Interview with Poems-for-All’s Richard Hansen
Richard
Hansen is the brains behind the
Note on the format: Octopus asked its
interview subject 8 questions, with 3 options for each question. O'Leary choose
which question from each set he wanted to answer (we have darkened the
chosen questions, kept the unchosen ones a ghostly gray).
#1
a. Is there some
philosophical impetus at work here in this project? Is this, in some way, a
campaign?
b. What specific models, if any, did you have for
Poems-for-All?
c. What does it take to run Poems-for-All (time, money [not
specifically], energy, people)?
a. It didn't start as a campaign. But that didn't stop me from writing a
small manifesto that frames the idea of what I'm doing. In keeping with the
spirit of the series, it's short, and often placed on
the back cover of some of the booklets. (Some? Well,
for me, design always takes priority over the sound bite. If the cover calls
for the manifesto to be jettisoned, it's tossed.) It reads: "Scattered
around town, on buses, trains, restrooms,
coffee shops, left along with the tip; stuffed into a stranger's back pocket. Whatever. Wherever." It has
become, in some ways, a campaign. Not so much to spread any particular
ideology, but rather some effort at
spontaneous distribution to canvas the place, the planet with little books.
The effort has developed a momentum that's fueled by my own enthusiasm -- I
love building these poem books -- and that of those who submit poems, ask for
poems, distribute the poems. I'm not sure what to
expect when people find the poems through the spontaneous distribution I
encourage. I just like the idea of someone going about their usual lives and
coming across this variation to the routine. Will you look at that? A miniature
book... Additionally, it's always a pleasure to hear how poets who've been
published are distributing their copies of the little books.
I decided early on that I would never profit from the little series. I
determined that they could be used to raise money for worthy causes, but that I
wouldn't sell them for personal gain. And it is that little principle, I think,
that has kept the series honest, interesting, and exciting for me. I live in a
consumer culture where everything, it seems, has a price. Poems-For-All is a
rejection of that idea. And while I try to keep costs down, I do try to create
booklets that are lavish and exciting to look at and read. Even free, crap is
crap. I want people -- the poets I publish, and the folks who pick these up --
to feel as excited about getting the books as I do about making them.
#2
a. Are a majority of
your poems reprints, solicited material, unsolicited? If a mix, what are the rough ratios? Do you have a preference in this matter?
b. What change in the landscape, particularly
c. Do the poems go 'out of print'? (Are there limited print runs, etc.?)
a. I first began the series in March 2001. That year I published
about 100 poems, about half of which were reprints of poets that I admired or
thought would be well received. These included d.a.
levy, Ted Joans, Robert Creeley,
Roque Dalton, Peter Kropotkin
("poem" book no. 4 and already the prose was slipping in),
Charles Bukowksi, Vladimir Mayakovsky,
Jack Spicer, Bertolt Brecht
and Anne Waldman. I had also just befriended Arthur and Kit Knight, who
had edited the Unspeakable Visions of the Individual books which
which include poetry and prose from a number of Beat
writers. When they both gave me poems for the series, it set
off a kind of brushfire of interest. Poems-For-All No. 15, "Butch
Cassidy: Vanished" by Arthur and No.
16, "That Clean Sun Smell" by Kit were their first in the series.
They would send out these little book's to other poets
they knew which generated additional submissions to the series.
The ratio would turn dramatically in 2002 when Poets & Writers
magazine did a 2,000 word story on the series. I was simultaneously delighted
and mortified with the attention that article delivered. Within days, the
submissions rolled in. And since then, the series has been more the 85%
unsolicited material to 10% solicited and 5% reprints.
It isn't how I expected it to happen, but I am pleased with the
present ratio. I enjoy the mix of styles and perspectives I receive in the
submissions to the series. And I continue to be flattered that poets, both
professional and kitchen-table practitioners, want to send me their work. I still
feel compelled to reprint poets who I feel the need to recognize or honor. When
I read about Puerto Rican poet Julia de Burgos, for example, I wanted to add
some of her poems to the series.
