter at Bathtub Gin, Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to answer your questionaire for your special bathtub Gin issue on Editors and Publishing. Lucid Moon is going quarterly with Halloween issue (Fall 1999 issue #37), due late October. Also cutting size next year and maybe price. Am working on a lucidmoonpoetry.com website for January 2000! Very exciting! Michael LaBash of Berkeley California (roommate of performance artist Frank Moore and Linda Mac of Luver Radio) is designing it with me. Without further adieu, here are your q's and my a's: 1. Small presses/magazines have a history of being an "outside" voice, whether it be against academia, the "establishment", or pop culture. Given the wide spectrum of presses/magazines out there, is there still that collective fighting spirit or has their focus changed in any way? I think there is still a collective fighting spirit, with the old diy (do it yourself) and labour of love work ethic. But I think small press magazines have evolved from being against the status quo to becoming special markets for filling special needs, and each publication will continue to redefine their purpose. I prefer to read a variety of voices and messages in the zines that I buy, not just one particular slant, and that's how i put together my magazine. My poetry Magazine Lucid Moon is gay friendly and humorous, with Beat-oriented underground poetry, but I have a variety of styles, sincere and heartfelt (but not sewing-circle) poetry as well to balance out the sarcasm/nihilism of the underground Beat poetry I publish. 2. Although we hate political correctness as much as the next person, we're curious about the voice of minorities out there (gender, race, orientation, etc.) Are there outlets for such voices in the small presses/magazines? There are outlets out there for minorites of race or orientation, but you have to seek them out. The Poet's Market 2000 is a good place to start, as well as other small press directories. Two very good gay oriented newsletters I know of are Pottsie Nation (15501 SW 42 Ave., Ellendale, MN 56026) and Brave New Tick (Graftographic Press, P.O. Box 24, S. Gradfton, MN 01560). Apparently, Minnesota has a strong gay population as well as a lot of Swedes! Comic illustrator Patrick J. Lee has gotten a lot of positive feedback and attention with a sincere story comic he drew and wrote about the way Asians are treated in America, called The Yellow Kid, By PAtrick J. Lee, 280 N. Florence St., Burbank, CA 91505-3618. I print politically incorrect poems and cartoons, as long as they are playful and not overly mean-spirited. I won't tolerate homophobia, misogyny, rascism or Anti-Semitism in my magazine. 3. What's your opinion on poetry slams, love em or hate em? What draws you to them or makes you avoid them? I've never been to a poetry slam and look forward to experiencing one soon. I don't care much for competition among poets though, trying to be cool or smart ass or hip, or the MTV-ization of poetry ala Johnny Depp reading on the spoken word poetry cd Kicks Joy Darkness or the PBS Poetry In America series, and Rolling Stone magazine's new book on The Beats. I think that slams or making poetry chic takes away from what good poetry should be and makes it into a hip entertainment happening, something to sip $4 double mocha lattes over and cheer about. If that's your game, well, you deserve it. I prefer traditional poetry readings and have given them at Borders in Bridgewater, NJ and The Famous Poet's Society Contest in ANaheim, CA (both awful middle America poetry, will never go there again!), and The Shaker Cafe in Flemington, NJ and The Back Fence in Greenwich Village, NYC (both highly enjoyable and the best readings so far). 4. Are there too many magazines out there? There are too many small chapbook like poetry zines with no personality, that blend in with and resemble each other. I have tried to make my Lucid Moon magazine unique, a bit costly at $10 but you get 200-300 pages for your money and a cornucopia of talent and voices, makes it fun to read. It's a truer cross-section of American voices than those stuffy academic journals. It stands out because it has a sense of humour and warm community spirit that is lacking in other poetry zines. More editors should try to stand out with their publications instead of blending in! Also, magazines are too infrequent with annuals, biannuals or quarterlies. I have tried to stay in the public eye with a monthly, but it is too expensive. The website will be less expensive and a monthly, I may just fold the magazine altogether and start the website! 