Susan Kan, Editor, Perugia Press
Jendi Reiter conducted this exclusive email interview with Susan Kan, editor of Perugia Press. Ms. Kan has an MFA in Creative Writing from Warren Wilson College. She directs Perugia Press from her home in Florence, Massachusetts. Every year since 1997, Perugia has published a new first or second book of poetry by an American woman. The average press run is 500-750 copies. This year for the first time, the press is sponsoring a poetry contest to find its featured author for the year. The Perugia Press Intro Award is accepting entries between August 1 and November 15, and offers a prize of $1,000. Visit Perugia's website to read sample poems from their past books and order copies.
Q: Tell me about the history of Perugia Press. When was it founded, and by whom? What was its raison d'être, or editorial philosophy? What is your own background in the poetry world?
A: Perugia Press was founded in 1997 when I was moved to publish Finding the Bear by Gail Thomas. Her work and her struggle to publish inspired me to found the press and do my part to get unknown but very worthy voices into print. My mission is to publish women at the beginning of their publishing careers—first or second books only—giving each poet ample say in the making of her book.
My background in poetry is largely self-taught, although I did study English in college and took some poetry classes in graduate school. Since Dr. Seuss and A. A. Milne, I've been drawn to rhythm and sounds in words. I have written some poetry myself, but I studied fiction writing in graduate school. I am struck by how often the highest praise for prose is that it's "almost like poetry."
Q: This is the first year that Perugia is offering a manuscript contest. Why did you decide to start a contest? Is the contest in addition to your normal manuscript submission process, or a replacement for it?
A: Yes, this is the inaugural year for the Perugia Press Intro Award. The decision to run a contest wasn't easy. There are very few presses that still have an open submission policy, and that's too bad, especially for the poets. Presses run contests because without the entry fees, they couldn't stay afloat, and that's my reason as well. I am only able to publish one book each year, and for 2003, it will be the Intro Award winner.
Q: Describe the judging process. Do manuscripts go through initial screening by interns, graduate students, etc. before reaching the final judge? If so, who are the initial and final readers, and how many manuscripts are expected to make it to the final judge?
A: In the past, the manuscripts have been read and screened by previous Perugia Press poets. This year, with the contest and increased advertising, I expect a lot more submissions, so the manuscripts will be screened and selected by a panel of poets, scholars, and poetry readers. Previous Perugia Press poets are my most reliable readers, and I consider them both representatives of and partners in the press.
Part of my mission is to publish poetry that is enjoyable to a large readership, poetry that is not unnecessarily clever or referential, and that evades an unfortunate trend toward what Mary Jo Salter once described to me as "willed obscurity." That is why I like to have many readers and a cooperative selection process, rather than one final judge. I expect 20-25 manuscripts will make it to the final round.
Q: How do you publicize your authors? What kind of recognition have they won since being published by Perugia?
A: Publicizing poetry books and authors is an ongoing challenge. I do the usual things: a large mailing announcing each book, both paper and electronic; I send out review copies, make as many contacts as I can in the publishing world, and set up readings. Readings are the best way to hear the poetry and sell books. I have developed a nice working relationship with local booksellers and we often sponsor readings together, taking advantage of each others' mailing lists. I also expect the poet to promote her own book.
Perugia poets have had a wide variety of recognition. In 2000, Writers Digest did a nice article on their ten picks of "Poets to Watch," and Almitra David was chosen. Then, this past year, Catherine Anderson's poem "Womanhood" was selected by Billy Collins to be part of his Poetry 180 high school program. He chose one poem for every day of the school year, to be read over the PA system each morning. Gail Thomas has published a second beautiful book called No Simple Wilderness: An Elegy for Swift River Valley. It's a good thing, since her first book, Finding the Bear, is sold out. Janet Aalfs has a new chapbook since publishing Reach. And the press received a grant to sponsor a National Poetry Month reading series in 2003.
Q: Perugia exclusively publishes poetry by women, and the contest is also for women only. Why do you see the need for a women-only press, since women seem to be well-represented among famous contemporary poets and contributors to leading literary magazines?
A: That women are well-represented is a misconception. For example, MobyLives.com just published a study about the number of women published in The New Yorker in the last year. The research shows that this year, only 24% of the writers for the magazine have been women. Of those, most are staff writers. Rarely are women writers represented in the high-profile feature articles at the beginning of the magazine. And some weeks, not a single woman appears in the whole magazine. And this is one of the most elite journals to publish poetry.
