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Testimonials from CavanKerry Writers, Board Members CavanKerry Board "I want to take the opportunity, as a board member of CavanKerry Press, to state what a pleasure, honor, and privilege it is to serve in this capacity. CavanKerry Press, although relatively young, has made enormous strides in the few years of its existence and has already established itself as a unique and particular kind of publisher. It not only searches for excellent, original and unrecognized authors but it encourages public interest activity on the part of its authors through its outreach programs, distribution and readings. What CavanKerry does besides supporting emerging poets, is to distribute free books, and offer free readings. I am quite proud of the list of authors CavanKerry has accumulated. It compares well with any of the other new presses and shows signs of evolving into an influential publishing house like BOA and Graywolf. The books themselves are beautifully designed and typeset. I am sure it will continue to expand and develop and become an important center of poetry in the United States." "Literature is crucial to culture – it’s the repository of human feeling, the record of lives, and it has the capacity, as no other art quite does, to preserve something of how it feels to be alive. Whether we read an 11th century Chinese poet, a 15th century Persian, or a contemporary American giving voice to her life, we readers have the astonishing opportunity to get a sense of what it’s like to be inside the skin of another – to breathe with her breath, to speak with his unmistakable, personal rhythm. This essential art stays alive because people love it, because they tell other people about it, and because they lend their support. Commercial publishers aren’t enough; their eye is on profit in the moment. But small presses are here for the long haul; they publish the work they love, the poems that matter, and they keep doing that work against all the odds….CavanKerry Press is one of those champions of literature that’s keeping the art of writing alive." "As the author of four books of poetry and the editor of a major anthology of contemporary American poetry, I am familiar with the poetry publishing world and feel qualified to say that CavanKerry Press is one of the most admired small literary presses in the U.S. Not only do they produce beautiful books—most of the poets I know would kill to have their books published by a press that pays this much attention to design—but they make a real effort to put poetry into the hands of those who need it most. It is not uncommon today for a publisher to produce a book and then leave it up to the poet to find an audience. Through their Giftbooks program, CavanKerry distributes books at soup kitchens, women's shelters, and other places where poetry is surely needed, thus providing an invaluable service to these organizations and at the same time expanding the audience for poetry beyond universities, libraries, and arts councils. As someone who has written extensively about cancer, I particularly admire CavanKerry's willingness to take on what some might think an unpopular subject, the literature of illness. When I first read Life with Sam, I was deeply moved by its poems and photographs. This is the book that gave me the courage to write my own book about my mother's death, The Golden Hour, and inspired me to give readings at Hospice organizations up and down the East Coast. At a time when funding for poetry is shrinking and the need for the consolation, confirmation, and inspiration it provides has never been greater, CavanKerry Press deserves all the support it can get." "There is still a space to be filled in the hands of ordinary people, a space waiting to hold a book that touches their lives in accessible language. When the book is brought to them through a publisher concerned about how poetry can enhance our lives, the poetry makes an impact." "So glad that CavanKerry is there for poetry and poets. Our nation needs this song and these singers." CavanKerry Authors "Eight years ago I nearly died from the AIDS virus. While recovering in south Jersey I wrote many poems about both the disease and my recovery. After moving to Jersey City and returning to work I began to feel the poems were really a story about my disease but I didn’t know which press best fit that story. After reviewing my options it was obvious that CavanKerry was ideal for work such as mine. I was familiar with their outreach work, the quality of their books, and the wide range of voices they’d published. I sent them the manuscript for consideration and they agreed to publish it. But they did far more than just bundle some poems together. Their editor created an arrangement that was simple yet wonderful. They worked hard with me to make sure it was the best book it could be and they supported the book post-publication. "I want to thank you for CavanKerry’s being that rarity among literary presses: one that gives its authors not only books of great beauty and quality, but also rich and various ongoing support. The opportunities CK has offered me in the form of readings, publication possibilities and community outreach opportunities have been wonderful for me and for my work. Your press has given my work not only a form, but a home—it is support like yours that makes the odd and lonely alchemy of poetry a far less solitary art. I am ever grateful to you." "CavanKerry’s publication of my book, "Silk Elegy," and its subsequent positive reception by the literary community, have been most rewarding. For example, I have received many awards including a Paterson Poetry Prize Finalist Award for Silk Elegy, a creative writing grant from the Puffin Foundation, and several opportunities to share my work and