5. What defines a small press/magazine? A small press/magazine is done with a healthy dose of diy and labour of love work ethic. They are usually not some glossy pretentious academic journal from a college board or corporation. Often, the zines are photocopied or inexpensively printed in small batches of under 1000. Small press/magazines (should) have atitude, a sense of humour, and a sense of purpose, a reason for being. They should be a cool gathering place of like-minded artists and individuals. Reading a small press magazine should make you come away with a feeling of exclusivity, as though you can't read or experience this anywhere else, as though you are a patron in a cool Bohemian coffee house in a city that never sleeps. 6. The term "micro press" is becoming more widespread. What's the difference between a small press and a micro press? I had not heard the term "micro press", I guess it's like a micro brewery, specializing in a certain niche marketplace! 7. Some feel that reading fees are honest ways for small presses to stay financially afloat, others see them as con games. Should presses use reading fees to bring in money? Reading fees are a con and I don't submit to zines that require them. Poets are piss poor and can't afford to spend alot. As it is, I have to charge $10 for my magazine, but it is 200-300 pages and they get a lot. I don't make money but am doing this for the love of poetry. Contributor's copies are another issue. I can't afford to give out contributor's copies to all 100 subscribers, might as well give away my house too! I do give away contributor's copies to those that draw a cover with a moon on it, those that send chaps for review, or those who write a short story piece. And I'll reward the great poems with a copy. 8. The same goes for chapbook contests with entrance fees? Again, are such contests an honest way to make a buck? I haven't yet had chapbook contests, but I have had poetry contests twice this year. I ask a $5 fee per poem, with a chance to win $50, a subscription or a poetry or cartoon book. The odds are very good, as only 30 poems were entered in the last contest. It's like playing Lotto, but odds for winning Lotto are ridiculous in comparison! I think chapbook and poetry contests are an honest way to make a buck, but the purpose should be to promote excitement and involvement in the magazine and promote good poetry. Printing a chapbook is not profitable anyway, you may just break even but it is a good promotion for the magazine. 9. The old "writer-editor relationship" in which editors worked with young writers to help their work mature is pretty much history in mainstream publishing. What about in the small press world? Are these relationships being developed today? I'm not sure if these writer/editor relationships are being developed today. I only got one detailed analysis of my work in the 5 years I have been publishing, and it was negative, from The Raw Seed Review. I make comments on people I both accept and reject, and try to make the fist paragraph personal, then I just use a form letter template for the rest of the letter describing guidelines and the history of the magazine and who I've published. I plan to discuss the poems more with the authors in the future, but I am pressed for time and get 5-15 letters a day. If a poet makes a special request for criticisms, I will be honest and tactful. The worst thing is to be curt, rude or obnoxious. Editor Jack Grapes of OnTheBus told me my rhymes were "hackneyed, common, trite and dull" and told me to write more like William Carlos Williams, his favorite poet, write about things. Which was pure bullshit advice. I'm me and can only write like me. Polished poems about baseball, plums and wheelbarrows are boring and I'll leave that to the hundreds of academic poets out there. They will get nowhere with such drivel, it's a dime a dozen and none too memorable. I talk about feelings and raw emotions, a stream of conscience confessional style that many other editors apparently appreciate. I will never forget the bitterness that that response elicited from me. I could never be such a blowhard jackass responding the way Jack "Sour" Grapes did! I have since had more than 300 poems published in over 50 magazines since 1993. I don't send out as much as I used to though. 