Inkonoclast

An editorial board is being assembled to select a few manuscripts for publication.

We will be publishing play scripts as books (for readers, not actors).

Occasional and limited editions (most printed on acid-neutral papers), including single poem broadsides, booklets, chapbooks, and book art (altered art). Some will be desk-top published, and others printed by offset or letterpress, or assembled as altered art. The first three titles, each a single poem, have been published in editions of 50 side-stapled booklets on deckle-edged Brockway paper.

Inkonoclast is primarily interested in formal poetry revealing good craftsmanship, respect for classic figurative and rhetorical devices, and attention to language. Inkonoclast wants poetry worth rereading, revealing a keen and nuanced sensibility, conveying experiences and ideas worthy of a reader's attentiveness. We are open to neglected and orphaned forms, including epigrams and prose poems, and English-language originals adapting other languages' forms and poetics (e.g. Chinese lushi, the Arabic ghazal, Vietnamese luc-bat). We have no interest in mechanical workshop exercises, or poetry that is didactic, simplistic, sentimental, or trite. We also enjoy good free verse.

Selecting the best features of various forms of book publication, Inkonoclast uniquely offers the prestige of a rigorous editorial selection process, the advice and production services of traditional trade publishing, and the entrepreneurial benefits of self-publishing. We do not distribute or market books: only a poet can sell a poetry book, and we will show you how.

Inkonoclast is working to build a respected brand name and signature book format. While mass market publishers seek unique cover designs to cut through bookstore clutter and drive impulse purchases, Inkonoclast will follow the historical example of New Directions, Godine, Faber & Faber, and other publishers who established instantly recognizable covers.