EMPTY BOWL
Empty Bowl, an independent press founded in 1976 in the Pacific Northwest as a cooperative letterpress publisher, publishes literary anthologies, poetry, translations, essays, and occasionally fiction.
The Diamond Other
By John Brandi
Preorder now. Available November 10
Cascadia Works
Tend, Gather, Harvest, Restore
Edited by Tele Aadsen and Jessica Gigot
Cascadia Works: Tend, Gather, Harvest, Restore includes poetry and prose by more than 120 contributors who work the land and sea of the Cascadia bioregion. Edited by Tele Aadsen and Jessica Gigot, a Southeast Alaska salmon troller and a Skagit Valley farmer, respectively, it features a diverse range of voices, from orchard workers, farmers, commercial shers, and eld biologists to kelp harvesters, herring protectors, and watershed restorationists. Together, this collection creates a moving, powerful portrait of those with deep connections to the land and sea that sustain us and calls for reciprocity and wisdom in how we care for and steward Cascadia.
“This various, marvelous collection is special because these writers have done the labor of land and sea—they have farmed, fished, hunted, gardened, tended, gathered, and more—and they are also able to put that into words in unforgettable ways. From callused hands and sore backs, these poems and essays come glittering like light on sea water, like mica specking turned earth, as they reveal the extraordinary bond with place that is formed when humans do the physical work of the world.”
—Derek Sheffield, Washington State Poet Laureate, poetry editor of Terrain.org, and coauthor of Cascadia Field Guide: Art, Ecology, Poetry
Tending the Flock
Sally Green
Mountains have fascinated New Mexico poet and artist John Brandi since his early childhood trips to the Sierra Nevada, when his parents gave him a sketchpad and encouraged him to draw and write about what moved him. Decades later, we’re happy to publish The Diamond Other: Mountain Poems / New & Selected, featuring poems that revisit mountains past and present, local and afar. Complemented with color plates of Brandi’s paintings, these luminous poems move through inner and outer landscapes from the Southwest desert to the Olympics, the Greek islands to the Himalayas. Whether acknowledged for their rugged terrain, spiritual rigors, or silent wonder, each mountainscape in The Diamond Other becomes extraordinary in Brandi’s hands, as his poems journey across earth, time, and distance. If, as Zen Master Dogen said, “mountains are apart from the human world,” these poems invite us in, to walk as mountains walk.
“John Brandi's work has always been one of the most transcendent gifts of artistry and great spirit anyone could ever find.” —Naomi Shihab Nye
For half a century Sally Green has been the caretaker of words belonging to other poets, designing and printing books and broadsides as copublisher of the award-winning Brooding Heron Press. During all those years she was also developing her own poetic voice forged from a daily immersion in meaningful work, family, community, and place. In Tending the Flock, the remarkable attention to detail that brought her praise as a letterpress printer is also present in her poems, which former Ireland Professor of Poetry Paula Meehan has called “poems of grace and wisdom,” words treated as though they matter. Whether describing daily life on Waldron Island or adopting the commonsense voice of Aunt Mabel, this is a poet of humility and compassion whose unique way of encountering the world enriches us all.
“With a deeply engaging and sure-hearted touch that completely lives up to expectations, Sally Green’s poems define, span, and capture the enduring essence of life in rural Washington from every conceivable angle. Her intense connection to generations of characters, including the uniquely compelling Aunt Mabel, as well as to the natural world, gives Tending the Flock an indelible presence that brings every detail of spirit, gravity, humor, and devotion to life.” —Barry Sternlieb, author of Sole Impressions
Hear About Empty Bowl's Early Days
As part of our celebration of Empty Bowl's fiftieth anniversary, we're delighted to feature a series of interviews conducted by Richard Meadows. Richard interviewed Empty Bowl founder Michael Daley as well as writers who had important roles in the press's early years, including Tim McNulty, Finn Wilcox, Red Pine, Bill Ransom, and Andrew Schelling. Click here to see the list of interviews and also links to videos of the writers reading from their work.
Of Note
Expedition Press, a poetry-focused letterpress shop in Seattle, is running its second annual broadside contest Oct 1-31. You can submit one poem for consideration to be published as an original letterpress broadside. Winner will receive a $100 cash prize, 20 copies of the broadside, and a feature in Expedition’s newsletter and blog. Entry fee is $15. Learn more and submit here.
Read a selected chapter, “Risking it All at Ugashik,” from Kurt Hoelting’s book Apprentice to the Wild in the latest edition of Adventures Northwest Magazine! Copies are available to be ordered physically, or viewed online at this link.
More from Empty Bowl