teach creative writing to students. I read at Ellis Island from Silk Elegy and give workshops for teachers on writing about the experience of immigration. My life as a writer has been enormously enriched by CavanKerry Press. The staff is professional, available, and uniquely caring. Because of this I have been happy to participate in their many meaningful and educational outreach programs, particularly for needy persons, including the disabled and imprisoned. CavanKerry has helped me promote my book in a variety of ways and has enlarged my scope as a voice of communication. Many fine books have been produced that, like mine, are creative, artistic and beautifully constructed.with careful attention to details. I am proud to be one of the its writers." "As a reader I appreciate CavanKerry Press because it is completely committed to the honest expression of human emotional experience and yet, at the same time, completely committed to the art of poetry. For example, three of its authors (Elizabeth Hall Hutner, Joan Cusack Handler, and Howard Levy) have written well-crafted poems about their children and yet each of their poems expresses a different but equally-as-honest emotional experience—painful poems about a child’s death (Hutner); a wrenching poem about separation (Handler); a quiet poem about a peaceful moment (Levy). As a poet I appreciate CavanKerry because its authors take risks in both subject matter (e.g. a child’s death, the struggle to come to terms with one’s body) and forms (e.g. from received forms to invented forms). In each book a very unique individual expresses his/her experience in his/her own way. CavanKerry, by supporting this individuality of voice in its authors, encourages all poets to find and then speak in their own voices. This is a welcome message in a world where most publishers seem to demand conformity to some school or another. From the moment CavanKerry Press accepted Elegy for the Floater, my first book, for its Laurel Books imprint, its publisher and staff made me feel part of their community. While they were busy doing what they had to do to produce my book, they also found the time to provide practical and emotional support to me throughout the sometimes overwhelming, especially to someone new to the process, months from acceptance to publication. For example, one staff person held several phone conferences with me about marketing and publicizing my book; some of her suggestions, such as setting up a personal website, have increased my visibility to readers. As a writer I cannot praise the staff of CavanKerry Press enough for not only the beautiful book they created out of my manuscript but also for the support and individual attention they gave both my book and me during the publication." "I have published two books with CavanKerry, Against Consolation, in 2002, and Common Life in 2006. At the time I first published with CavanKerry, I had published three previous books with three different publishers (Ohio State University Press, Copper Beech Press, and Alice James). The book offers (except for Copper Beech) were one-shot deals, contest winners, and the presses, like so many contest presses didn’t offer much besides the publication of the book and the advertisement of their contest winners. Certainly they were good places to work with and one of the presses (Alice James) makes a commitment to keep your work in print. By my fourth book I was looking for something more personal and long-lasting. I wanted a press that would produce beautiful books, advertise them in a reasonable way, keep their books in print, and offer more than a one-shot deal. CavanKerry offered all this and much more. The press has been a pleasure to work with. And the editor Joan Cusack Handler is truly dedicated to the press’s mission and to its authors. As one of their authors, I have been treated with the utmost respect and dignity, and I have been allowed to participate in the process of the book design. As a writer, you feel like you are part of an enterprise that truly matters—an enterprise that wants to produce and sell beautiful books, that wants to hold high standards of artistic merit, and that wants to do right by their authors. As an added bonus the press lately secured a major distributor in University Presses of New England. And there’s more—CavanKerry has made a real commitment to the community at large through outreach programs. They ask each of their authors to do work with the elderly or a local school system or with the incarcerated. That is they ask their authors to bring poetry into the world. And the press backs this mission wholeheartedly. Recently I asked the press for some books that I could give to a homeless shelter where I volunteer some time. Not only did the books arrive immediately, but I was sent enough books to make significant contributions to the local high school, to the Woodstock Congregational Church library, and to the shelter. In short, my experience with CavanKerry has been enormously rewarding. What they say they do, they do. This is a press whose words about themselves and their deeds are entirely the same." "I love my book: the format and design of the book evoke images and nuance of the African-American ethos and therefore is attractive and moving to many readers, black and white. The distribution of the book, from what I can tell, is just about equal to what a poet can expect from a publisher of any size, commercial or literary. I am thankful also for the ad in Poets & Writers. "By publishing my book, Body of Diminishing Motion: Poems and A Memoir, in their Laurel Series, CKP has helped my writing reach anyone touched by chronic illness and/or the Holocaust, in addition to any reader of poetry and/or memoir. Also, CKP has an extensive range of poetry and such a diversity of poets, especially