10. Are little magazines purveyors of art or an art form in themselves, or both? Which should they be? Little magazines are both purveyors of art and an art form. The most interesting, unique, crazy quilt zine out there was Ian Griffin's Brouhaha, which he has ceased publication in order to concentrate on publishing his Green Bean Press books. Each issue was unique and hand-made, one was just loose mini chaps and poetry broadsides ina big zip-lock bag, another issue came in a folder with sprinkles glued to the title lettering on the outside of the folder, holding broadsides within. Ian was very creative with Brouhaha and he published the same people I do. I use artwork, comics and cartoons throughout each issue, but I let the poems stand on their own in each page. I have published some great art by the likes of Claudio Parentela, Michael LaBash, Blair Wilson, Walt Philips, Norman J. Olson, Colin Cross, Ade Deaville and others, as well as some not so great artwork by Ed Galing and myself! (but our stuff is endearing in its sloppiness!) Magazines should try if possible to promote and feature artwork and should be works of art in themselves as well. However, sometimes cost is a factor. Lucid Moon is going for that handmade, kitchen table look, with the good art piece included. I can't afford to professionally print it with textured colored paper, and that just detracts from the poetry anyway. It's the words that count. 11. Given the fact that to some extent a magazine is shaped by the editors, how much of an editor's voice should be heard? Do you only read magazines for the work they contain or are there any that you read to see what the editors have to say? An editor shouldn't put his poems on the first page and throw them at the reader for self-ego gratification but he should have a voice with editorials, poems, reviews, essays and columns. He shouldn't interfere with the poet's words or edit another poet in any way. I don't edit other poets' work, I tell them to proofread it and make it camera ready, and I trust the poet. I like to make Lucid Moon my own, make a warm community spirit, that's why the letters column is so lengthy and popular. Lucid Moon is my magazine, but it is for my readers as well. I try not to be overly eager or obnoxious, just goodnatured and lively, and that comes through. 12. Inherent to any DIY operation is a hint of elitism? Is this the case with small press/magazines? I see a lot of elitism in other small press magazines, but mostly in those obnoxious glossy college publications or snooty boutique magazines or corporate publications. Some small press editors try to be too much of an editor, such as the editors of Angelflesh, The Raw Seed Review, OnTheBus, Longshot, Nerve Cowboy and The Exquisite Corpse. I have had plenty of rejections from them and they try too hard to critique my poems and are narrow-minded in their acceptance of poems, as if they are searching for a certain style that only a select group are privvy to! 13. Poetry seems to have found a newfound vogue within the past few years (National Poetry Month, articles in the major media, etc.). Is this true? Is this an actual renewal of interest or is it just media hype? Poetry has definitely become vogue, hip and chic (see my comments on Slam poetry events, question #3). I think it is part media hype, finally coming around to what was always there, and partly our society's discontent with the status quo, that everyone is trying to be heard finally. People are angry, upset, bored with their spouses and jobs, and need a release. There are definitely more poets than before, and more bad ones at that! A lot of what passes for poetry is so so-called Underground Beat, just saying what you are thinking, and a lot of it is drivel. People need to write, think and feel in more uplifting terms. Let it soar! Let is sing! Let it dazzle the mind and uplift the heart instead of wallowing in the gutter. People need to write more heartfelt romantic poetry, not in the classical style but modern and updated. Love needs to be reinvented, declared Rimbaud. That is what I am trying to accomplish as a poet, put some romance and spirit and soul back into the mainstream, which is clogged with garbage poetry. There are some bright lights out there, too many to name, and I try to print them a smuch as possible... 14. Some magazines accept simultaneous submissions and or previously published material. What's your take on this? Why do you or don't you accept them? If I see a good poem somewhere, I want to reprint it, naturally, and also see more of that poet's work. I think it is stupid for editors to want only unpublished work. Often, published work is the best stuff, that's why it was published in the first place. I roll my eyes in disdain at the attittude of editors who don't accept previously published or simultaneous submissions. It's elitist and obnoxious! Fuck em, I'll take em! I want the best work out there by the best poets! 