The approach to the Third CLOUDBURST COUNCIL is well
underway. The Journey, Pilgrimage, Passage has begun and the remaining questions about
arrivals and wayward wanderings are
tales to be first experienced and then told. Each Pilgrim’s flag will make its
way up the driveway hill and will be placed
in a gathering of colors and symbols, collective memory
on a common breeze.
Now, let me get this metaphor out of the way before I
trip over it. I have been involved in small press publishing for many years and
as part of that, what I am doing now with that experience is advising new people
who want to start a print publication. One of the things I tell them is that
most new publications die after the third issue. The fourth issue is the most difficult one to
produce. If you can get past that fourth time out, chances are you will be
set-up for a nice long run (guess that means you’ll be hearing from this
metaphor next year as well! I am already getting my back up thinking… “There
will be a Fourth CLOUDBURST!”)
So my metaphor for
this year’s CLOUDBURST COUNCIL is it is
like the third issue of a small press magazine. The First Issue is a burst of
pent up energy and ideas. Stuff that has been collecting for awhile and people who grasp the partly formulated vision pushing
this urge to get the work out there.Any thoughts of the future are wildly optimistic and
resources have been gathered for awhile so there is no thought of them running
out. The Second Issue rides the energy of the First. Not everything saved up for
it was used in the First Issue so that must be used in the Second and the
beginning of recognition and feedback can start to be incorporated. Many of
those in the First are also found in the Second and there are some new people.
At this place probably the new people seen as fitting in with the original
vision. Resources are still available and there are some cost improvements
just because of knowing what is involved and how better to share the work.
The Third Issue is both a transition and a continuation.
This was helpful to me for increasing my understanding of the process of
organizing this year’s CLOUDBURST COUNCIL. At the Third Issue
the original birth energy has been largely used up. What propels
the work at this point is self-referential, the beginning of a life of its own.
Not all the original people and pieces are still in place. Along with a sense
of lost, there is interest and there must be growth (in the form of new people
and people enthusiastic as participants). How strong the Third Issue is tells a
lot of the future of the publication.
Coming back out of my metaphor, the upcoming Third
CLOUDBURST COUNCIL is one that will bring together a grand collection of
poets. The opportunity of getting
together for a third year is the chance to meet with friends, share our work
and celebrate. I look forward to
discussing with poets the tides and times of the past year as well as having
fun and learning a lot.
--Alan Casline
No comments:
Post a Comment