Ric Royer's The Weather Not The Weather

Outside Voices's second full-length book of poetry, Ric Royer's The Weather Not The Weather, will be released Dec. 14, 2008 at a release party and reading at Rust Belt Books (202 Allen St, Buffalo).

Ric Royer is a writer, performer, writer of performances and performer of writings. Other works of literature include Hystery of Heat (Publishing Genius), There Were One and It Was Two (Narrow House), and Anthesteria (Bark Art Press). He is also a founding editor of Ferrum Wheel, now captained by Chris Fritton.

Pre-orders will be shipped Dec. 15 ($12 book + $2 S&H). Order here:

FOURSQUARE 2.4

FOURSQUARE 2.4, released out of order (2.3 has not yet been released), contains poems by Michelle Morgan, Claire Hero, Suzanne Frischkorn, and Gillian Devereux. Cover art by Anna Bell.

There are a number of overruns on this one: you may purchase one at Etsy. If you are a reviewer and can guarantee placement of a review, you may request a review copy.

New issues of FOURSQUARE

4SQ 2.2 features featuring Nava Fader, Michalle Gould, Reb Livingston and Sheila E. Murphy. cover art by Debbie Clapper. Buy overruns at Etsy.

Ordering from Outside Voices

Sometimes PayPal has issues; I do not know how to fix them. There has been a problem ordering the Anthology. If you want to order something from Outside Voices and the PayPal links aren't working, you can always go through Etsy, which accepts PayPal (generally unproblematically), money orders, and checks.

You can also use the Etsy site to get a subscription to FOURSQUARE magazine.

FOURSQUARE 1.12

The last issue of Vol. 1 features cover art by poet Shin Yu Pai and poetry by Jenny Sampirisi, Lisa Forrest, Kerri French, and Mel Nichols. 4 overruns for sale at Etsy.

FOURSQUARE Vol. 2

Current subscribers may renew their subscriptions for a year ($60) here or for 6 mos. ($24) here.

New subscribers will be considered after 5/21. Email me to get on the waiting list. (What's FOURSQUARE?)

Anthology pre-orders

FOURSQUARE Special Edition: Jessica Smith

One big handwritten poem by yours truly; cover art by Chelsea Groves. Available for $5 at Etsy and the Buffalo Small Press Book Fair.

FOURSQUARE Special Edition: Ofelia Hunt

Six poems by Ofelia Hunt; cover illustration by Mandy Sutcliffe. Ready to ship from Etsy or get yours at the Outside Voices booth at the Buffalo Small Press Book Fair.

FOURSQUARE 1.10

FOURSQUARE 1.10: poetry by Sandra Simonds, Michelle Taransky, Jenna Cardinale and Wanda O'Connor. Book Review from Linda Russo on Lauren Shufran's Burrow (Hooke Press 2006). Cover art by Angel D'Amico.

FOURSQUARE 1.9

FOURSQUARE 1.9 (Love) Love poems by Elisa Gabbert & Kathleen Rooney; Sharon Harris et al.; o. hunt; and kathryn l. pringle & Magdalena Zurawski. Cover valentine by Krista Stout.

Subscribe to FOURSQUARE!

Click here for info.

FOURSQUARE 1.7 (Family)

Starring Angelica Perez (cover art), Alixandra Bamford, Eileen Tabios, Sarah Campbell, and Suzanne Zelazo. There will be a few extra; stay tuned.

FOURSQUARE 1.6

November's issue (1.6) includes work by Jess Rowan, Tina Darragh, Jessica Smith and Jane Sprague. Cover art by Lana Lambert of Pistoles Press. There are a few extra copies for sale at etsy.

Anthology: November

The authors included in the Anthology during the month of November are up. Remember, December is the last month we're taking submissions. So get crackin'.

Critical Documents Reading Dec. 7

You are invited to an evening of performances by:
- cris cheek
- William R. Howe
- jUStin!katKO
- Mark Mendoza
- Keith Tuma
- Jason Zeh

December 7, 6:30pm
ACA Galleries - FREE
529 West 20th Street - 5th Floor

A Mix of Video, Readings and Sound
cris cheek will be reading from the church - the school - the beer (forthcoming from Critical Documents as Plantarchy 3).

Hosted by Boog City for the d.a. levy lives: celebrating the renegade press series

FOURSQUARE 1.5

Interior cover art by Tami Giordano; poetry by Susana Gardner, Erica Kaufman, Danielle Pafunda, and Sandra Beasley. A brilliant issue.

Take-Home: 2 new Projects

I updated the Take-Home Project page to reflect/sell the next two projects, so there are now 6 for sale, although it will probably work like this: sometime soon the first two will come out, and then in December/January (i.e. over winter break) the next 4 will come out. Then I will start reading manuscripts for mar/apr (1 boy and 1 girl). MSs that haven't yet been declined are still under consideration.

