Mountains and Rivers Press is the third small press publishing company I have worked with. I co-founded North Lake Press in 1992 and Irving St. Press in 1995. In 2001, I founded Mountains and Rivers Press in order to publish books that reflect the continuing influence of mid-twentieth century poetics on American poetry. Our titles illustrate how contemporary poets have adopted the formal techniques and themes of Objectivism, English-language haikai, the Black Mountain Writers, and the San Francisco Renaissance among others to address their present day concerns and experiences.
Our books range in size, scope, and style from 100-plus page, perfect bound collections to small, hand-sewn chapbooks signed and numbered by the authors. Some were designed by award-winning book designer, Jonathan Greene, at Gnomon Press, and many were printed on letterpress by Ed Rayher of Swamp Press in Massachusetts.
My academic research involves American poetry and, more specifically, the relationship between Japan and American poetry. As part of this research, I explore how American modernist poets participated in the Orientalist discourse first theorized by Edward Said. My hope is that some of the titles from Mountains and Rivers Press help disrupt this discourse rather than perpetuate it.
