Other Voices

Once upon a Time...

large publishing houses had more faith in showeasing the work you find in these pages: a lively assortment of talented writers and artists, mostly unknown, mostly dedicated to pursuing and perfecting their art, anxious to share what it is they are doing in the hope of creating greater interest, wider publication and distribution of their work.

Writers and artists spend their entire lives seeking confirmation. They need to know they are being taken seriously for their own good, for the satisfaction of others (friends, loved ones, parents), many of whom fail to understand how a person can turn away from everything and lead an isolated life of work and dedication with no guarantee of success or financial gain. “You want to do what? Go find a job.” It's all about money of course, given our culture.

Well, no one in this book is going to make any money for his efforts, including me, who hopes that the financial loss in publishing OTHER VOICES won't be so severe that it might put me and the press under for good. I've come close before. But not this close, given the size and scope of the project. Not that I expect to keep on doing this forever. It's about time for me to bid adieu. Time for others to carry on the mission of small press publishing – the conscience of American literature.

The manufacture of best sellers may be important to the book biz in this country, but real writing is what we need to know ourselves. You cannot estimate the cost of that, create the product by committee, manipulate the masses so they will purchase what they see and hear on talk shows. What we need are good readers who will acknowledge and support writing that matters, wherever it appears. Writers who give readers more than value they paid for. Longer lasting.

I started a small press in 1994 to acknowledge those writers / publishers who extended a hand to me years ago when I sought and needed confirmation. It seemed (then and now) my time to see what I could do. And what I did, what my intentions were, remain the same. Support new writers – primarily those with solid publication credits but no first book to their name. And whenever possible, help those writers who have faded into oblivion and refuse to remain silent.

That's pretty much it for me: a literary search and rescue mission.

Art matters. Good writing can change lives. Those voices deserve our attention.

Norbert Blei

Other voices contains poems by

Tom Becker

Vicki Eberfeld

Julie Eger

Hatto Fischer

Debra Fitzgerald

Jude Genereaux

Marina Gipps

Brugge Hodder

Catherina Hovis

Laurie Kahn

Bobbie Krinsky

Barbara Luhring

Ralph Murre

Becky Post

Richard Purinton

James Roseberry

Bonnie Summers

Dorthy Terry

Kristin Thacher

Tibor

George Wamser

Robert Zoschke

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