Published in UGLY DUCKLING PRESSE·Dec 14, 2021Backlist Bulletin #12: Spiral Staircase by Hirato Renkichi, tr. Sho SugitaIn grade school, I was frequently reprimanded for doodling during class instead of taking notes and paying attention. Though those doodles were often related to the classes, I only recently became aware of my tendency to process thoughts through images prior to reaching any semblance of new understanding. Doodles are…Udp7 min readUdp7 min read
Published in UGLY DUCKLING PRESSE·Oct 25, 2021Backlist Bulletin #11: Made-up Interview with Imaginary ArtistsThere was a period of my life in which I talked often to mormon furries. I was interning for a magazine right out of college, and I thought that I would put my Media Studies degree to good use by dipping a toe into the cesspool of modern day digital-based…Udp6 min readUdp6 min read
Published in UGLY DUCKLING PRESSE·Aug 12, 2021Reading & Roundtable on Translation is a Mode=Translation is An Anti-Neocolonial ModeOn Monday, April 12th, 2021, UDP hosted a conversation between writers/translators Mirene Arsanios, Sawako Nakayasu, and Mónica de la Torre on Don Mee Choi’s pamphlet Translation is a Mode=Translation is An Anti-Neocolonial Mode (UDP, 2020). The roundtable was moderated by Esther Allen and sponsored by The Center for the…Udp3 min readUdp3 min read
Published in UGLY DUCKLING PRESSE·May 25, 2021Backlist Bulletin #10: Lowly by Alan FelsenthalI’ve been writing my dreams down a lot lately. They are often banal, so much so that I easily confuse them with old memories. The act of searching for detail within both shares a similar fogginess, and, though incomprehensible, I dwell inside the fogginess anyway. It’s the same experience I…Udp6 min readUdp6 min read
Published in UGLY DUCKLING PRESSE·Mar 16, 2021James Copeland on Marina Temkina’s What Do You Want?: “Dear Marina,”Ugly Duckling Presse is inviting artists and writers to respond to their favorite titles for our backlist blog series From the Vaults. Our ninth contributor is James Copeland, with a letter to Marina Temkina’s after her book, What Do You Want (2009). Dear Marina, I hope you don’t mind my…Udp3 min readUdp3 min read
Published in UGLY DUCKLING PRESSE·Mar 11, 2021Backlist Bulletin #9: Hair by Amy NarneeloopDiving into Amy Narneeloop’s Hair was a burrowing of my body into the page. The chapbook, a collection of poems entitled “Breasts,” “Shame,” “Hair,” and “Dust,” discusses the relationship of the self to the body. In the first section “Breasts,” Narneeloop writes: “There was someone in my life who told…Udp4 min readUdp4 min read
Published in UGLY DUCKLING PRESSE·Mar 8, 2021An Update on UDP and SPDUPDATE March 10, 2021: We are encouraged to hear that structural changes are underway at SPD. But we are concerned by conflicting reports about how the decision is being made whether and when to share the results of the report. We understand that this choice was promised to the staff…Udp2 min readUdp2 min read
Published in UGLY DUCKLING PRESSE·Mar 1, 2021Susana Thénon’s Ova Completa: Book LaunchOn December 17, 2020, UDP hosted the launch event for Ova Completa by Argentine poet Susana Thénon (1935–1991). Poets Asiya Wadud and Silvina López Medin read from their work, followed by a reading from Rebekah Smith, UDP editor and Ova Completa’s translator. …Udp2 min readUdp2 min read
Published in UGLY DUCKLING PRESSE·Jan 28, 2021Backlist Bulletin #8: Dog Ear by Erica BaumI? I would not do that. Yes? Yes. differently. How I hate dog ear-ing books. It’s always felt illegal to do so in a library book and immoral in a copy loaned from a known person. In my personal copies, it feels like I’m prematurely bringing on the inevitable wear-and-tear…Udp7 min readUdp7 min read
Published in UGLY DUCKLING PRESSE·Jan 21, 2021Printing “The Supposed Huntsman”This post is a detailed account of printing the foreground elements of the cover for Katie Fowley’s first full-length poetry collection, The Supposed Huntsman (UDP, 2021) on the Heidelberg “Windmill” at the UDP studio. The cover art for The Supposed Huntsman was created by Mollie Goldstrom. She designed the cover…Studio9 min readStudio9 min read
