Support Your Local Poet

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In the 1970s, poet and editor Paul Feroe was employed by a small press distributer called Bookslinger, which was located in St. Paul, MN. While donning this button in a 1979 interview, Feroe explained the importance of supporting local poets, noting that large, commercial publishers only publish books that will sell at least 4,000 copies. Because of this, 86% of poetry was published by small presses in the 1970s. The small presses, Feroe explained, were more concerned with getting poems printed and out into the world than making money. Because of this, there was no money for advertising and marketing. Feroe made it his mission to get poetry out of academic settings and into the community by setting up displays, and organizing poetry readings in libraries. In a 2022 article, a small, independent publisher stated that large publishers still do not invest much on poetry and that most poetry is self-published.