At a time when we are all being urged for our own and others’ safety to stay at home, when there are suddenly no opportunities to meet our poets at readings and events, and when a good deal of the publishing infrastructure has been obliged to close its doors, here at Two Rivers Press we have decided to present a feature highlighting one of our poets on the Monday of every week going forward.
We are a small and local press unsupported by public funding, and aim to publish some four poetry titles per year. These will ideally include at least one first book by an emerging poet, a new collection by one of the poets on our list, a volume of poetry in translations made by a recognised poet, and quite possibly one of our illustrated volumes containing a classic poem or selection of poems, often, though not necessarily, by a poet with a Reading connection – such as Oscar Wilde’s The Ballad of Reading Gaol, one of our most popular titles, which has gone through a number of Two Rivers Press editions.
Given the limits of our capacity to publish new poetry titles in any given year, we reflect long and hard about which books and poets to take on. Their collections are then given careful editorial feedback, individually designed covers, and text-responsive insides. With this in mind, the present conditions provide an ideal moment for us to show how much we appreciate the work of our poets by giving them the opportunity to choose a favourite poem from their most recent Two Rivers Press collection, to make a statement on some aspect of their commitment to the art of poetry, and to feature an uncollected poem that might well find its place in their next collection. Where possible, we have also made available video recordings of them reading from their recent books.
We hope you will enjoy these featured poets’ work and invite you to explore it both here on our blog and within the covers of their various collections.