Furthermore, the July/August issue of Poets and Writers has a short piece addressing the issue of awards. According to their research, 22 out of 38 finalists for book awards were male. All but one of the winners and nominees for the 2002 Pulitzer Prizes in fiction and poetry are male. That's not to say that women haven't come a long way since Emily Dickinson. I like to think that most literary journals and presses do make a point to balance who they publish between men and woman. But, basically there's plenty of room and need for a press that publishes only women. I tend to read more women poets, though not exclusively.
Q: Is Perugia looking for poetic voices that are distinctively female, and/or poetry about the female experience (broadly defined)? What does that mean to you?
A: I strongly believe that the more we listen to women's interpretations, the better off we'll be. I am looking for well-crafted, musical, fresh voices that tell compelling stories. If you read the books I've published, I think you'll see that the voices I'm drawn to are writing about women's experiences, but not in a heavy handed or apologetic way. Women will love these books, and so will men. I don't think any man would read one of these books and dismiss it as irrelevant to him. The world will improve, I believe, with the sound of more women's voices.
Q: I've been reading two of Perugia's recent titles, A Wound on Stone by Faye George and The Work of Hands by Catherine Anderson, both of which were impressive. Anderson reminds me of Philip Levine—her directness, her spare and unsentimental but somehow heroic depictions of working-class characters. Her political poems are chillingly matter-of-fact pictures of oppression, similar to Carolyn Forche's, as if to say that the ease with which atrocities become normal is what makes them so terrible. Both authors make powerful use of understatement, letting anger or grief show through precisely in what they don't say. George in particular has a clean, deceptively simple style, like someone who has cleared her mind after great suffering and is looking the future straight in the eye. I'd like to hear what you (or the editorial board) were thinking when you selected these works for publication. Are they representative of the type of poetry you're seeking?
A: Thanks for the kind words about those books. Philip Levine and Catherine Anderson do share a sensibility, one that Levine recognized when he chose one of her poems for a website sponsored by the Academy of American Poets. [Click here to read the poem.]
Of course, these books are representative of what I publish! And if you look at the others, you'll also see more of the variety. One thing that I realize is that women often write about difficulty. I mean, there are some universal themes in art: mortality, loss, love, beauty, for example. And women often write about difficulty, and often their own, though not always directly. For example, in Impulse to Fly, Almitra David has a long, linked poem in the voice of Beatrice of the Cenci from the 16th century. In it, Beatrice calls out to her mother about her father's abuse—a theme that has relevance today as well.
I find myself drawn to narrative poems, and maybe that's my background in fiction writing. But I also look for a poet who is conscious of craft and sound and form, who makes original and exciting use of imagery, whose whole manuscript, not just the individual poems, has a shape. Lately, I have my eye out for poets who can write about serious themes with humor.
If you look at this year's book, Red, by Melanie Braverman, you'll see what I consider a shift in tone and style from previous books. Melanie's voice is raw and contemporary, many of her poems go on for several pages. Others are just four lines long. Her theme, while about love lost and grief, is also uplifting and hopeful, and the whole book mimics the spiraling shape of her setting, Cape Cod.
Q: Does Perugia have a preference for narrative or straightforward free verse over more formal poetry (e.g. Marilyn Hacker) or experimental (e.g. Jorie Graham)?
A: No preferences beyond what I've already mentioned above. In Janet Aalfs' Reach, there are some exciting "language poems"; she is less concerned with syntax and more concerned with syncopation, I think.
Q: Besides the authors whom you publish, who are some of the poets you most admire, and why?
A: I am mesmerized by Stanley Kunitz, especially when he reads. He was a great poet 50 years ago, and I like his newest work best. I also read Billy Collins, and appreciate his wit. I went to a fascinating reading by Cornelius Eady this year—he wrote a series from the point of view of the phantom Black kidnapper of Susan Smith's children. Marie Howe writes very well about women's experiences, as do Eleanor Wilner and Adrienne Rich (especially in her earlier work). Mary Oliver and Thomas Lux are consistent favorites of mine, and Li-Young Lee has some real gems. These are all living poets, and I suppose I do have a preference for contemporary work.
Fall 2002