#3
a. What
is in it for you?
b. Say a person is inspired by your example and
wants to start-up a similar project -- what advice would you give to this
person to get started?
c. Have
any of the little books come back from the wild to find you?
b. I am the
supreme commander of an army of two inch tall cardstock covers. In my army,
there are no rules. I can call it the Poems-For-All series and include prose. Or a song. A laundry list. Postal regulations for the nation of
When one builds an empire of paper, cost is a factor. I use a computer and
printer, because I can. In the past I have used a photocopier, cut and paste.
Whatever's available. Again, there are no rules. My
tools have evolved to make it all simpler, faster: a large paper cutter, a
saddle stitch stapler, a color printer. But these are luxuries. I've come a
long way from the rubber stamped covers. But that doesn't mean I don't miss
those days-of-basic. Figure out what works for you.
Steal. I see poems, prose fragments, quotes and I swipe them. I re-publish the
out of print, obscure or hard-to-find. Not for profit, but to honor and share
the poets and writers I like. A violation of the
"letter" of copyright laws, perhaps; but not the spirit.
1960's mimeo revolution poet and publisher d.a. Levy often marked his work, "No Copy
rot." I like that.
Scrounge. The amount of paper waste in an office environment is astounding.
Look in the recycling bins and trash areas where you work; look around the
printers, in the mail room to find useful paper, cover stock, envelopes, etc.
that has been written off as waste. Such beautiful castaways were tailor-made
for miniature book projects.
Thrift/Discount. I frequent
paper stores that work with printers. They often have trim, remainder and
overstocked paper in small quantities. Cheap.
Remember, it only takes 10 sheets of cover stock to make covers for 100
poems-for-all booklets. Thrift stores yield all kinds of paper supplies and related
tools for the making of itty-bittys. I buy staplers
for a buck. (I like a lot of staplers around so I can get groups of friends
working chain-gang style building booklets.) Also tins, boxes and old slide
holders that I use to distribute booklets.
Avoid the devil. I don't use Kinko's or other print chains like them. They're
expensive and cater to the insecure and the rushed. I found out the hard way,
that you pay for their perception of "convenience." If you need to
"outsource" your printing, seek out smaller shops, locally owned.
They're often cheaper, and sometimes give discounts if they think your project
is cool. I prefer clandestine visits to the company copier...
#4
a. Has
anyone been angry that you reprinted their poem?
b.
Poems-for-All appears to be a pretty unique endeavor both philosophically and
physically, at least in the world of poetry. Was this inspired in part by any
other press, anything beyond a press, or has your road been relatively unpaved?
c. I see you have the poem "Brakhage"
by Michael Wurster, with a biographical note on the
(at the time of the booklet's creation) recently deceased Stan Brakhage -- was this a commissioned poem? Have
you considered doing (or have you already done?) 'theme'
runs -- getting a handful of poets to pay homage to this or that figuring a
handful of poets to pay homage to this or that figure?
c. Michael Wurster's "Brakhage" was a very early
poem in the series. Number 44. I originally gave
it a very plain treatment for a cover; just the title and author. But when the
poem's subject, the unconventional filmaker Stan Brakhage, died years later, it gave me an opportunity to
redesign the cover and contents to include better visuals and the Brakhage obit info. So while not originally commissioned as
such, Wurster's poem was recast as one of a number of
"tribute" poems that are included in the series to mark the death or
anniversary of someone or something. It's a theme, anyway. When
But I haven't yet commissioned poets to actually write poems in homage. And
it's such an excellent idea: "getting a handful of poets to pay homage to
this or that figure..." I have done this as part of the Poems-For-All
reading series in
While on
the subject of themes, I do build boxed theme sets when mood or occasion
strikes me to create an experience that needs to be larger than the just one
booklet. These often incorporate previously published PFAs,
new releases, and special elements that will only be found in that boxed set.
