Can you tell me a little bit about the Infidel Poetics series?

The Infidel series is focused on craft and also intersectional themes of poetry. I talked to J. Michael [Martinez] a little bit about this recently—he was one of the founding editors of the series for Noemi—he wanted to think about how poetics, race, gender, and politics came together to form craft as well as content. It’s a lot about the conversations we have when we make poetry: not just what ends up on the page but what is behind poetry. We don’t talk enough about our intersections of craft and personal politics. Pretending that’s not part of our community is not going to work anymore. This [series] is a great way to combine these conversations and to reflect personally and politically.

What is the process like as an editor in getting to these works? Do you approach the authors with the concept, or do submissions come to you?

A little bit of both—sometimes authors say, “Hey, we have an idea for the series.” We’ve also reached out to authors before. For the most part, they’re pretty solicited—if we see an author talk about something and we can say, “Hey, we’d love to make that into a book.” It’s something very helpful for writers of varying ages: we really focus on what they’re learning when they’re writing.

Are there any works in the series that really stand out to you?

It’s such a beautiful series. I think every person should read Doug’s book—people who don’t understand visual poetry would learn a lot from it. It also has such a beautiful discussion of race and language that if you haven’t read it you’re missing such an integral part of our literary field.

Are there any authors or ideas you would really like to see in the series in the future?

I’ve poked at Bhanu Kapil. She writes in such a way that I think is so passionate and so ethereal; I really want to get her ideas of writing and spirituality and connectedness on paper. And then Ross Gay; he and I have had several conversations. I would love to have a book from him on sports and poetry. Ada Limón on joy would be amazing—she has so many beautiful things to say about accessing joy and what it means to be a joyful poet.

How can readers connect with and support Noemi Press?

Buying the books, going to readings, sharing the work—we’re on twitter (@Noemi_Press) and insta (@noemipressbooks). Follow our authors: we’re so lucky to have such amazing authors! Support them by coming to readings and sharing their work—that’s the best way to do it.

http://www.noemipress.org/