Spring 2010 Newsletter_Pages 1 & 2

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Alice James Bookspoetry since 1973

AJB STAFF

Carey Salerno Executive Director

Julia BouwsmaManaging EditorDeanna Kaiser

Editorial Assistant

COOPERATIVE BOARD MEMBERS

Peter Waldor, PresidentJoanna Fuhrman, Vice PresidentMihaela Moscaliuc, Treasurer

Daniel Johnson, SecretaryCatherine Barnett

Nicole CooleyAnn Killough

Anne Marie MacariLaura McCullough

Idra NoveyBill Rasmovicz

Ellen Doré Watson

INTERNS

Kate ChianeseElizabeth Kelley

Emily Palmer

Volume 15, Number 1

Front Cover: from Shahid Reads His Own Palm(May 2010), Labyrinths of a Palm

Reader’s Dream,Victor Ehikhamenor

Dear Friends:

I write to you in the midst of our fi rst, gorgeous spring weather, the sun beating through my window and light fl ooding my offi ce; it lasts now into the early evening and wakes us in the morning, seemingly more earnest. And now, there exists a sense of what is more natural, affable, survivable.

I thought to begin this note by giving my sincerest thanks to you, our dear and generous friends and readers. This year has been a fi nancial struggle for all of us, a time of uncertainty, doubt and hardship, but you came together to help AJB overcome. We fell short of our fundraising goal of $25,000 this year, but did pull together to raise $19,000 for the press. I continue to be humbled by your support and readership―thank you. I also look forward to our success in the next appeal year.

With this in mind, I want to share some more delightful news, which is that the press had a record year in book sales. I’m so pleased to announce that, with this added and unanticipated income, we’ve clearly leapt into the black! Now the board will be able to accomplish a long-awaited fi nancial goal: to contribute a portion of this revenue to The Alice Fund. Doing so puts the Fund over the $100,000 mark, which is truly a milestone for the press, a fulfi lling symbol of our growth and vitality as an organization.

Inside this newsletter, you’ll fi nd us up to our old tricks. We have an amazing interview with Ellen Doré Watson, our fi ery, longest-standing editorial board member. Ellen has accomplished much in both her poetry career and through her board membership; she truly is one-of-a-kind. I hope you enjoy her thoughts on board membership, the state of the press, and her current work in poetry, among other things. I am so proud and grateful for her dedication to Alice James. She is a poet, a translator, a pistol, a friend, and AJB thanks her deeply for her years of dedication and service.

Also within these pages, you’ll fi nd exclusive photos shared by Brian Turner as he travels the globe on his Amy Lowell Poetry Travelling Scholarship. His new book, Phantom Noise, kicks off our stellar spring 2010 season with its commanding 7x9 trim, bold presence, and fi erce poetry.

Then, two more fantastic spring authors: our debut poets Daniel Johnson and Reginald Dwayne Betts. You’ll fi nd them present in these pages too. Daniel gives up his undying wit on the back page, laying out his quirk, while Dwayne kills us with a thought-provoking and inspiring Q&A.

I urge you to add these spring books to your bookshelves; they are true stunners inside and out. These AJB poets are strong with forceful styles and voices that sing right into our hearts. I trust you’ll keep them with you, as I have, celebrating each poet as an impactful artist and friend.

Enjoy the pages within, seeking inspiration in the light of this spring we share.

In poetry,Image of Alice JamesMS Am 1094

By permission of the Houghton Library, Harvard University

Brian Turner earned an MFA from the University of Oregon before serving for seven years in the U.S. Army. He was an infantry team leader for a year in Iraq with the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. Prior to that, he was deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1999-2000 with the 10th Mountain Division. His poetry has been published in Poetry Daily, The Georgia Review, and other journals. He received a USA Hillcrest Fellowship in Literature, an NEA Literature Fellowship in Poetry, the Amy Lowell Poetry Travelling Scholarship, the Poets’ Prize, and a Fellowship from the Lannan Foundation. His work has appeared on National Public Radio, the BBC, Newshour with Jim Lehrer, and Weekend America, among others. He teaches at Sierra Nevada College.

Praise for Phantom Noise

“Staring hard through a calibrated sight, this former infantry team leader… reveals the particular music of death and violence and military service, and these poems unfold with his eff ort to fi nd meaning, to be decent, and to be alert to the suff ering all around.”

―ForeWord Reviews

“Turner’s debut, Here, Bullet (2005), was likely the most discussed debut of the decade… It’s a hard act to follow, but Turner manages well…”

―Publishers Weekly

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� ere is this ringing hum thisbullet-borne language ringingshell-fall and static this late-nightringing of threadwork and carpet ringinghiss and steam this wingbeatof rotors and tanks these brokenbodies ringing in steel humming thesevoices of dust these years ringing rifl es in Babylon rifl es in Sumerringing these children their gravestonesand candy their limbs gone missing theirstatic-borne television their ringingthis eardrum this rifl ed symphonic thisringing of midnight in oil and gunpowder thisbrake-pad gone useless this muzzle-fl ash singing thisthreading of bullets in muscle and bone this ringinghum this ringing hum this ringing

pHANTOM nOISE

new books 2

April 2010 Brian Turner

Phantom Noise