A while back I had an idea for a chapbook, and I’m happy to announce that, after many years of doubt and procrastination; concept production failures; poem tinkering, reworking, and reimagining; and many a tussle over themes, my newest chapbook is being shipped off to a few publishers in the hopes someone believes in it half as much as I do (which is, in all earnestness, a heck of a lot).
Since it is up for grabs, I don’t want to give too much away about it. But a few details I (think I) can safely divulge:
– Its title can be read two different ways.
– The book is meant to be read each side to the center. (Which side you start on does not matter.)
– Each side collects poems on a theme reflecting one way the title can be read.
– This is the only time the poem used to start both halves will appear dissected (trisected?) and is the centerpiece of the collection . . . despite it being an actual bookend.
– The cover art, inspired by one of my favorite Franz Kafka stories, In the Penal Colony (“In der Strafkolonie”), loosely applies to both themes and, though nearly identical, subtly (at least I’d like to think it’s subtle) clues the reader into which theme each half focuses on.
– It’ll be roughly thirty pages.
– I don’t know how much it’ll cost, but I promise it’ll be worth it.
Affairs of Ink 