Today, a package arrived on our front porch, a bit early. I had been expecting it next week. It contained copies of my newest collection, the cover an image I took one dawn on the same porch.

Never heard of Green Ginkgo Press? Neither has anybody else, except for those living under our roof (the press’s, ahem, “galactic headquarters.”)

The poems in Larks at Sunrise: Light-hearted Poems for Dark Times have been written over many years, here and there. A few have found their way into journals, but not so many. Partly that is because I tend not to send them out, and partly, I think, because they just don’t fit the aesthetic of many journals. Similarly, only a couple here have seemed to make sense in the book collections I have put together. And yet, when I have shared them over the years privately, others have enjoyed them, even (perhaps especially) those of my acquaintance for whom poetry does not occupy a central place on their own reading and writing radar.

Late last year, during this seemingly interminable time of isolation and pandemic, I got the idea to create a chapbook of humorous poems–light-hearted poems–that might appeal not only to my core of friends but to some people they know who need a chuckle. And so this mss. was born. First, I rounded up likely poems, did my best to order them, and asked a small group of beta readers to look hard at what I had with a goal of culling the ones that didn’t quite work. (Enormous thanks, here, to Tim, Julia, Karla, Beth, and Liz!)

Having a strong feeling that it would not be quite right for her, I then shared the manuscript with my established publisher. My intuition confirmed, I thought briefly about other avenues, including chapbook competitions. This little collection though didn’t seem like a good candidate for such contests; it is not trendy or edgy enough to appeal to the guest judges, I reasoned. Further, I simply did not want to delay its publication. Having published my first chapbook, Living Room, in 1981, and then spending decades writing the poems and shaping manuscript after manuscript before publishing my first full-length collection, Still Life with Poppies: Elegies, in 2016, I knew how long the process can take. Moreover, I have this oddest and strong conviction that it needs to be in the world, and now, not in three or four years–or three or four decades–or posthumously–or never!

So, I took the not-unexpected rejection in stride, decided to be calm and chose to create a little press of my own: Green Ginkgo Press. It helped that I have had a small amount of experience with this. In 2000, a friend and I created a press to publish materials on labyrinths. (I have done some posts on this on my blog. Her name is Marilyn Larson. She is a visual artist with a specialty in labyrinths. Our second title is still in print!)

And, maybe eight years ago, as a homeschooling mom of a classical Greek-loving daughter, we had a family adventure with a book Julia felt needed to be in the world–a coloring book called Alpha Beta to help young children learn the Greek letters. Julia had wanted to study Classical Greek since falling in love with D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths as a pre-schooler. When she was in middle school, an understanding classics professor helped us find college student classics majors to serve as tutors. Julia was convinced that Latin was more popular (!) with young students because of the wealth of available materials, and that the different alphabet was the stumbling block. I couldn’t fault her analysis, but I did get a bit weary of hearing “They should have a coloring book for young kids.” I am sure you can imagine the back and forth–“Who is this ‘they’ of whom you speak? Well, if it is such a good idea, why don’t you create this book?” 

So, knowing it could be done, and, after considering the options, I decided to use the printing company, Blurb, which had good reviews and reasonable prices. The software they offer, Bookwright, was a bit futzy to work with. At least for me, the learning curve was steeper than I was expecting. Thank goodness Tim has more confidence than I do. Fulfillment also took weeks longer than I expected, to receive the paper proof copy, due, in part, I understand, to the icy storms in Texas where the printing was done. On the other hand, the copies I ordered arrived in just a few days.

While the layout is still a tad seamy, I love the final result. I am glad to give these scattered and ephemeral poems a place to roost together, and thrilled that my sister, Karla, allowed me to use her images of larks on the back cover. Here is a peek inside:

You might recognize some of these, as a couple have been included in other collections, and some have been published on Winona Media because they were composed for the National Poetry Writing Month challenge in recent years. If you would like a copy of Larks at Sunrise: Light-hearted Poems for Dark Times, let me know (winonapoet@gmail.com) I will send you a copy ($20.00 which includes shipping).

Wishing you fair skies and wind in your sails, wherever your day takes you!

LESLIE