This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Cleveland State University Poetry Center. An independent small press survives through the care and good vibes of its readers, and we thank you for participating in six decades of literary exchange and adventure. Here are the exploratory, culture-making endeavors we’re up to this year, as well as ways you might join in or support our work:
Publishing
Preorder our fall catalogue—featuring new poetry by Michael Joseph Walsh and Raúl Gómez Jattin (tr. by Katherine M. Hedeen and Olivia Lott).
Follow three new series at our digital space, Exclamation’s Gauntlet—named after a poem by the Cleveland poet, playwright, editor, and composer Russell Atkins—featuring commentary on editing, process, and creativity:
And Could They Hear Me I Would Tell Them: interviews with small press authors about their newest books, publishing experiences, and the social aspects of their writing and reading lives.
Arch(d)ives: artifacts and ephemera plucked from our press’s dust, placed in personal, contemporary, and historical contexts.
Index for Continuance: a podcast series featuring conversations with workers at independent, small-press, and DIY literary presses and projects, and offering grassroots knowledge about how to edit, collaborate, reach readers, and build community (coming in 2023).
Programming
Lighthouse Reading Series: hosts eight poets and nonfiction writers annually, including a 60th-year anniversary reading and celebration in April 2023. Events are in-person and open to the public.
NEOMFA Writers at Work Colloquium: provides students opportunities to hear from visiting writers about their experiences in editing, arts administration, journalism, translation, or community programming, offering an expansive definition of literary work and where it takes place.
Bookfairs: find us at Loganberry Books' Author Alley, Lit Cleveland’s Inkubator, AWP, SMOL Fair, and Mission Creek, among other literary gatherings.
Pedagogy and Community
Graduate assistantships: we offer multiyear graduate assistantships to NEOMFA students interested in gaining experience in literary publishing and editing while pursuing an MFA in creative writing. We also teach literary editing and publishing and offer internship and volunteer opportunities.
Anisfield-Wolf Fellowship in Publishing and Writing: a two-year postgrad fellowship offering an emerging writer time to work toward a first or second book and professional experience teaching creative writing and engaging in community-oriented literary work in collaboration with the CSUPC. Our next application period will open in winter 2023/2024.
Cleveland partnerships: we collaborate with local writers and organizers at Lake Erie Ink, Cleveland Review of Books, The Refugee Response, Cleveland Drafts, grieveland, Lit Cleveland, Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards, The Dodge, Mac’s Backs Books, and Loganberry Books.
Possibilities
The CSU Poetry Center is a nonprofit independent literary press and arts center whose funding comes from book sales, individual donations, and occasional grants. To support the work we do you can buy our books, attend our events, or MAKE A DONATION.