Unlike individual PFAs, which are always in print,
the boxes are produced in a finite quantity. The Dylan Thomas project -- born
right here, within the fabric of question number 4 -- will culminate in a boxed
set. We recently had poet/writer/spoken word artist Michelle Tea read as part
of the series. She was coupled with two outstanding poets from
The other box sets to-date include: "Go piss on a moonbeam" (A
collected homage to poets on the outside and in the underground: d.a. levy, Kenneth Patchen, Jack Micheline, Tuli Kupferberg, etc.); "Blaz
Box" (A collection of poems and elements to commemorate a special reading
by Douglas Blazek, one of the leaders of the mimeo revolution of the 1960s)
and; "916" (a collection of Sacramento poets and the only element of
Poems-For-All to be sold. All profits were donated to The Sacramento Housing
Alliance).
#5
a. Is
there any way to tell if a certain series has been more or less successful? How
is its success defined? Which have been the most successful?
b. Any poets on
your "wish list" that you haven't (or have!) gotten to yet?
c. What
methods are used to get the poems to the people? Do you have armies that do the
street work for you?
b. There are dozens of poets I have yet to publish, who have sent me their
poems and have waited patiently for me to publish them, as promised. And it's a
large list. One that nags me when I walk past the box of correspondence; one
that makes me think daily about how to quit my day job and do this "poem
thing" full time. It's a guilty feeling, especially when I think about
poets who have waited over a year to see something appear in the series.
It doesn't
help that I do not approach this project in a linear fashion. It isn't first
come, first served. A poem I'm working on one day, might suddenly find itself on
the back burner, stewing, as my interest turns suddenly to a fresh batch of
poems, or some special project. To scan the tables and shelves of the
Poems-For-All experience is to see numerous booklets in various states of
undress. It's often an email from a concerned poet, an "are my poems ready
yet?" pleading, that makes me rush to finish up, button up the shirt,
straighten the tie and send the little booklet on its way.
So that's the underside of the wish list. My "wish" that I could get
all of these poems done, including submissions from Antler, Lyn Lifshin and Hugh Fox, poets I respect from their work
within the 60s and 70s small press, or "mimeo" revolution.
Poets on my
wish list include: Gary Snyder, Naomi Shihab Nye and
a number of poets and writers emerging from a movement/scene being referred to
as "New Scottish Writing."
I'm fortunate that Snyder lives nearby, in
I was deeply moved by Naomi Shihab Nye when she first
appeared on the PBS program "NOW with Bill Moyers."
Her poems moved me. Her attitude and outlook, moreso. She wrote a great letter, which I found on
the web, titled "To Any Would-Be Terrorists" which approaches the
9/11 tragedy and the perception of Arabs from her unique and thoughtful arab-american perspective.
Most people know New Scottish Writing from the work of Irvine Welsh. He's one of
many Scottish writers drawing upon the unique Scottish dialect in prose and
poetry. With close ties to Scotland -- my mother is Scottish and lives in
Edinburgh -- I've been interested in publishing several of the poets &
writers coming out of Scotland, including Welsh, Duncan McClean,
Janice Galloway, and Laura Hird.
#6
a. Any
plans to collect the many Poems for All into a single
piece, or is that counter to the project?
b. It is always interesting to hear what
a poet/small press editor does for money (Tony: barista; Zach: cashier). It's
as if some of us have a secret unknown/under-appreciated identity at work.
Anyway, what's your day job? How does it interfere or interact with Poems for
All?
c. Do you have a favorite single booklet?
b. At my day
job at a legislative tracking company my official job title is "Project
Manager." How's that for ambiguous? I try to call myself a graphic
designer because mostly what I do for this company is layout vary basic web and
print items with sexy names like the Looseleaf
Legislative Directory and Pocket Roster. But there's little
design; few graphics. There IS access -- layout programs, computers and
printers just screaming for a chance to do something really creative.