FOURSQUARE 1.4

Art: Britta Fahrenbruch (sleeve), Emily Martin (cover) Poetry: Kristy Bowen, Stephanie Young, Kate Greenstreet and Jennifer Scappettone.

Jen's poem is part of a series that will be published as a Take-Home Project this winter.

Anthology & Take-Home Project

Authors accepted to the anthology during the month of September have been posted.

Due to the demand for yet another chapbook press, OV now has one: Take-Home Project. But I'm already flooded with manuscripts, so hold onto yours till Spring.

The first 5 Take-Home Projects are by K. Lorraine Graham, derek beaulieu, rob mclennan, Jennifer Scappettone, and OV Editor Jessica Smith.

FOURSQUARE 1.3

Featuring sleeve art by Chelsea Warren, cover art by Claire Webb, and interior poetry by Helen White, Michelle Detorie, Anne Boyer and T.A. Noonan.

August Authors

Poets whose poems were chosen for the anthology in August are up.

Organic Furniture Cellar & Anthology

- Outside Voices's first paperback, Organic Furniture Cellar, is available for purchase. Please click the PayPal "buy now" button in the sidebar.
- July authors for the Anthology are up.

Clarifications on submissions to OV

- Subscriptions to FOURSQUARE are sold out. Note, too, that submissions to FOURSQUARE are by solicitation only. Don't send poems for FOURSQUARE under any circumstances but the one in which I (the Editor) explicitly ask you to do so.
- Submissions to the 2008 young poets' anthology are more than welcome. Send a handful of poems for us to choose from; we will pick one poem per poet. They can be previously published; you can also publish them even after we accept them. What you should not do is send us a manuscript and tell us to "pick something from it." We don't have time for that. Send submissions to poetry2008@gmail.com.
- Outside Voices does not publish chapbooks. Do not send us chapbook manuscripts. If you have a chapbook you want to publish, send it to someone else.

FOURSQUARE 1.1 Now Available!

FOURSQUARE 1.1 will begin mailing today. You can buy a subscription here, or if you're not sure you want to invest the $12, you can buy a single copy of issue 1.1 at Etsy for $4. 1.1 includes work by Elizabeth Treadwell, Shanna Compton, K. Lorraine Graham, and Linda V. Russo. Cover collage by Elena Siff. FOURSQUARE will feature 4 different female poets every month. The broadzine comes enclosed in an embroidered fabric envelope.

The Nude Formalism by Charles Bernstein and Susan Bee

Charles Bernstein and Susan Bee's lovely The Nude Formalism is now up as a free e-book.

2008 Anthology

The ongoing lists of poets to be included in the huge 2008 anthology of young poets edited by John Sakkis and I are available here.

FOURSQUARE Updates!

- FOURSQUARE 1.1 will be done soon. Hints of what's to come: embroidery. cherries, popscicles, handpainted, birds, guns, butterflies, feminism, cloth. folding. envelopes, weaving, folkarts, tactility. visuality. handmade, GrrLiPo. You can subscribe to FOURSQUARE for $12/yr ($24 for institutions). There are 12 issues per year. That's right, $1 per issue. There will only be 50 copies made of each issue, and only 40 subscriptions are available (actually, now there are about 25 subscriptions available).
- 1.1 (June) Includes work by Elizabeth Treadwell, Linda Russo, K. Lorraine Graham, and Shanna Compton
- 1.2 (July) will include work by Brenda Iijima, Maureen Thorson, and Juliana Spahr
- 1.3 (August) will include work by Chris Turnbull, Michelle Detorie, and Claire Webb.

Click on "Individuals" or "Institutions" at this page to subscribe.

FOURSQUARE Vol. 1 No. 1

- The inaugural issue of FOURSQUARE will include work by Elizabeth Treadwell, K. Lorraine Graham, Linda Russo, and Shanna Compton.

50 handmade copies will be available:
- Any of the 4 contributors can provide you with a copy
- You can subscribe ($12/yr Indiv., $24/yr Institutions). This is the only way to get FOURSQUARE other than from the contributors for each issue; you cannot order individual issues from OV. To ensure you get all 12/yr, subscribe now! Only 40 subscriptions will be accepted.

If you're not hooked up with PayPal, please send a check for $12 or $24 made out to Jessica Smith to Jessica Smith, 726 Madison Ave. Apt. C, Charlottesville VA 22903.

Announcing FOURSQUARE

FOURSQUARE is a new little* mag from Outside Voices.

Objective: to provide a little taste of poetry
Format: 4" square, 4 poems by 4 women.
Distribution: Monthly (12/yr), by mail and handout; 50 copies
Subscriptions: $10/yr for Individuals, $20/yr for Institutions.
Submissions: By solicitation only

* very little

Based on my preliminary list of female writers, FOURSQUARE will easily go on for 10 years without repeating authors. FOURSQUARE is an extended homage to the sadly defunct Outlet, edited by Elizabeth Treadwell.

