Hesterglock Press

Tell us what you do!

We hope to be able to sustain our ongoing commitment to publish radical & challenging books; networking, connecting and collaborating with other artists and writers on unique projects. In 2018 we started up a new imprint, Prote(s)xt, to experiment with a different publishing model: selling at cost-price to authors. We make positive links between non-profit & literary / artistic / political worth, as opposed to predominant corporate, capitalist values of financial return. We also curate events, exhibitions, most recently Photo Poetry SURFACES, and work closely with the Poem Brut movement as publishers, poets, artists and performers.

How do you see the current state of visual, constraint-based, and other formally experimental poetry? 

It appears to be in rude health. There are many, many exciting new poets, artists, performers; some new publishers and lots of new work being published. I think the Poem Brut movement has contributed to the new works and approaches. I’d really like to see more humour. For people not to take themselves so bloody seriously. I mean, isn’t this visual, constraint-based, and other formally experimental poetry sector a niche-market hobby kind of thing? Unless, I suppose, you’re also working in the academic business, then you’re staring into a snake pit of contradictions, rotten apples, intrigue and pain. I’d like to see more humour, and definitely more people of colour in the visual poetry world.

Why run a poetry press? What struggles do you face, but also what rewards are there?

I really don’t know. Perhaps because I’m obsessed with throwing myself into something that I find exciting, fun, exhausting, frustrating and emotionally all consuming so I don’t have to spend too much time thinking about how the world seems often to be a terrifying place? Because I’m scared and insecure and just want to be loved? Because death is fast approaching? To be honest, the more I think about it, the more I really don’t know.

A friend likened running a small press to digging a trench in the pouring rain. I think they’re spot on.

Struggles: never enough time, sexism, lack of money, swollen ego’s, lack of equal opportunities, noticing typo’s when a book’s just been published/printed, the (sometimes) prohibitive cost of book fairs, capitalism, the tediousness of trawling through social media in the desperate hope that someone might buy a book or go to an event or something, large, mainstream publishers, over-working, high-street chains of bookshops, racism, the entitled-ness of some poets/artists/performers, prejudice, the ecological impact of book production, imposter syndrome. (A lot of these are not strictly limited to running a small press though).

Rewards: meeting, collaborating, working with some tremendously thoughtful, creative, respectful, engaging people who I continue to learn from. Supporting other artists/poets/performers. This work, when managed well, can also be beneficial to my well-being.

What is the ultimate goal of Hesterglock? 

To continue to make brilliant books that never sell enough copies.