{"id":404,"date":"2020-07-13T12:11:37","date_gmt":"2020-07-13T17:11:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/engage.augsburg.edu\/howlingbird\/?p=404"},"modified":"2020-07-13T13:08:05","modified_gmt":"2020-07-13T18:08:05","slug":"an-interview-with-marci-vogel-first-hbp-winner-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/engage.augsburg.edu\/howlingbird\/2020\/07\/13\/an-interview-with-marci-vogel-first-hbp-winner-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"An Interview with Marci Vogel, first HBP winner (2015)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Amanda Symes, ’15<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The inaugural winner of Howling Bird Press\u2019s award was Marci Vogel with her book of poetry At the Border of Wilshire & Nobody<\/em>. Since 2015, Vogel\u2019s writing career has continued to bloom. She finished her Creative Writing and Literature Doctorate with the University of Southern California in the poetry and literature track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After graduating, she started serving as a Post- Doctorate Scholar Teachin.g Fellow at USC. It was supposed to be a two-year position, but they have asked her to extend her time into a third year<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHaving the book was an important part of having that job. It\u2019s like you\u2019re teaching artists, teaching poetry writing for the creative writing majors and fiction writing. I wouldn\u2019t have been asked to do that without a book,\u201d said Vogel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She has also been invited for readings and talks at the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers, the University of Strasbourg, Kelly Writers House, the University of Pennsylvania, the School of Beaux- Arts in Tours, France, and the University of Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. She is currently working on a new book-length manuscript engaged with questions of language, displacement, ecosystems, and the redwoods of California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPlanet Earth poetry. Environmental, ecological, ecojustice poetry,\u201d says Vogel. \u201cIt\u2019s my way of giving another resource to climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked what is it about writing that energizes her, Vogel replied, \u201cWriting makes me feel better than not writing! I don\u2019t feel like I\u2019m in my own skin if it\u2019s been too long from writing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether she is writing a syllabus, a course description, or a memo, for Vogel, it\u2019s all writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t have to be a collection or great American novel. It\u2019s writing an email to students. You can have someone feeling really supported because you know your audience. Real-world writing energizes me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vogel believes poetry is for all people. Someone might not be a poet, but a poem can nourish them, sustain them, give them a way to say, \u201cOh, that\u2019s what I\u2019ve been feeling!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vogel likes to write at her own desk, surrounded by things she\u2019s collected over the years. This includes her completely restored 1952 Olympia typewriter, which she purchased with some of the money from her first writing advance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m not working on my own work every day, that\u2019s why I like to acknowledge how much work I put into an email or writing a class or student work. It\u2019s all writing practice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vogel is careful about structuring elements so that all readers, whether consciously or unconsciously, experience a process of development in the work. She says she is \u201ccareful that the little seeds are planted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Marci Vogel<\/strong> is the author of\u00a0Death and Other\u00a0Holidays,<\/em> winner of the inaugural Miami Book Fair\/de Groot Prize,\u00a0and\u00a0At\u00a0the\u00a0Border\u00a0of\u00a0Wilshire\u00a0&\u00a0Nobody, <\/em>winner of the inaugural Howling Bird\u00a0Press\u00a0Poetry Prize. Her poetry, prose, translations, and\u00a0cross-genre inventions appear in\u00a0Jacket2,\u00a0FIELD,\u00a0VIDA,\u00a0Plume,\u00a0Quarter After Eight,\u00a0Poet Lore,\u00a0Colorado\u00a0Review, <\/em>and Seneca\u00a0Review<\/em>, among other publications. She is the recipient of a Willis Barnstone Translation Prize, a Hillary\u00a0Gravendyk Memorial Scholarship from the Squaw Valley Community of Writers, and residencies at North Street Collective in Mendocino County and\u00a0CAMAC\u00a0Art\u00a0Center\u00a0in\u00a0Marnay,\u00a0France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Five Years of Howling Bird Press<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Since its inception five years ago, Howling Bird Press has published five winning manuscripts, all with authors who have gone on to do wonderful things. The press has also been recognized for its work in\u00a0Poets & Writers<\/em><\/a>,\u00a0Kirkus<\/em><\/a>,\u00a0Foreword Reviews<\/em><\/a>, Columbia Journal<\/em><\/a>,\u00a0The Minneapolis Star Tribune<\/em><\/a>,\u00a0The Literary Review<\/em><\/a>, and\u00a0The St. Paul Pioneer Press<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2020 marks the five-year anniversary of\u00a0Howling Bird Press<\/a>, the publishing house of Augsburg University\u2019s\u00a0Master in Fine Arts in Creative Writing<\/a>. Started by former MFA Director and Professor Emerita Cass Dalglish, Howling Bird Press is a student-run publishing program that offers an annual book contest where the winner is awarded a $1,000 cash prize along with book publication and distribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students enrolled in the Publishing Concentration, a two-semester course sequence taught by poet James Cihlar, run the press while studying the publishing profession and the book trade. The students handle all the work of running a press, including acquisitions, editing, graphic design, production, marketing, and fundraising. Howling Bird Press books are distributed by Small Press Distribution and are available online and in bookstores nationwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The annual nationwide contest is open to manuscripts of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction on an alternating basis and is judged by the student editors and senior faculty of the MFA program. Along with the prize and publication, the winning author is invited to read at the MFA program\u2019s summer residency in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year\u2019s title, Self, Divided<\/em> by John Medeiros<\/a>, is the winner of the 2020 Nonfiction Prize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previous winning books are\u00a0Irreversible Things<\/em>, by\u00a0Lisa Van Orman Hadley<\/a>, winner of the 2019 Fiction Prize;\u00a0Simples<\/em>, by\u00a0KateLynn Hibbard<\/a>, winner of the 2018 Poetry Prize;\u00a0Still Life with Horses<\/em>, by\u00a0Jean Harper<\/a>, winner of the 2017 Nonfiction Prize;\u00a0The Topless Widow of Herkimer Street<\/em>, by\u00a0Jacob M. Appel<\/a>, winner of the 2016 Fiction Prize; and\u00a0At the Border of Wilshire & Nobody<\/em>, by\u00a0Marci Vogel<\/a>, winner of the 2015 Poetry Prize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This fall, students will be reading poetry manuscripts in preparation for the 2021 prize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First Howling Bird Press Publishing Editors<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The first three students to sign up for Howling Bird Press\u2019s publishing concentration were not only adding a concentration on to their creative writing master\u2019s program, they were helping develop the program for future publishing students. Amanda Symes, Ashley Cardona, and Kevin Matuseski are photographed with Marci Vogel at her book launch party in 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kevin Matuseski MFA \u201916<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

