A writer and visual artist, Kristy Bowen is the author of several book, chapbook and zine projects, including major characters in minor films (Sundress Publications, 2015), the shared properties of water and stars (Noctuary Press, 2013), and girl show (Black Lawrence Press, 2014). Her work has appeared most recently in Dressing Room Poetry Journal, birdfeast, and Projectile. She lives in Chicago, where she runs dancing girl press & studio and spends much of her time writing, making papery things, and curating a chapbook series devoted to women authors. Her most recent full-length collection, salvage, was published by Black Lawrence Press in 2016.
Kristina Marie Darling: How did you come to editing as a career path?
Kristy Bowen: I suppose I move about mostly in the world as a writer and artist, so the editing / publishing is just something that stems from that as a way to engage & participate in the world of books. I have a day job in a library, so to even think of editing/publishing as a career is kind of odd, since there doesn’t seem to be much money in the endeavor (if anything, I’ve probably spent more than I’ve made over the years.) This seems to be the story of most indie publishing outfits I know, and actually pretty much writers in general. If by career, we mean endeavor, I think I’ve always like the ability to curate things–be they chap series, lit mag content, readings, or art exhibits. To be able to put my hand out and say these things I’ve collected are worthy of perusal. In the early 2000’s I was intrigued by the number of online venues for good writing that were starting up,and sought to add my own curatorial sense to what was happening. I started wicked alice, and online journal, and dancing girl press sort of spun out of that. I feel like the mediums were different (individual pieces vs chaps, electronic vs print), but the work we publish and the impulse behind them are pretty much the same.
KMD: What does literary citizenship mean to you and how does it shape your editorial decisions, approach to book publicity, and engagement with the larger community?
KB: My first desires when I started dancing girl press were to put out in the world the sort of work I wanted to read. Also, to increase the frequency of women’s voices and publishing opportunities. I think there are all sorts of benefits to doing editing work, even unpaid, as a writer yourself. On one hand, you are giving back, contributing to the very same community that supports you. So many of the presses and journals that publish us are similar labors of love for other writers. It’s also given me amazing context of what exactly is out there in the world and what I’m up against when I submit a mss. or a poem (it makes the rejections more bearable..lol)
It also helps you form community—form connections with other writers and readers—and these are invaluable. I also believe that every writer can help create the literary world you want to be a part of, so when there seems to be a lack of diversity or fairness in publishing, you should work toward fixing it. It doesn’t always have to be starting a press or journal, but could even be as simple as writing reviews, featuring books on social media and blogs, increasing conversation around the things you want to support. Being open and accessible is important as well, free as much as possible from reading fees or other impediments.
I’ve been hosting some panel discussions at the library, mostly related to visual art career strategies, and the universal theme that seems to come up in each of them is to not be an a**hole— how important relationships are in any kind of art. I feel like this is especially true with writing It probably translates into how presses choose the writers they’d like to work with, how you market your books, or even your own work, without being a total nightmare. It’s also important when it comes to who you choose to put out there. There’ve been some recent discussions of plagiarsm and creeper behavior on social media channels that lead to many editors making the decision to pull content and their support for the perpetrators. There is discussion of other poor choices from prominent publications on objectionable content. You always have to be thinking how what you put out there reflects on you as an editor/publisher, not just questions of style & aesthetic.
KMD: Please share one story about your press, your authors, or the books you’ve published that demonstrates this.
KB: When I was reading for our 2016 reading period, I had accepted a book from Kat Meads called FIRST LADIES. It was set to be published in January of 2017, and I scheduled it as such largely because I seriously thought for sure we’d be celebrating the inauguration of former first lady Hilary Clinton that January. It was a moment that seemed completely serendipitous and awesome. Of course, when things awry, the chap felt like a memorial to the idea that a strong woman could ever lead the country and be more than a first lady. It was kind of depressing. I thought about bumping it back a little in the schedule, but then I realized it was important to get it out there. Because certainly, if we are making the literary world with every book we publish as editors, perhaps we can also have some impact on general culture with every title we put out there. Or at least I like to think so. I have to think so.
KMD: In what ways has your definition of and commitment to literary citizenship changed in the past few years? What sparked these changes?
KB: I think because the world in general has gone so off its rocker, perhaps our purpose becomes even more crucial. Admittedly, my goals in starting the press in 2004 seemed important at the time because I wanted to offer greater opportunities to women authors and voices. It’s become so much more intense a need over the years—as society—via government, via entertainment, via conservative media—seeks to silence & erase those very voices. It was always a great idea—to see the literary world reflect a greater swathe culturally, but NOW, it’s absolutely necessary to fight the good fight however you can. So we fight with books about the environment, books from POC, books from sexual assault survivors. Books from silenced voices, angry voices, voices that get swept under the rug by the dominant culture. We also make a commitment to offer as few impediments as possible to that work getting attention—low or non-existent reading fees, for example, or keeping prices low so the books are accessible to readers—reasonable discounts to educators, bookstores, and libraries.
KMD: Tell us about one forthcoming title from your press that you think will change the world for the better.
KB: A couple weeks ago we released Amy Newman’s HOWL, a take off of Allen Ginsburg’s famous text of course, but with a female spin. The Beats have always seemed very much like a boys only club—there were women, and some of them were recognized for their own work later on (Diane di Prima chief among them), but it seems like so many more were not. They raised their children and did their laundry, but very little afforded them their own voices. Modern scholarship and books like Brenda Knight’s Women of the Beat Generation have done wonders in uncovering the work of the women who wrote alongside the men, but in the 50’s and 60’s it was a different story. I love the juxtaposition of Newman’s book with it’s bright pink nearly identical cover to a very-male oriented text. Change the world—maybe not—but rewrite it a little—perhaps…