15. How is your publication distributed? What are some of the other ways that you can get your publications in the hands of others? How do you spread the word about your projects? First, anyone who is serious about publishing needs to list themselves in The Poet's Market directory, that's where i get half of my submissions. Second, I trade ads and flyers with a dozen other magazines. I can't afford to buy ads. Third, I sell or give away free issues or broadsides at poetry readings. I try to post notices in libraries and donate or get paid for library copies. Fourth, I sell my magazine in bookstores Fifth, my magazine is now distributed throught the free D.U.D.E. distribution service in the San Francisco Bay area, at bookstores including City Lights! I also plan to promote my magazine further through )ism(, described along with D.U.D.E. in answer #4 above). I also am working on a lucidmoonpoetry.com website for year 2000. 16. Editors and publishers, what made you start? I was tired of getting rejected and tired of the boring academic journals out there. I wanted a forum for my cartoons and poems as well as the best of other artists and poets' work. I always wanted a magazine and used to do parodies of newspapers and magazines as a grade schooler (Usually I ripped off articles by Mad magazine!). I love publishing Lucid Moon and hope to continue. I am excited about my upcoming website and may just do that from now on! 17. Poets/writers/artists, what draws you to the small presses? What are some of the problems you encountered? I love the small press but some editors are really pricks. See answers above. 18. How much input do you put in as editor, i.e., how much do you work with writers/poets to shape their manuscripts? See answer # 9. I will make myself more available to writers in thefuture, as I always have, but with more detailed input. I trust the poets/writers and usually don't edit a word or even check for grammar, that is up to them to be diligent in their work, not lazy like me! I can't retype 200 pages an issue! But I am very willing to critique an author's work, for what it's worth. I am very much interested in helping writers, as I majored in English in high school and took Advanced Placement English and Exposition. 19. What role does artwork/visual element play in your mag? Do you consider the mag an art/lit mag or primarily a lit mag? I subtitle my Lucid Moon magazine "Poems-cartoons-drawings". It is primarily for poetry and short stories, and the cartoons and artwork is there to break up the reading space a bit, to rest the eyes. My magazine is an outlet for my cartoons, it forces me to draw 6 or 10 cartoons an issue and I now have a 150 page cartoon book with over 250 cartoons to show for it! I think lit and art are both integral to a great zine. 20. As a rule what are mags/presses doing wrong? Where can improvements be made? What are they doing right? I think it's very generous to give out contributors copies when the publisher can afford it, and i wish I could give contributor's copies out to everyone, all 100 subscribers. I don't understand how magazines can give contributor's copies out to everyone, how can they stay afloat? Maybe by printing higher press runs I guess and giving a lot of free issues away so people will buy more later. Contributor's copies and cover price is a sore spot with me. Cost is a major factor that dictates how big and how frequent the issues are, and many magazines are too small and don't give enough of a sampler of each person's work. Most zines take only 1 or 2 poems each issue from someone. You need to see at least 4 or 5 to get a true feeling of the poet's style. Another mistake that a lot of small publications make is that the editors take their job too seriously. Lighten up, you're not gonna win the Pulitzer Prize for Editing! Look at me, in 1997 Cedar Hill Review named me Editor Of The Year and called me the Hardest Working Editor in the Small Press, which I was very proud of but a little embarassed about, since I was publishing about 95% of what I was sent! I just happened to like all the poems! Now I get 3000 poems a year submitted and publish about 30% of what I get. I'm trying to be more selective yet still keep a sense of playfulness and humour about my job. 21. Have you made an attempt to form some sort of collective among magazines/presses to cross-promote each other's projects and if so, why? How successful are such ventures? I have become involved with )ism( and D.U.D.E. to promote my work and other people's work. )ism( has a newsletter and website to promote poets and writers. D.U.D.E. has a website