new poets, and produces exceptionally beautiful books that everyone is taking notice." "I was fortunate enough to have my first collection of poems, The Fork Without Hunger, accepted for publication by CavanKerry Press; it was published in 2005. My second collection, Without Wings, was accepted in 2008, and is forthcoming this spring, 09. In the years since 2005, I have witnessed the tireless and visionary effort of Joan Cusack Handler and the editorial staff and support system for CK. They are an extraordinarily passionate and dedicated community, and their increasing presence and visibility is a gift to those who realize how important the arts are to each state and community. CavanKerry Press manages to do the nearly impossible in this time of shrinking dollars for the arts; it sacrifices nothing of its commitment to artistic excellence while it has deepened and widened its commitment to communities—street, bookstore, hospital, private home, and prison, as well as the more traditional venues for the arts. I live on the other side of the country, in Washington State, but I find CK’s reputation here known and respected not only for the authors it publishes and supports, but for its conception for a literary press to be a voice that wants to reach its harder to reach and perhaps neediest listeners. I am grateful for Joan Cusack Handler’s strength and vision, and I am proud to be associated with CK." "Every year the state of New Hampshire puts on a conference focusing on education and the arts. This past year (September 2008) I put on a morning-long workshop on writing poetry in a high school in Bethlehem, NH for both conference participants and students in the school. This was done gratis under the aegis of CavanKerry, which ceaselessly supports community outreach. It typifies in many respects their efforts to get poetry into more people’s lives. Part of what makes CavanKerry such an extraordinary press is its commitment to community and …to generosity…I have seen first-hand the impact that CavanKerry books have had on teachers who often are working in isolated and financially challenged circumstances. At first, the teachers were stunned by the gift of CavanKerry books but quickly it turned to joy and thanks and then use—those books are being read by dozens of young people eager to discover the world of contemporary poetry... I truly believe that CavanKerry is a visionary enterprise as it seeks to find ways to connect people from all walks of life with poetry." "CavanKerry Press has established itself as a publisher of national reputation, a credible and prestigious podium for the voices of both emerging and established poets. No less significant is CavanKerry’s commitment to the community, to its “non-profit” aspect that its team—with which I have become familiar as an author in its New Voices imprint—takes so seriously. While charity begins at home, the spirit of CavanKerry’s community focus, goodwill, and hands-on involvement with the underprivileged, undereducated, and mortally afflicted has spread, through the press’ independent efforts and the efforts of its authors, beyond its home state of New Jersey, beyond even the tri-state area, to remote parts of the country. I am even aware of small college or community libraries and independent booksellers that seek out, with limited budgets and shelf space, new CavanKerry titles to order from each publishing cycle. For a grassroots organization to produce such robust, aesthetically beautiful books of meaningful, quality literature while concurrently successfully taking on a crucial role in the community, and inculcating a sense of communal responsibility in its authors (ultimately its ambassadors), is indeed commendable. We are collectively—as writers, as readers, or simply as citizens preoccupied with our daily struggles—touched and enriched by the presence of such a model American enterprise." "I consider myself fortunate to be a CavanKerry poet. Not only because they publish gorgeous books, but they listen and work closely with the poets in the publishing process. Not surprising since CavanKerry fosters a poetry aesthetic that is humanistic, that goes deep in the heart and illuminates the ways of the world. Moreover, CavanKerry's mission to serve art and community strongly appeals to me. As a co-founder of a literary non-profit myself, I know the importance, necessity, and profound effects of poetry and writing in people's lives." "I am excited to be with CavanKerry because they publish wonderful poets and they make beautiful books. But I am proud to be with CavanKerry because they have an absolute commitment to poetry as a social act. CavanKerry’s mission of bringing poetry to underserved communities is the kind of aesthetic/ethical press I want to align myself with. I cannot endorse the project of this press enough." "Throughout my nearly 40 years of teaching poetry writing at Hope College, I always encouraged, asked, demanded, enticed my students to connect their work to what matters, what really matters. They wrote to save their souls from the deadening onslaught of inanities surrounding them. And I always tried to benignly coerce them into involving themselves authentically in matters of social concern and then give themselves permission to have their poems be influenced by, come out from such involvement. In addition to their own writing, they took part in various activities that spread poetry throughout the campus. They were all guerillas for poetry, disseminating it in places one would never expect to find it. One particular course focused entirely on the subject “Who Cares?” The students spent time with an extensive variety of people from the community, people representing as many “demographics” as we could come up with. They learned what these people cared about and