Bill Lavender

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Bill Lavender is a poet, novelist, publisher, and co-founder of the New Orleans Poetry Festival. In 1995 he founded Lavender Ink, a small press in New Orleans. In 2011, he founded Diálogos, an imprint featuring translations and other books of multicultural identity. From 2007 to 2012, he was the managing editor of University of New Orleans Press.

Publishing work[edit]

Early years[edit]

Lavender originally founded Lavender Ink as a publisher of stitched chapbooks in 1995.[1] He began by publishing his own work and the works of his friends. In 2005, Lavender began to use print on demand technology to expand his catalog and produce perfect bound books. His expertise with print on demand technology caught the attention of the University of New Orleans, where he worked as director of the Low Residency Creative Writing Program.[2][3]

University of New Orleans Press[edit]

Lavender took over the University of New Orleans Press in 2007. Critics said he revitalized the press, making it a major focal point for avant-garde contemporary poetry. In 2007, UNO Press had published two out-of-print books. Under Lavender's leadership, it published over 100 books, sometimes working with New Orleans's Neighborhood Story Project.[4][5] UNO Press acquired a national reputation as the result of his leadership.[2]

In 2012, the University of New Orleans eliminated the position of managing editor of the press, putting the press on hiatus and firing Lavender (from both the press and his work as director of the Low Residency Creative Writing Program) via email.[6][7] The decision was widely decried by American poets and academics, who circulated an online petition to restore Lavender's job.[8] Lavender alleged that his firing was political, but UNO spokesman Adam M. Norris insisted that the decision was made for solely budgetary reasons.[3]

2012–present[edit]

Following his dismissal from the University of New Orleans, Lavender poured his energy into his own press, Lavender Ink. Working with Peter Thompson of Roger Williams University, Lavender started a new imprint, Diálogos, focused on cross-cultural work and translations. Lavender Ink and Diálogos together publish about 20 books a year.[1]

New Orleans Poetry Festival[edit]

In 2016, Lavender co-founded the New Orleans Poetry Festival with New Orleans poet Megan Burns. Noting the poetry festivals taking place in other major American cities, Lavender and Burns decided that New Orleans needed its first festival entirely devoted to poetry.[9] The festival takes place in April of each year, and in 2016, took place on a single day. By 2020, it was a four day festival. The 2021 New Orleans Poetry Festival was held virtually, with events on most days in April.[10]

Literary work[edit]

In 2002, the University of Alabama Press published Another South: Experimental Writing in the South, edited by Lavender with an introduction by Hank Lazer.[11] The book received mixed reviews. In an open letter to Ron Silliman, Lavender expressed pride in the fact that Another South was the first book he knew to receive a negative review from The Times-Picayune.[12] Silliman himself spoke negatively of the book in 2003,[13] but in 2008, he said that Another South was already a classic.[14] C. D. Wright praised the book,[15] and Oyster Boy Review gave a mixed review, saying that Another South was sometimes accessible and innovative, but at other points "seems deliberately obfuscant."[16]

Lavender's own writing has been reviewed positively. William Allegrezza praised his 2006 book, I of the Storm.[17] While writing about Lavender's 2009 book Transfixion, Pierre Joris called Lavender "the doctor of present experience."[18] Writing for Jacket2, Deborah Meadows praised Lavender's 2011 book, Memory Wing.[19] And Karin Falcone Krieger called Lavender's 2020 book, My ID, "a gift to all who strive for sentience."[20]

Bibliography[edit]

As author[edit]

  • Three Letters. Spuyten Duyvil (2021)[21]
  • My ID. BlazeVOX (2020)[22]
  • surrealism/o. Editorial Yauguru (2018). Bilingual edition with translator Enrique Solinas[23]
  • La Police. Locofo Chaps (2017)[24]
  • Q. Trembling Pillow Press (2013)[25]
  • Memory Wing. Black Widow Press (2011)[26]
  • A Field Guide to Trees. Foothills Publishing (2011)[27]
  • Transfixion. Garrett County Press (2010)[28]
  • I of the Storm. Trembling Pillow Press (2007)[29]
  • While Sleeping. Chax Books (2005)[30]
  • Guest Chain. Video Press (1999)[31]

As editor[edit]

  • Dogs in My Life: The Photographs of John Tibule Mendes. University of New Orleans Press (2009)[32]
  • Another South: Experimental Writing in the South. University of Alabama Press (2002)[11]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Carter, Laura (November 6, 2015). "Lavender Ink interview". Jacket 2. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Reid, Calvin (August 8, 2012). "With Director's Ouster, UNO Press Faces Uncertain Future". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Nance, Kevin (October 31, 2012). "University Presses Feeling the Pinch". Poets & Writers. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  4. ^ Waddington, Chris (August 3, 2012). "Visionary director of UNO Press sacked amid budget cuts at the University of New Orleans". Times-Picayune. New Orleans.
  5. ^ Harriet Staff (August 8, 2021). "University of New Orleans Press Sacks Bill Lavender, Goes on 'Hiatus'". Poetry Foundation. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  6. ^ Jaschik, Scott (August 6, 2012). "Another Press on Chopping Block". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  7. ^ DeSantis, Nick (August 6, 2012). "Director of U. of New Orleans Press Loses Job Amid Budget Cuts". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  8. ^ "UNO Press is Shut Down, Director Bill Lavender Ousted". Publishers Weekly. August 7, 2012. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  9. ^ "The First Annual New Orleans Poetry Festival will be held April 15–17". Antenna. April 14, 2016. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  10. ^ Abdelnour, Meredith (April 11, 2021). "New Orleans Poetry Festival brings poetry to all". The Tulane Hullabaloo. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  11. ^ a b "Another South". Lavender Ink/Diálogos. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  12. ^ Silliman, Ron (October 24, 2003). "Silliman's Blog". Silliman's Blog. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  13. ^ Silliman, Ron (September 26, 2003). "Silliman's Blog". Silliman's Blog. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  14. ^ Silliman, Ron (September 11, 2008). "Silliman's Blog". Silliman's Blog. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  15. ^ "Another South". University of Alabama Press. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  16. ^ Beam, Jeffery. "Read & Recommended". Oyster Boy Review. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  17. ^ Allegrezza, William (February 13, 2007). "I OF THE STORM by BILL LAVENDER". galatea resurrects. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  18. ^ Joris, Pierre (September 27, 2009). "Bill Lavender's Transfixion". Nomadics. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  19. ^ Meadows, Deborah (July 12, 2012). "A review of 'Memory Wing'". Jacket2. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  20. ^ Krieger, Karin Falcone (February 13, 2021). "Bill Lavender's My ID: A Genre Bending Narrative Memoir". Lit Pub. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  21. ^ "Three Letters". Spuyten Duyvil. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  22. ^ "My ID by Bill Lavender". BlazeVOX books. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  23. ^ "surrealism/o". Small Press Distribution. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  24. ^ "locofo chaps". Moria: A Poetry Journal. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  25. ^ Lavender, Bill (2013). Q. ISBN 9780988725720. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  26. ^ "A Review of 'Memory Wing'". Jacket2. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  27. ^ "A Field Guide to Trees". Foothills Publishing. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  28. ^ Lavender, Bill (May 2010). Transfixion. ISBN 9781891053115. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  29. ^ "I of the Storm". Trembling Pillow Press. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  30. ^ "While Sleeping by Bill Lavender". Chax Books. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  31. ^ Lavender, Bill (1999). Guest Chain. ISBN 9780966384635. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  32. ^ "Dogs in My Life". University of New Orleans Press. Retrieved July 10, 2021.

External links[edit]

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