Poems-For-All was born here, in this large office building in Midtown, as
something that, in part, filled in boring gaps between projects. I think if my
employer really knew how much time I now spent on this project within their
walls ... Well, let's just say I try to be discrete. I don't have a lot of
supervision, which is helpful. I find I can do enough work to seem
indispensable, and still crank out poem after poem after poem. So, it pays the
bills. And there are others like me; others with a "secret
unknown/under-appreciated identity." Musicians,
artists, writers, poets, printers who toil during the day doing mostly data
entry. It's a great environment to bounce around ideas, collaborate, conspire as we huddle around cups of bad coffee. My wife and
I also own a bookstore about two blocks from where I work. And I work the store
two hours a day. Or rather, hang out and do Poems-For-All for two hours a day.
Our big color printer is there and most of the production takes place there.
It's easier to be a slacker when you're the boss.
#7
a. Do you use Poems-for-All (or
b. How might Poems-for-All evolve? Where do you
see it in 8 months or 8 years?
c. How do the Sacramento Free Press and the
a. I've
spent many years as a social activist; as the media coordinator for Students Against War during the first Gulf War and active in the
movement to fight corporate globalization that evolved out of the 1999 WTO
protests in
I say all this to give foundation to where I am today. Poems-For-All began as
an opportunity to take a break from the attend-a-meeting, plan-a-protest life I
was leading in the late 90s. It didn't signal the end of my desire to lead a life
as someone committed to causes; just someone who was taking a few years off
from the long haul. I rekindled an interest in the arts, began to read more
fiction, and poetry, giving Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn a rest and letting Jack Hirschman and Roque Dalton reinforce my views with their poems. And it
was important that Poems-For-All be something more than just political. Its
mission wasn't to propogate my world view, even if
veiled threads of my interests, my politics and my passions are sewn through
the entire fabric of the project.
PFA overall isn't there to push anything except poems (and the occasional bit
of prose, a song, and other misc. flotsam.) But I have always held open the
entitlement to use it to support causes important to me. I am presently very
active in politics again and eager to see the defeat of the Bush Administration
in the November election. Several of us have organized the art, music and
literary communities here in
#8
a. Do you play other roles in your relationship with
poetry, other than as the brains behind Poems-for-All? Would you rather be
defined as poet rather than editor?
b. If you were Ted Kooser
(newly elected Poet Laureate), and maybe assuming you were given exceptional
poet laureate powers, what would be your first piece of legislation? How would
you leave your mark?
c. Is there a historic (or not so historic) example of
the perfect marriage between good politics and good poetry that inspires you to
do this? How do you follow this path and how do you stray from it?
a. Unlike
many I know in the small press who wear many hats -- poet, editor, publisher --
I am mostly just a editor. I am not an aspiring poet.
I'm not even a frightened poet who'd secretly to be seen in print but is too
fretful of my work. Sure, I write. I've even done one poem (which I was vain
enough to publish quietly in the series.) In some ways, it's even hard for
me to consider myself an editor. Beyond selecting a poem to get in -- and
Poems-For-All is a very easy club to get into -- I seldom make or request
substantive editorial changes. I really have found more satisfaction in being
the behind the scenes guy who facilitates getting poets and poems I like into
the series. I like to build the books. Design the covers. I take pleasure in
including poets, forms and styles that I like and want to share with others. I
take pleasure in the mechanical. Print. Cut. Fold. Staple.
I facilitate poetry in other ways. In addition to the print series, we've been
running the Poems-For-All Second Saturday readings at our bookstore for the
last two years. It's a similar process in print and behind the podium. Select a
poet, put them before an audience. Hosting the series
does require a bit more vulnerability, standing up under the uncomfortable
light of scrutiny to make introductions. (Again, I'm a behind-the-scenes kind
of guy.)
*Learn more
about the series, about how you can support it, and/or about how you can get
your hands on these free tiny booklets at www.sacfreepress.com/poems.