too with links to other cool magazines and sites. I'll have a website for Lucid Moon in January 2000 and will list other cool zines and sites luike Bathtub Gin, D.U.D.E., )ism(, The Evergreen Review, Beatlick Newsletter and website, and About Poetry Museletter and website and others. Also, recently I donated a 3 foot by 1 foot by 1 foot box full of chaps, zines and broadsides by myself and others to D.U.D.E., stuff I had reviewed and no longer needed. D.U.D.E. takes a red kid's wagon on the street corner of San Francisco area and gives the chaps and zines away! They get mobbed and it's fun! I help spread the word around about my publications and chaps and zines by others. The crowds love it and will hopefully buy more in the future. I review 12-20 poetry chaps and books in each issue of Lucid Moon, and trade ads or flyers with other zines. I am just starting to charge a small fee for ads now. I think I have been successful in helping promote others and in promoting my own work. I do it selflessly and without ego (actually, I do have a big ego and like seeing my name and my magazine name in other publications!). 22. What changes have you seen in the small press magazine world over the years? How long have you been involved? I first started writing poetry in 1989 to deal with the death of my best friend Mark Waser, who died in a car crash in high school in 1981. I got my first poem published by Dave and Ana Christy of Alpha Beat Press in New Hope, PA in 1993. They are my best friends and taught me everything I know about the small press. I visit them once amonth to make a tape for my Ralphabeat Radio Show on Frank Moore's Luver Radio, which plays music and poetry readings. I started Lucid Moon poetry magazine in January 1997 and will launch the Lucid Moon website in January 2000 (The Lucid Moon magazine ended in Fall 1999 but the website is thriving as you can see.--Ed.) I haven't noticed much change in the small press. People come and go, people drop out of the scene and new people always come along. There is some small press backstabbing and petty jealousies that gets in the way of doing good work, but I try to avoid it (see A Message From Ralphy April 2000 and January 2001--Ed.) I've had fallout with only three editors, Bobby Starr, Jack Grapes of OnTheBus and Danny Shot of Longshot, but I made up with Danny. I've made mistakes in inappropriate letters, comments and poems, but I am growing and learning all the time. We learn from our mistakes. I don't let rejections bother me anymore. 23. COSMEP and CCLM were founded to help organize and support small presses. COSMEP collapsed and many feel that the CCLM is just an arm of the NEA. Is there a need for similiar organizations today? Would they succeed? I am ignorant of what COSMEP and CCLM did, but I support grass-roots organizations that help to promote and fund poetry and art. Forget the NEA, they censor art and they promote and fund crap art anyway. We need more organizations like )ism(, D.U.D.E. and more newsletters like Beatlick News and About Poetry.com (Museletter -- to subscribe to Museletter by e-mail, write to poetry.guide@about.com). 24. Do you publish a zine, magazine, or journal, i.e. which term do you prefer? Does it matter? I think the term Journal or Magazine sounds more professional, but my Lucid Moon is kitchen table and photocopies, so I call it a zine most of the time. Depending on whom I'm talking to you, I use either of the three terms! 25. What do you celebrate about the small press? What do you lament? I wish editors wouldn't take themselves too seriously, I wish poets wouldn't get so uptight about having their addresses or letters printed, and I wish there wasn't as much petty jealousies and small-press back-stabbing, but it comes with the territory. After all, we artists and poets and editors are all emotional cripples and borderline psychotics! :) I celebrate the joy and fun I have had and the friendships I have made and moments I have shared with the small press community over the last 6 years. Poetry and publishing has become my life and i am so glad I don't have a conventional boring 9 to 5 job! For 15 years throughout high school, college and after colege i painted houses and made $20 an hour under the table. I bought a computer, dual vcr, large screen tv, stereo system, 1200 cds, a queen size bed, redecorated my room, and was rich but miserable! Now I am $6000 in debt, between jobs, on disability (manic depression), and publishing full time and writing poetry and drawing cartoons, doing my internet radio shows and doing my website, and I am broke but the happiest I have ever been in my life! I wouldn't trade this in for all the money in the world! Well, actually, if I had all the money in the world I'd still do this but get my magazine professionally printed so i don't have to photocopy and collate it myself! 