Local poetry press creating space for indie, alternative and local writers

Dalton (pictured) said they want to make a space to highlight local talents and allow writers to have fun and embrace writing that may not be typically found at other poetry readings. (Lauryn Mackenzie/CHLY 101.7fm)

Getting published can be a dream come true for many writers and poets. So after years of working in the poetry scene, two Nanaimo locals are starting a press to make that dream more accessible.

Dalton and Jesslyn Derkson have been working in the writing and poetry world for over 15 years. Having first met at Carleton University in Ottawa, where they both worked for In/Words Magazine, a publication of the university’s department of english. After university, the two then continued their writing journey as poets, touring around North America and having their works published in various publications.

It was when the two moved to Nanaimo a couple of years ago that they were inspired by the city’s arts and music scene, that they knew this space would be a great home for fulfilling their dream of starting their own press.

Dalton came down to the CHLY studio to talk about their new poetry press and distro, A Square House.

As someone who has worked in the publishing industry in Canada, Dalton said A Square House was created to expose the fact that traditional publishing in Canada is like an exclusive club that is hard to get into.

“As somebody who has gone through the MFA program and has tried to publish, traditionally, it's a long haul,” Dalton said. “It's all about who you know a lot of the time, and a lot of time, you get in there, and there's nobody else to keep you in there.”

As Dalton and Jesslyn don’t believe art should be an exclusive club, they wanted to create a space where poets can have fun and experiment with their writing while also being given the space to share their work.

With a focus on poetry and zines, A Square House will work as a publishing press for indie writers, working on creating chapbooks of the author's work.

“So we're doing chapbooks right now, which is a very ‘poetry term.’ It's just basically these little books–they're essentially zines,” he said. “A lot of the time, it's copy paper with maybe a cardstock cover or just a copy paper cover as well. Small, I mean, we're talking like 20 pages tops.”

As well, through their distribution service, the two have started gathering zines and chapbooks already created by Canadian writers and will sell the collections in Nanaimo to reach wider audiences.

A portion of all sales is donated to Literacy Central Vancouver Island, which provides accessible literacy programs in Nanaimo.

“Actually, a really good example of it would be Noise, Agony, Mayhem here in Nanaimo, where they pick up records from shows, and then they bring them back to their shop and they sell them,” he said. “It's that kind of thing, basically just being a middleman, getting some of the poetry, getting some of the art, and then selling it to people on the street.”

Right now, Dalton said they work mainly with Ontario poets such as Jessica Bebenek and Bardia Sinaee, but are hoping to expand the number of authors they work with. 

Dalton said they have gotten great feedback from people in the community since they started this past fall.

“We've actually had a lot of support from Neil Surkan, the poet laureate, here in Nanaimo. We go to his events all the time, every time he's hosting his Harbour Reading Series,” he said. “We get out there and talk to people, and it's been nice to see that there is actually a solid poetry community here, and probably people who are more curious, but not going to city-sanctioned events, necessarily. So we're hoping to get some of those people from the fringe out as well.”

Along with publishing and selling work, A Square House will host events in the Nanaimo area. Dalton said they want to make a space to highlight local talents and allow writers to have fun and embrace writing that may not be typically found at other poetry readings.

“I feel like poetry can really be anything. It doesn't have to be sort of a snooty, uptight sort of thing that you know, rhymes and stuff like that,” he said. “It's just writing. It's just sharing your thoughts, your views in the world, and your opinion. So we're hoping to open it up to see what Nanaimo has got.”

This Friday, January 16, A Square House will be celebrating the start of their press with the kick-off of their new reading series, Grub Street. 

This Friday’s event will take place at the Vault Cafe from 6:00-8:00 p.m., featuring local writers Elke Sorensen and Taylor Fleming, as well as an open mic. Tickets are $5 at the door, or pay what you can.

“We're new to the scene for poetry [in Nanaimo], so we're really excited to see what Nanaimo has, and we're hoping that we can be a sort of a bastion for people to come out and share their work and grow as artists,” he said.

Dalton said available zines and chapbooks will be sold at their events, but they hope to expand sales to other events and markets in the future. 

Editor’s note: Dalton Derkson is a volunteer with CHLY 101.7FM, hosting Into the Void.

Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.