Parima Poets Publishing Collective
Book Release Party

Saturday May 10th, 9pm -Free-

Local Burlington Poets Have Founded a Publishing Collective Project

On Saturday, May 10, at Parima Restaurant at 9 o’clock, the Collective Will Be Releasing Their First Four Books of Poetry, with Live Readings, Music and Signings

For nearly a year now, a wildly eclectic and talented group of poets have been performing every week at “Burlington’s Finest Poetry Jam,” in the artistic space of the Acoustic Lounge at Parima Restaurant on Monday nights. Started in May of 2007 by the young poet Trevien Stanger, the Poetry Jams have consistently drawn audiences and performers alike. These nights have provided a platform for many people to access the ancient oral tradition of spoken poetry, and for several poets, their first chance to hone their craft aloud. And after consistent requests to bring home books of poetry, a few of the regular poets began to put their heads together.

Much like a musician, a serious poet has a limited ability to share his or her work in ways other than live performance. The poet must find a publisher, and if the poet is without good connections through a university or a publishing house, the most common other option is submitting ones work out to dozens of literary magazines and publishers around the country. But, due to sheer volume of submissions, and a publishers interest in only printing works that he considers marketable, many of the best poets may never succeed in getting their work out there. And so, these Burlington poets posed, why don’t we just cut out all of these middle men around the country, and concentrate on our potential locally? The Parima Poets Publishing Collective was born.
Through the cold winter months, four poets met every week and began the process of starting a small publishing collective. With some valuable guidance from the poet and Seven Days art critic Mark Awodey, who once founded a similar project called “The Minimalist Press,” the poets began seeking printers, purchasing ISBN numbers and bar-codes, and worked hard at their poetry. Now soaked in spring, four poets, Trevien Stanger, Mack Finley, Aaron Mitton, and Kara Schwarz, are ready to release their books of poetry to the community.

Often called “Chapbooks,” the released works are small and short, about 35 pages in length, and will be selling for six dollars. At the upcoming release party on May 10th, each poet will be reading from his or her work, often with musical accompaniment, and will be available to sign each work sold following the party. Starting at nine o’clock, the release party is certain to be a wild, hedonistic celebration of the written word, the spoken word, and the music of speech and storytelling, all paired with an admiration and thankfulness for the support and uniqueness of this community that has inspired each poet to pour their efforts and art into this collective project.

With special guests, raucous readings, haunting cello music, rollicking mandolin, eerily perfect guitar performances, and inevitable surprises, this release should put poetry once again in its rightful place as a quality, inspiring, and wild art in our community.

For more information, contact Trevien Stanger at trevienstanger (at) gmail.com

Contact: Trevien Stanger
Phone: 603-481-5505 Parima Restaurant, Burlington