fanmail
by Colie
This is Nick from Racine.
He works in a library.
His library ordered the entire Fence catalog.
He’s nice. His library is nice. Our books are on the shelves of his library,
in Racine, which is on the shores of a big lake, in Wisconsin,
near towns like Pleasant Prarie, Sturtevant, Mukwanago, Zion.
The states (Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin) divide
in the middle of the water. Someday perhaps Fence
can visit Nick in this seemingly beautiful place. Until then,
thanks be for the Nicks.
February 26th, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Oh my nasty god!
You guys at Fence are too cool for school! The cat’s knees! The bees pajamas!
This is very sweet treatment, homiefolks. Thanks so much. But really, I just initiated this. Not only was it the whole Racine Public Library who made it possible in supporting it and agreeing to it, but the whole Racine writing community contributed to this great addition to our lit collection; all the funds used for this purchase were raised by local writers in a “write-a-thon” that I started last summer and hope to make annual. And, of course, without everybody at Fence being extra helpful and proactive, none of this could have gone through. So hooray for a community at large getting together in many ways to better itself.
I’m so glad to be a part of this acquisition. Ultimately, though, I hope Fence is just the pioneer in what turns out to be a pattern at the Racine Public Library. If we can manage to get some sort of grants or funding from the NEA or Poetry Foundtation or anything to continue getting the collections of small, independent poetry publishers, I would love to help the Racine Public Library become one of the only public resources–at least in our area–that provides access to genuinely challenging, intellectual material coming out today.
If anyone reads this and either 1) has suggestions for resources to pursue such funding or 2) is involved with a press that would like to be involved in making your volumes accessible to SE Wisconsin and beyond, contact me at nick.demske@racinelibrary.info.
Fencers, it was so great finally meeting all of you at AWP and I’m so glad to have made a relationship between the RPL and such an outstanding press. Can’t wait until the Best of Fence Anthology comes out.
Thanks again.
Keep it gangster,
Nicki-poo