why they did. The writing for the course consisted in composing pieces that celebrated these people and their concerns coupled with the students’ reflections on such. "CavanKerry Press has published two books of my poetry. With each book, they treated me with utmost respect at every stage of the publishing process. This is unusual. My gratitude to CavanKerry is unbounded." "In a poetry world dominated by contests and academic networking, CavanKerry Press stands out for its independence and integrity. Not only does it publish physically beautiful books by authors from all walks of life, but it remains committed to public service through literature and expects the same commitment from its writers. CavanKerry rightly believes that we have a moral responsibility as writers . . . to bring the strength of the word into poor school districts and prisons and hospitals, not for our own fame or aggrandizement but as a beacon for those in need. I am honored to be a CavanKerry author." "All my life I have loved books. And it seems to have taken most of my life to write one. Not that I haven’t been writing or painting watercolors, but to think I am the author of a book --- finally. How redeeming. It was CavanKerry Press that allowed me to consider myself an artist in the seventh decade of my life, to finally step into the public as a serious poet and a serious artist. I am also indebted to CavanKerry’s policy of introducing a first book and having established poets introduce those books. In my case I was enormously aided by the excellent and generous attentions of Molly Peacock and Mike Groden. Which also included a successful reading at the Madison Avenue Corner bookstore in New York, and others in Sanibel Island, Florida and Cashiers, North Carolina. Such a distinguished press that made mine such a beautiful book. Making room for my watercolors too under the artful auspices of its editor, Peter Cusack. CavanKerry has made me most proud of a body of work and reassured me I was not alone but part of an artistic community." CavanKerry Community & Audience Members "CavanKerry Press is a unique enterprise, dedicated to the vitalization of poetry, both as an art form and a powerful builder of community. We at Kean University have been especially honored by CavanKerry. A state school, serving first-generation college students, immigrants, second career students, and Equal Educational Opportunity provider, Kean has been an entry point for so many to transform their lives. Joan Cusack Handler and CavanKerry Press are significant contributors to our Writing Program. She generously donated books and audio tapes to our students; and travels frequently to read to them to coach them in their writing process—all on a voluntary basis. Students speak of Joan (for they address her so) as “inspiring,” “amazing,” and “a real role model.” Their own writing is freed up by Joan’s amazing technical and personal risks. They are amazed with the service the press provides in bringing poetry into the community, especially to those most at risk for failure and despair. I modeled our new Advanced Writing Poetry Seminar on CavanKerry’s model to include community outreach to hospitals, hospices, prisons, rape crisis centers, and senior care homes. CavanKerry does for community what poetry was always meant to do—speak from and for our common humanity, inspire mutual respect and understanding, and delight the soul. Millard Fuller wrote “For a community to be whole and healthy, it must be based on people's love and concern for each other.” CavanKerry makes it happen." "I know Joan Handler and CKP for several years now. I was first introduced to her at Gilda's Club -- a free support network for those touched by cancer .Joan started a writer's workshop to get us talking and exploring our attachments to our illness. She was kind, gentle and the group developed into an intimate salon where we talked and laughed and shared our writing with one another. As result I went back to journal writing and wrote some articles in local newspapers. She stimulated my creativity and brought peacefulness to my life. I am happy to support this wonderful woman and her wonderful life of service and caring." "As a board member of the Women's Rights Information Center in Englewood, New Jersey, I organized a Women's Diversity Book Group as an outgrowth of a Women's History Library at the Center. In April, our book group -- which is cosponsored by the Englewood Library -- is looking forward to a visit by Joan Handler and one of CavanKerry's other poets, Teresa Carson, during National Poetry Month. This visit will focus on Joan's latest poetry publication, The Red Canoe, and Teresa's Elegy for the Floater. It will be a dinner at my home. Once a year we feature local writers, and this year Joan and Teresa have graciously agreed to appear. "On behalf of the Board of Directors, staff and volunteers of 180 Turning Lives Around, I would like to express our gratitude for your donation of poetry books. The beautiful editions were very much appreciated by our clients in our various programs. For more than 30 years, 180 Turning Lives Around has been dedicated to ending domestic violence and sexual assault in Monmouth County. We are committed to providing support to individuals and families affected by violence through our diverse programs and services. It is through the generous actions of caring members of our community such as yourselves that help us to continue serving Monmouth County families throughout the New Year. We are so appreciative of your continued support and we thank you for caring." "CavanKerry Press continues to be an exceptional resource for New Jersey’s poetry community and well beyond it. Books published…are always well-chosen, carefully executed and beautifully designed. I find myself returning