Hello Harriet readers! Just a quick alumni news flash. In this time of dying bookstores, here’s a bright spot: a poetry bookshop in Beacon, NY called Hermitage. It opened in December, “focusing primarily on small press publishing in American poetry between the 1950’s to 1970’s.” If you’re looking for The Green Lake Is Awake or The Hotel Wentley Poems or a full run of Locus Solus, you will want to come here. It is only one room, adjacent to an art gallery whose current exhibition features typographical visual art. The proprietors, Jon Beacham and Christian Toscano, have a letterpress upstairs and ambitions for publications, readings, and more art. In their statement, found on their website, they explain, “Hermitage resulted from the frustration of the current model of how much of art and culture is presented by galleries, institutions, and other organizations.” In the wake of various discussions on Harriet past and present—discussions touching on AWP and the marketing of poetry—it is worth pointing out that an older, DIY model of distribution still exists. It requires only passionate conviction and community. Oh, and low rent!
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