26. Some poems and other written works seem to work better as printed material while others work better when spoken. Is there much of a difference between the vocal voice (readings, slams, performances, etc.) and the written voice (magazines, zines, caps, books)? Is it hard to bridge the two? I just received two great spoken word/poetry cds, Psychedelic Steppenwolves by Dave Rubins (hands On Records, 470 Kipp St., Teaneck, NJ 07666-2304, (201) 801-0840) and Incomplete Directions by Steve Dalachinsky (Knitting Factory Records, http://www.KnittingFactory.com). In both cases the poetry was more powerful when heard spoken aloud with musical accompaniment, but then when I read the lyric booklets I became aware of more subtle shadings and poetic flourishes. It was good to see the written word as well hear it. The two go together and compliment each other and should be produced together as apackage if possible. 27. How hard is it to "sell" small press publications? How is your magazine financed? Poetry is always a hard "sell" and never makes a profit. Poets are poor and can't afford to buy a lot of zines, so contributor's copies are a Godsend. My magazine is financed through subscriptions, ad/flyer trades, solid fan base and positive word of mouth, plus financial help from my parents and grandmother and working my ass off as a housepainter occasionally. I am not making a profit doing this, this is a charity case and I do it for the love of poetry. I will cut the size down to save money. I checked with printer's prices in town and they wanted the same as the photocopy store, $700 for 100 copies, 200 pages each. Not much bang for my buck. Then I called the Small Press Publishers Co-Op in Sarosoata FL, they have the best perinters prices, and they wanted 1000 press run minimum, 128 page maximum, and some ridiculous price. I said I only needed 200 copies, so he said they'll print 1000 and throw 800 away! Wiseass! 28. Realistically, who is your primary audience (ie, who buys the stuff) of your publications? Is it mostly fellow writers, publishers, wetc., or do you reach a broader audience? What does it take to reach that broader audience? Is it worth it? It would be worth it to have a broader audience, especially at a higher circulation to pay for itself! My audience is mainly contributing poets and artists and also people just interested in poetry. Poets still get a big thrill out of seeing their name in print, no matter how small the publication circulation is! 29. If you're self-published, why did you take this route? What are some of the factors that one should consider when self-publishing? What are some of the problems you encountered? Anyone interested in self-publishing should have their heads examined! No!! They should take a serious look at why they want to self-publish. Is it to satisfy their egos (yes, this is very easy to accomplish!) , make money (forget about it-no one makes money on poetry), fame (well, that has its rewards, recognition (it's nice to be recognized for your good writing or efforts with your zine)? Anyone interested in self publishing poems, chaps or zines should re-read all these questions and answers. The cons outweigh the pros, but what I lack in wealth I make up for in richness of spirit and a feeling of having accomplished something positve and rewarding, making other people laugh, smile or shed a tear, making them think...Poetry and publishing has enriched my life immeasurably and I cherish the friendships I have made, the friendships are more honest and lasting/bonding than my lifelong childhood friends. Whew, that was a mouthful! Thanks Christopher Harter and Bathtub Gin for allowing me to share my thoughts. You may use any of this, and with your permission I'd like to reprint it in Lucid Moon next year as well. Cheers! Warmest Wishes, Ralph Haselmann Jr. HOME PAGE & ARCHIVES
POETRY COLUMNS
Moon Beams (More Moon Poems) | Poetry Essays and Lectures A Few Poems a Day Helps Keep the Psychiatrist Away Quotable Poetry Quotes | Jokes About Art, Literature, Music & Poetry OTHER COOL WEB SITE LINKS
Other Cool Web Site Links
Frank Moore's LUVeR Radio Website D.u.d.e. (Digger Underground Distribution Exchange) AuthorHouse Printing On Demand Book Publishers Poetry and Literature Center of the Library of Congress ALPHA BEAT PRESS (Dave and Ana Christy) CONTACT ME
Letters, Oh
We Get Letters! | Please Sign My
Guest Book!
|