Calendar April-July

- Jessica Smith's Organic Furniture Cellar is scheduled to be released on April 28. You can buy OFC now using PayPal and it will be delivered to you when it is available. If you are in the mid-Atlantic area or are planning to attend the Boston reading, you may omit shipping costs on your order, as I can hand-deliver the book to you. After OFC is actually out you can order it from SPD, but it's better to order it directly from OV. The OV PayPal account now takes credit cards as well as virtual checks. Click on the "buy now" button at right to order. The details of the release reading are as follows:

Union Square Poetry Series
P.A.'s Lounge
5:30 p.m. $5
345 Somerville Ave., Somerville MA

The Northeast release of Organic Furniture Cellar, with readings from the text. Also on the ticket: Bootstrap Productions author/editor Ryan Gallagher.

- Jim Leftwich's and Jukka-Pekka Kervinen's collaborative visual poetry web-book is on the Editor's Table and will be out in May.

- Charles Bernstein's and Susan Bee's collaborative chapbook The Nude Formalism will be available as a web edition in July. Readers will delight in Bee's black-and-white neo-vintage illustrations and Bernstein's witty poetry. This hard-to-find book deserves a wide audience, and OV is proud to make that happen.

June will also mark the end of the first submission period for manuscripts, which means that I will choose OV's next print edition from a manuscript that arrives before June 1. Please send files by email to outsidevoices@gmail.com.

Donations to OV

Outside Voices is a 501(c)(3) through its parent press, Bootstrap Productions. If you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution, make it through the Bootstrap Productions website and indicate "Outside Voices" in the comment field. You can also mail them a check (Bootstrap Productions, 82 Wyman Street, Lowell, MA 01852) and put "Outside Voices" in the memo. If you work in the "real world," check with your company to see if they make matching donations. Bootstrap will send you a confirmation letter. Donations and book pre-orders (which are, happily, trickling in) are greatly appreciated.

Organic Furniture Cellar

You can now pre-order Organic Furniture Cellar ($16). Check out the "print editions" link to the left for details. If you cannot pay through PayPal and would rather send a check, please send to: Jessica Smith, 726 Madison Ave. Apt. C, Charlottesville, VA 22903. Make out the check (or M.O.) to Jessica Smith and put "OFC" in the memo line. Please add S&H at the rate of $2 per book. You will be able to purchase OFC through your local independent bookstore in April, but if you're an Amazon please-just-bring-it-to-my-door consumer, pre-ordering will get it to you faster.

Press Release

FAQ

Q: Why "outside voices"?
This line: "in our outside voices we are asking for" from Jim Behrle. Long-winded & winding answer at link above.

Q: Why the little boy?
His energy. The genderlessness of the "little boy" as a trope. Etc.

Q: Where did the little boy come from?
A: I stole the larger graphic from Ric Royer, who stole it from someone else. See name magazine, issue 4/5, pg. 1 Where it came from before that is a mystery to me.

Q: Where do you get your funding?
A: So far, from donations and pre-orders.

Q: Do you publish chapbooks?
A: Not at this time. Try Cy Gist.

Q: Do you have a contest?
A. Not at this time. I don't want to encourage that kind of competition between poets. If you think you have a good manuscript and it seems to fit the specs outlined in "submissions," just send it to me.

Q: Why did you start a press when there are already so many presses?
A. I want to. I can.

Q. Who chooses what gets published?
A: I do. It's a one-woman operation at this point, though other women will be coming on board with their opinions and creative contributions soon.

Q: How do I get noticed by OV?
A: Submit material to Plantarchy, OV's magazine of choice. If you don't know the names of the contributors to this zine, you might want to buy a copy before submitting your own work. I also read Ferrum Wheel.

Q. What if I'm in high school but I'm a really good poet, can I send you my MS?
A. Yeah! Go for it. I can't guarantee that I'll publish it, but if you're a poet who's still stuck in the hell of k-12 I will give individual feedback to your MS. I am especially interested in keeping an eye on "developing" poets from creative writing programs at schools like the Alabama School of Fine Arts. Before sending out your manuscript--to anyone--you might want to try getting poems published in magazines or try winning contests for your age group (of which there are many, and you can make some money!) just to get your name out a little; otherwise it'll be tough to sell your book.

Q. What if I'm not American?
A. I don't care about this. I would prefer that work be in English, but with visual poetry sometimes it's impossible to tell anyway. If you are not from the US or Canada, I will need a list of your previous publications (magazines, books, chaps, etc.) so I can figure out who you are. Some international poets I'm interested in include Cia Rinne.