AW Poetry Book project - who is interested?

dfwtinman

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I'd like to add here:

If you've posted a poem for critique, and it hasn't gotten the feedback you want, please feel free to bump the thread and ask again. If it's important to you, let us know.

We sometimes get so many poems that none of them gets enough time on the stage before they're washed away by new ones.


Has anyone done or considered publishing an anthology of AW poems? Say poeple could submit their top 4-5 and our most skilled critiques could judge which belong. Or maybe we pick a theme and shoot for a collaborative chapbook.
 
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poetinahat

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We've done both, and it pretty much worked exactly as you envision:

AW Anthology

Hollis Brown, Gunfighter

We also had a collaborative project about the fictional town of Blue Rock.

Maybe it's time to start another - if there's interest? I think you may have been caught volunteering...
 

ableseaman

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We've done both, and it pretty much worked exactly as you envision:

AW Anthology

Hollis Brown, Gunfighter

We also had a collaborative project about the fictional town of Blue Rock.

Maybe it's time to start another - if there's interest? I think you may have been caught volunteering...

Since these ebooks have a price, what happens to the millions of dollars that rolled in? :/
 
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C.bronco

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Has anyone done or considered publishing an anthology of AW poems? Say poeple could submit their top 4-5 and our most skilled critiques could judge which belong. Or maybe we pick a theme and shoot for a collaborative chapbook.
Let's have another go at it! It has been awhile.
 
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ableseaman

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A theme...we should have a theme for this new ebook. Might help sales.
 

poetinahat

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We discussed that the last time around, and decided not to go with a theme. The drawing card, instead, was that the poems came from the community of Absolute Write.

That doesn't mean a theme isn't a good idea, or that it wouldn't work. In fact, the Blue Rock and Hollis Brown projects had themes or settings. They generated some fantastic work, and poets ended up building on each other's work with new ones of their own. They were great fun to be involved in, and they resulted in solid bodies of work.

So, definite possibility.
 

William Haskins

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i would like to see a book of poems by people who contribute, or have contributed over the years, to the AW poetry community, with the goal being to showcase one or more poems that the poets feel best represent their approach to the craft, or worldview, style, etc.

it would reveal, in my estimation, the uniquely diverse composition of online poetry communities, quite different from the past century or so when poets so often identified with schools and movements and tended to self-segregate in the process.

it could stand as a nice anthology from AW's first decade and stand as an historical record of the schizophrenic nature of digital poetry's early era.

proceeds could be donated to efforts to eliminate infant baldness and the packaging should be designed to look like an actual doorstop.
 

poetinahat

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proceeds could be donated to efforts to eliminate infant baldness and the packaging should be designed to look like an actual doorstop.

"I wish I'd thought of that!"
- Bob Geldof
 

Ambrosia

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i would like to see a book of poems by people who contribute, or have contributed over the years, to the AW poetry community, with the goal being to showcase one or more poems that the poets feel best represent their approach to the craft, or worldview, style, etc.
I do like that idea, William.
 

Debbie V

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Diversity of work becomes a theme in itself in what William describes. Sounds like fun, except the part where I have to figure out what to submit.
 

kborsden

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i would like to see a book of poems by people who contribute, or have contributed over the years, to the AW poetry community, with the goal being to showcase one or more poems that the poets feel best represent their approach to the craft, or worldview, style, etc.

it would reveal, in my estimation, the uniquely diverse composition of online poetry communities, quite different from the past century or so when poets so often identified with schools and movements and tended to self-segregate in the process.

it could stand as a nice anthology from AW's first decade and stand as an historical record of the schizophrenic nature of digital poetry's early era.

I like this idea--a tapestry of poets--interesting...

But for anything to happen, something has to happen. Can we not set up a group to discuss poems for inclusion, overall design, pricing, market release etc -- a new sub forum seems unnecessary, and seeing as it would be a temp sub, makes little sense; shouldn't be in the open section either. Best create a group, and add a stickied thread in general poetry with details and who to request for invite, then take it from there.
 
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poetinahat

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Why hide it?

Can't we just use this thread?

Pricing, market release, all that -- I think that's down the track.

Right now, we have a contest with four prizes, and only eight people show up. Dammit, I can't even pay people to write. I don't think setting prices is the biggest challenge.
 
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poetinahat

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Actually, you raise a very important (and sensitive) question, dear C:

Should such a book represent the entire community, or a selection thereof? That is, should it include something from any AWer who wanted to be in it?

IIRC, Absolute Poetry was selective, and Hollis Brown was all-inclusive.
 

kborsden

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Why hide it?

Can't we just use this thread?

Wasn't about hiding anything... just that it would be nice for all content contributors to have some say in what happens to it, and some forum members are more likely to prefer the discussion be in a non-public area where the task at hand can't be googled and/or intruded upon by potential trolls.

I don't think setting prices is the biggest challenge.

It also means all relevant topics/additional discussion is one place. pricing etc isn't the most immediate factor, of course not, neither is cover or final page design / layout and so on, but these will need to be discussed at some point, further down the road--if there is a place where the rest of the discussion is already housed, the natural course is to put those discussions in the same area. That's all I meant. An organised single stop approach to everything involved...

Should such a book represent the entire community, or a selection thereof? That is, should it include something from any AWer who wanted to be in it?

IIRC, Absolute Poetry was selective, and Hollis Brown was all-inclusive.

I'd go for all inclusive, for anyone who's interested--that's fairest.

Just my thoughts anyway.

Right now, we have a contest with four prizes, and only eight people show up. Dammit, I can't even pay people to write.

Contest? Where! Is it still open? Sorry, been away a while...
 

kuwisdelu

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Right now, we have a contest with four prizes, and only eight people show up. Dammit, I can't even pay people to write. I don't think setting prices is the biggest challenge.

I'll play next time. November and December are just bad for me.