to them again and again. "What a wonderful service you are providing to the community of artists and poets. Walt Whitman said, “To have great poets, there must be great audiences too.” CavanKerry is certainly doing its part to broaden the audience for the written word….Now my bookshelves are filling up with the books produced by your press. At a time when a number of journals have closed for good, when others have reduced the number of issues per year, when book publishers have shut down their presses or gone to lower-quality products, it is indeed heartening to have CavanKerry on the scene." "I am writing to tell you about my experience with CavanKerry Press and how very impressed I am by their commitment to using art to help heal our world. I am a poet, though I have not been published by their fine press. Nonetheless, I continue to be moved by their willingness to publish honest and often previously undiscovered voices. I am moved by their obvious deep understanding of the relationship between poetry and emotional well being. Recently, my daughter who is a junior at a public high school and involved with community service, and I, were fortunate to receive many copies of the gorgeous anthology, The Breath of Parted Lips, from their GiftBooks Program. My daughter donated those copies to a charter school, in inner city Philadelphia, primarily for Latino students. The teacher told us that they did not own poetry anthologies, but that her students seem to respond very well to poetry and love to write it; poetry has permitted the students to talk about what might have been previously unspeakable. We are also planning to donate a few copies to Keystone Hospice, an inpatient hospice that serves mainly AIDS patients. This particular hospice has been attempting to build a rich arts program and is excited to receive the anthologies. It is with great pleasure that I share my story with you about this caring and committed press." "We want to express our sincere thanks and gratitude for the wonderful job that CavanKerry Press has done to enlighten us, as well as the general public with your beautiful poetry books….Being able to meet the poets and hear their poetry has been an eye-opening experience and has also added a new dimension to our understanding of poetry." February 2, 2009 "It is with the greatest pleasure that I write in support of the work of CavanKerry Press. The Arnold P. Gold Foundation for humanism-in-medicine has collaborated on two important projects with CavanKerry. Since 2003, we have helped publish and disseminate a series of books about the experience of illness under CavanKerry’s LaurelBooks imprint. More recently, we are partnering on The Waiting Room Reader, a book designed to help patients as they wait, often anxiously, in a hospital or doctor’s waiting rooms. The language of illness as shared by patient-artists is a powerful vehicle to develop an awareness of the suffering of another and to fuel the desire to relieve it. LaurelBooks have been used in medical schools throughout New Jersey to help our fledging physicians become aware of the lived experience of their patients; and particularly in regards to chronic illness, helps caregivers understand that they must treat the whole person – not merely the symptoms or the disease. This is a service to our doctors, but more importantly, to the patients who must navigate a healthcare system that is increasingly divided into specialties and driven by the economic concerns of insurance providers. The Waiting Room Reader: Stories to Keep You Company is another vehicle to reach out to patients who may be experiencing the angst of spending time in intensive care and other waiting rooms. A beautifully-designed book of poetry and prose, the book is being donated to hospitals and doctors to distribute to their patients. CavanKerry’s deep commitment to fine literature is only matched by its mission to make poetry accessible to a broad community of readers – and to influence humanistic patient care. In our work with them, they have developed learning experiences for medical students and residents, emphasizing and reinforcing the values of compassion, respect, service and self-reflection so essential for the “complete” doctor. In the midst of exploding technical and scientific knowledge, CavanKerry’s authors and books remind medical students and residents that the human touch is a vital part of doctoring. Without reservation I recommend CavanKerry to you as a rich and vital resource to the medical community – and the broader community." Very Sincerely, Barbara Packer July 26, 2007 To Whom It May Concern: "I have worked as a Young Adult Librarian in the Englewood Public Library since 1998. A big issue in the local schools has been lack of arts programs and working school libraries. A part of my job includes outreach to the Janis E. Dismus Middle School and Dwight Morrow High School. Ms. Handler wonderfully offered to bring published poets to the middle school to run poetry workshops. The Visiting Poets Series was offered to all the students and those interested could sign up for this program. We ran three classes for three weeks with Mr. Ross Gay; Ms. Sondra Gash; and Ms. Joan Cusack Handler. Each poet brought something special to their classes and the students reacted with enthusiasm and creativity. Students would come up to me and talk about meeting a poet and learning things about the creative process. The next round of The Visiting Poets Series was also very successful. The CavanKerry Press has introduced teens to people, ideas, creativity and other points of view. It has been a win-win for our community. The students in Englewood are often called at-risk, yet these teens entered a world where they can succeed. I am extremely grateful for CavanKerry’s outreach goals." Sincerely, |
