A native of San Francisco and long-time resident of Spain, Francisco Aragón is the author of, Puerta del Sol (Bilingual Press) and editor of the anthology, The Wind Shifts: New Latino Poetry (University of Arizona Press). His work has appeared in a range of anthologies, including, Inventions of Farewell: A Book of Elegies (W.W. Norton & Company), American Diaspora: Poetry of Displacement (University of Iowa Press) and, more recently, Evensong: Contemporary American Poets on Spirituality (Bottom Dog Press) and, Deep Travel: Contemporary American Poets Abroad (Ninebark Press). His poems and translations (from the Spanish) have appeared in various print and web publications, including, He directs Letras Latinas, the literary program of the Institute for Latino Studies at the University of Notre Dame, where he oversees Momotombo Press, Latino Poetry Review, and PALABRA PURA, a monthly reading series in Chicago with the Guild Complex, among other initiatives. He is also the editor of Canto Cosas, a forthcoming book series from Bilingual Press featuring new Latino and Latina poets. For more information, visit his web site.
Interview
What projects are you currently on? (Include issue #s, books, chapbooks, broadsides, special projects, print and web).
I’ll mention two: I’m currently on the homestretch of publishing a Momotombo Press title I hope to have out by September. It’s a slim volume of prose poems by San Francisco-based poet Scott Inguito called Dear Jack. Here’s what D.A. Powell has to say about it:
"Borrowing his inciting action from Jack Spicer's own audacious correspondence with the ghost of Lorca, Scott Inguito turns what could easily be a one-note project (in many senses, really) into a chamber piece, a suite of elegant and lyric epistles. Inguito mines a rich timbre imbued with loss—'for what voice is so insinuating as that of the unhappiest' —as well as the familiar conversational tones of a garden party attendee. Shifting effortlessly between these voices, he creates a pure poetry, muscular and playful, full of reversals that never cease to disarm and charm. Spicer should be rolling over in his
grave. In a good way."
The second project I’ll mention is issue #2 of Latino Poetry Review, the online journal that publishes prose on poetry. It will be designated, “Fall 2008.” Among the reviews slated for publication is a piece on Gabriel Gomez’s awarded-winning collection, The Outer Bands, (University of Notre Dame Press), and reviews on A Weakness for Boleros (Mayapple Press) by Lidia Torres, and This Side of Skin (Wings Press) by Deborah Parédez.
What has been your biggest challenge as a poetry publisher/editor?
Getting the titles into the hands of readers. On the one hand, I give a certain number of them away and I count on the authors themselves to distribute their copies as they see fit. On the other hand, I continue to try to get titles adopted in various types of classrooms. For example, I just met a poet based in San Diego named Irene Castruita and she mentioned to me that she teaches poetry workshops in a youth detention center. We’re going to look into ways of getting Momotombo Press titles into her workshops in a way that will benefit all parties involved. I’m very grateful to Irasema González, who owns and runs Tianguis Books in Pilsen in Chicago and is Momotombo Press’ exclusive book seller.
Do you regret any paths you have followed as a publisher/editor?
One recent experience as the founding and managing editor of Latino Poetry Review did give me pause. I decided, with proper permissions secured, to re-publish online (after it was printed in Parnassus as hard copy) a long piece on Latino poetry by a critic named Eric Murphy Selinger. I expected it to spur a certain amount of polemical debate. For the most part, the discussion that it generated was reasoned and lively. In my view, Selinger was a good sport about the criticism leveled at him. While I don’t regret publishing the piece, if I had to do it over again, I would have sent the piece to LPR’s contributing editors to get their thoughts before making a final decision. In the conversations I had with a wide range of individuals after the fact, the feedback I got was overwhelmingly supportive. Among the people who expressed displeasure with certain parts of Selinger’s piece, only one seemed to suggest it was a mistake to publish the piece at all. In my mind, suppressing the piece—censorship, in my view—wasn’t an option, but even so, I could have consulted with LPR’s contributing editors, who are people whose opinions I value. In other words, it might have been a case where I might have missed something, and so should have covered all my bases and sought counsel—like what happens at newspapers. In the end, I learned something and will act accordingly if presented with a similar situation in the future.
Name one poet who has not appeared in your publication which you would love to have included and why.
I lament that one poet, Eduardo C. Corral, withdrew a chapbook manuscript slated for publications for reasons beyond my control. Having said that, he went on to win a Discovery/The Nation Prize which he couldn’t have done had his chapbook been published—so things worked out for him. Those of us who have been following Eduardo’s work for years are eagerly awaiting his first book.
Who is the designer of your web site and how much input do you have in the design of the web site and the other design elements including covers for books, etc.?
I’ll stick with book design. With the exception of the most recent title and the forthcoming one by Scott Inguito, Momotombo Press titles have been designed by Charles Valle. For the most part, I leave design options up to him but do feedback, though I try not to intervene too much. I try to balance things in such a way so that the author is happy, and I feel good about things. Momotombo Press’ current designer is based in Chicago and his name is Christopher M. Schackmann, someone recommended to me by Aaron Michael Morales—author of our most recent title. So far so good.
What recognitions have you received as a publisher/editor?
Where Momotombo Press is concerned, I haven’t received any official recognition in terms of awards. But I will say this: if it weren’t for Brenda Cárdenas’ From the Tongues of Brick and Stone (Momotombo Press), which fell into the hands of board member at the Guild Complex in Chicago, I wouldn’t have gotten the opportunity to join the team that created PALABRA PURA, the monthly reading series I curate. So I could say that Momotombo Press was directly responsible for my entering into contact with the Guild Complex, and the intangible rewards this yielded are various.
What are some of your other interests?
When I moved to South Bend, IN and became affiliated with Notre Dame, I recuperated my childhood condition as sports fan and got back into college football and basketball. Since moving to Washington, DC a year ago, I’ve recuperated a more active and engaged interest in national politics.
What is your favorite poem as of today and why?
Since the release last year of my edited anthology, The Wind Shifts: New Latino Poetry (University of Arizona Press), the poem I continue to share most with audiences is “The Fire” by Austin-based poet Deborah Parédez. The dramatic elements of the poem are pulled off so successfully, and the twist at the end is stunning. I’ve never met Deborah, but look forward to finally meeting her in Seattle in September at Richard Hugo House, where we’ll be having our third anthology reading.
Recommend a poetry book, blog or web site to our audience (not from one of your press) and why.
Very recently the Cuban-American poet, Rita Maria Martinez, sent me her chapbook, Jane-in-the-Box, published by March Street Press. I had met Rita in Palm Beach, FL last February at the first The Wind Shifts reading and she mentioned she had a chapbook coming out. I asked her to send it, she did and I took it to Canada with me on holiday and just loved it. It’s a delicious read. I’m going to assign it for review, and intend to buy copies to give away as gifts.
What is the most exciting aspect of being a poetry publisher/editor?
One of the most exciting things is that moment I get to hold the physical object of the chapbook in my hand. But beyond that initial pleasure of holding the book, a deeper pleasure is the knowledge of having had a hand, however modest, of helping get some poetry out into the world for other readers to enjoy. But also, and perhaps more important, is this: helping out another writer is a way of manifesting my gratitude for the help I received when I was starting out.
Leave us with a recipe for poetry.
One cup of absolute love of language.
One cup of voracious and various reading.
One cups of patience.
Two cups of humility