It was quite lovely to be part of the first Howling Bird Press cohort of editors. The idea was to study everything in bookmaking from the initial manuscript to marketing after publication, so it seemed like a worthwhile endeavor for someone like me who wanted to eventually publish his own book. I even ordered a cake for the book launch! Those are things you don\u2019t really imagine doing when you think of the book business, but there are many little tasks like that in publishing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most grueling aspect was the sheer quantity of reading we did to select a manuscript to publish. I was reading poetry manuscripts almost everyday\u2014from right after work until I went to bed\u2014for about a month. Then we came together as a team, with professors as our guides, to decide on the winning manuscript.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This was the most memorable to me\u2014to have several people in one room with different tastes, values, and backgrounds\u2014and to try to agree on the best manuscript. It was no easy task, but I think all of us were proud of our choice, Marci Vogel\u2019s At The Border of Wilshire & Nobody<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her book is now one of my most cherished possessions. Yes, it\u2019s beautiful work, but it became even more valuable when we sat down as an editing cohort to read through it line by line. I think voracious readers often don\u2019t slow down to do this, but it\u2019s a rewarding process, especially with a text as beautiful and layered as Marci\u2019s. You become more present with the text, you notice things, and you guess (sometimes incorrectly) at the intention of the author. It\u2019s critical reading to the extreme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our appreciation for Marci\u2019s work was compounded when we met the person behind the manuscript\u2014a kind, humble, and wise person with a true passion for language. She even recommended a few books that I ordered for my daughter. It\u2019s nice to have made a connection with someone so genuine. I see now that she has another book out,\u00a0Death and Other Holidays<\/em>. My copy has been ordered. I can\u2019t wait to read it! It\u2019s gratifying to see her continued success having been part of her first book release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashley Cardona MFA \u201915<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Being part of the team responsible for creating and running Howling Bird Press is one of those experiences that I\u2019m grateful for in ways that I\u2019m only now fully realizing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I learned what it takes to make a book happen. Proofing, layout, printing, cutting, binding\u2014it was a fascinating process. And then, seeing Marci\u2019s work finally transform from a PDF into a beautiful, tangible piece of art gave us all such a feeling of accomplishment and pride. To be able to bring her poetry to the page was a gift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Promoting and celebrating the book came naturally for us. We were excited about sharing her work and ours with the world. Designing a promotional broadside felt like the right way to showcase the beauty of language and image that runs throughout Marci\u2019s poetry. The bird of paradise image (below) plays with the language of the poem and serves as a reminder of place for much of her book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We felt like we knew Marci before we ever met, and when we finally did meet for the book launch, we were met with warmth and grace\u2014she is truly a delightful person and artist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Amanda Symes MFA \u201915<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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It was exciting to join the inaugural Howling Bird Press group. We not only got the chance to learn about publishing, we had the opportunity to help design the program. Our first assignment was to come up with the publishing house\u2019s name. That was an exciting task that many other MFA students participated in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To say we got a crash course in publishing is a bit of an understatement. The three of us in that first cohort had full-time jobs, families, were in different tracks in the MFA program (Nonfiction, Poetry, and Fiction), and were embarking on publishing the first Howling Bird Press book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We were doing more than just a publishing job, though. And we were doing a few years\u2019 worth of publishing work in two short semesters. We read over ninety poetry manuscripts, had back-and-forth meetings to whittle the list down to ten finalists, worked with professors in an all-day discussion to pick the winning manuscript, drafted a contract for winner Marci Vogel, edited her manuscript, designed an entire book\u2014cover, layout, text\u2014to print, finalized details with a book printing company, developed a marketing plan, implemented that marketing plan, and organized a book launch party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, this process was terrifying and also one of the most rewarding experiences of my writing life. I didn\u2019t have a background in poetry or in publishing, so everything was new. And while it was daunting, I was reassured working with Ashley, Kevin, and Marci, all who are phenomenal writers. We found a way to work together, and work with the professors, to publish what has turned into one of my favorite books: At the Border of Wilshire & Nobody<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, I learned more than I could have dreamed about the publishing process. It\u2019s helped shape my writing and prepared me for what to expect when my manuscript is finished. It\u2019s also been deeply rewarding to see the great things Marci has done with\u00a0At the Border of Wilshire & Nobody<\/em>, and her continued success since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Howling Bird Press \u2013 Five Years of Accomplishments<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Howling Bird Press authors have accomplished so much in the short time since winning the annual publication award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n