"Generosity As Method"

I am so overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity I have experienced conducting chapbook swaps so far - the giving and gifting that occurs is productive on both distributive and communicative levels. Not only has this given me a chance to expand my "readership" (or rather start), swapping has allowed me to share in the creative processes and publishing activities of many wonderful writing communities and independent presses, here in Auckland and on the other side of the world. I often experience a lot of anxiety, as a beginner - writer and publisher - so being in contact with very inspiring, experienced and dedicated people has alleviated much of this. I feel chapbook swapping will positively influence, open up and diversify my practice more - not only as others support my activity through the exchanges, but as they share their own writing and publishing experiences with me. Thank you! I hope to continue to do more swapping.

I also would like to take the opportunity to showcase such wonderful gifts - from three wonderful wee presses:

Michael Steven's Soapbox Press

Click here to be directed to Michael's wonderful poetry blog

Lovely to find other small press activity right here in Auckland... Soapbox publications are stocked at Parsons and Jason Books, or alternatively you could email Michael (you can find his contact email on his blogger profile).

Carrie Hunter's ypolita press

Carrie sent me two beautiful chapbooks - Gothenburg from Three Geogaophies: A Milkmaid’s Grimoire by Arielle Guy ...

... and ypolita's latest chapbook, Easter Sunday by Barbara Jane Reyes.

I love the beautifully illustrated covers.

... take a look inside Easter Sunday.

Juliet Cook's Blood Pudding Press

to be administered in spoonfuls...

Juliet, also very kindly, sent me two chaps! Ectoplasmic Necropolis - great title! Love the binding - making use of different kinds of ribbon-ish materials - and the brightly coloured paper too ...

... back cover illustration surprise!

... and The Laura Poems - am looking forward to reading this very much...

... Twin Peaks is such a great series, and as Juliet's poems are, I'm sure.

If anyone would like to do a chapbook swap - and remember I am keen to trade for any other lovely bits - please be in touch!

More soon! X

"It Must Be Free & Downloadable": Internet Art Communities As Flourishing Gift Economies

Art constitutes a non-rival material good if it is shared - the giver and the receiver would enhance the welfare of the artistic or creative community they both are a part of. This idea of sharing / gifting art would expand and diversify sites of access, collection and dissemination of art and associated writing or reponses. The web with its potentiality to circulate art works, projects and texts (widely and quickly) can massively expand artistic and creative communities.

Members of these online creative communities are producers (creating internet art or contributing to its creation in some way) as well as consumers (people are able to access the art works easily), as this system is about open, fluid and reciprocal gifting and exchange. It offers us an alternative to the prevailing art market or dealer economy (characterized by the impersonal exchange of commodities, or more specficially art, for money) as it is based on sharing and community building.

A gift economy is defined as “an economic system in which the prevalent mode of exchange for goods and services is to be given without an explicit agreement upon a quid pro quo.” It is distinct from the market economy in that it does not exchange commodities, the PennSound project is a good example. The mp3 sound files available at PennSound are not commodities that can be exchanged for money. Bernstein asserts that their will be no problems with rights (all are given to the poet) and there is no profit to be gained - because they can be accessed and downloaded by anyone who has been granted access to the Internet for free. They are gifts given by the poets to PennSound (given permission to use the sound material), an organization that then gifts to the Internet - using public free and downloadable poetry sound files. The site asks its users to reciprocate by way of providing any bibliographical information they might have about the material – a request for direct reader input. This idea of reciprocity in part relies on users to proliferate the ‘message’ and disseminate the concept of poetry readings as a social enterprise as widely as possible.

The gift economy will flourish in a cultural context where there is an expectation of reciprocity, in this sense the gift is always moving. This creates a ‘feeling bond’ which works to establish a community. The gift economy that is fuelling an internet art or web-based art community is built upon the very notion of trying to create community, an environment where ideas may be freely expressed and shared.

Harrison’s essay, which particularly focuses on the emergence of web poetry communities, demonstrates how the internet allows for a successful operation of the gift economy, and illuminates the potentiality of creating an interconnected community where the act of writing is no longer isolated to the individual. Art can be continuously disseminated if we take advantage of the technology the web offers, in terms of it being widely and easily accessible (although there are still issues of the Digital Divide that may render this piece somewhat utopian) and offering creative potential. Hopefully the resistance to commodification will keep the goals of the community at the forefront and combat any issues regarding sustainability that may arise.

References: Joel Harrison 'Web Poetics & the Gift Economy'

Winterling Packette - Chapbook Exchange

I am very excited about the first chapbook exchange with Michael Steven - a wonderfully interesting poet and the creative mind behind Soapbox Press, an Auckland based small press initiative, Winterling is happily associated with! Click here to be directed to Michael's blog.

I decided to do an illustrated cover of sorts for the chapbooks - more like a sleeve to keep them in (although I'd like to do more thinking about the possibilities for these). I also wrapped a thank you note around a wee branch, in case you are wondering what that is all about! I love sticks, and Winterling is all about branching out.

- Emma X

Winterling Activity: A Project Completed & A Call To (Writerly) Arms...

Determined to publish ten copies of two different chapbooks ... Winterling Chapbook Project One is finally complete! Check out those lovely sewn signatures... After endlessly long and busy days at university sitting in front of a computer and/books working hard, meant any time I could squeeze in for chapbook making was always a happy and welcome change. I particularly enjoyed repeating a set of delightfully creative but methodical actions - the book making process has been certainly rewardingly relaxing for me these past few weeks.


Chapbooks one and two from Winterling Series One, are As For We Love, At The Instant As Being Entirely Different From It. & there is always the impossibility of being able to move sideways. Thank you to Campbell for single-handedly taking the printing task on board, I am sending you my love here. (We are using an ink-jet to print these, and for anyone who prints books like this will understand the initial trials and tribulations that accompany this process and the difficulties in trying to explain it to someone else - perhaps this should be limited to the extremely patient, but I must say, a great way to start making your own chaps).

I have posted about there is always the impossibility of being able to move sideways chap - in case you missed it, click here.

The other chap ...

... takes a line from Lyn Hejinian's My Life ("As for we who love to be astonished") as the starting point.

This chapbook, is self-assuredly a poem (different, however related to, much of the loose form/method/style of poetic prose, or the faux genre of prose-poems, I tend to use mostly for writing). It is concerned with pushing sentimentality to its limit, or outer-edge but also simultaneously constantly, almost exhaustively, reduces all to sentimentality. This poem was also written for someone, I had a particular recipient in mind and consequently I certainly feel something shifts or is shifting in the writing as it is read.

Plans for Winterling

I would love to hear from, firstly, anyone interested in participating in Winterling in any way, shape or form - I am hungry for writing (I want to make it clear I am just as much interested in publishing others), or anyone with an interest in book arts, making, crafting, illustrating or being part of this new-ling poetics community. However I should mention that I will be one hundred percent focused on the five University projects that I must finish over the next four weeks and am then going overseas for four weeks after that - so I will not be starting anything in terms of production or meeting with interested folk until after that - and it also unfortunately means that all my other writing projects are currently on hold, not that they haven't been stagnant for awhile now :-( However, I would still love to talk plans, potentialities and speculations via email, so please get in touch as soon as you wish to!

And secondly, anyone interested in receiving one of these chapbooks as part of a gift exchange - please email me! I am interested in trading my chapbooks for other chapbooks, materials, paper supplies, interesting ephemera, random collected things, with others - any artists, poets, writers, crafters, or anyone who wants to be a part of this ....

More soon! X