Pressing poetics
A new micropress has set up shop at Mount Allison.
Spearheaded by English professor Dr. Geordie Miller and library staff member Keagan Hawthorne, High Marsh Press follows in the footsteps of a longstanding print tradition on campus.
“Mount Allison has a long and rich history of engagement with print and print culture,” says Hawthorne. “Back in the days of Douglas Lochhead and Herb Burke, there was a hand press on campus, and Thaddeus Holownia has also been running Anchorage Press adjacent to Mount Allison for many years.”
Operating as a collaborative effort between the Departments of English and Fine Arts and the R.P. Bell Library, the micropress utilizes the full letterpress available in the Purdy Crawford Centre for the Arts (PCCA) to print chapbooks — small booklets typically containing collections of poems, short stories, or essays.
The centrepiece of High Marsh Press is the Deborah Wills Chapbook Contest, named in honour of former Mount Allison English professor Dr. Deborah Wills.
“Deborah is a tremendous teacher and writer,” says Miller. “She was so welcoming and encouraging when I first arrived at Mount A. I figured out pretty quickly that I had very big shoes to fill in terms of the impact that she had on students.”
After hearing former students who are now established poets speak of Wills’ profound influence at her retirement, Miller was inspired to find a way to honour her legacy.
“Our hope is that this prize can in some way serve as a tribute to all those students she inspired and supported over the years,” says Miller.
The Chapbook Contest aims to provide emerging poets with an opportunity to publish their work and receive recognition within the literary community. Its inaugural edition received 28 submissions from across the country. After careful deliberation, Miller and Hawthorne selected a shortlist of six, and an external judge chose the winning manuscript, Ledges by BC poet Kate Kennedy. Her chapbook was launched last April, with special recognition given to both the winner and runner-up.
In addition to the annual contest, High Marsh Press plans to produce a range of chapbooks. Their next project is printing Dr. Robert Lapp’s Last Lecture, which he delivered to the Class of 2023 last spring, marking his retirement after 25 years as professor of English at Mount Allison.
High Marsh Press not only provides a new platform for emerging poets but also offers students on campus with valuable hands-on opportunities.
“It's a chance for students to learn by doing and in dialogue with us as we continue to figure it out," says Miller.
While this first year served as a pilot phase, Miller and Hawthorne envision involving students across disciplines in every facet of the process, including editing, printing, design, and outreach efforts.
“When you’re a young person starting out, the whole cultural mechanism behind the books in bookstores can be so obscure,” says Hawthorne. “Giving students the chance to lift the curtain and see the machinery at work will hopefully empower them to see that they can make a contribution.”
They also hope to offer students opportunities to network and make real-world connections. Involving alumni is an essential aspect of this effort. Rob Winger (‘97), professor of English at Trent University, served as the judge for the 2023 Chapbook Contest, and Miller and Hawthorne plan to invite different alumni, faculty, and staff to participate every year, establishing a continuum of literary engagement at the University.
“This is a way for Mount A to connect to the contemporary scene of poetry and publishing as well as to the literary heritage of this province,” says Hawthorne.
Banner photo caption: Keegan Hawthorne and Dr. Geordie Miller