Middle West Press Editor-Publisher Interviewed at The Wrath-Bearing Tree

-


A leading monthly on-line literary journal has published an interview with Middle West Press LLC editor-publisher Randy Brown in its July 2023 issue. In the feature, Brown reveals the origins and objectives of Middle West Press. The interview, published by The Wrath-Bearing Tree, is here at this link.

The interview was conducted by Peter Molin, an established observer and commenter on the American war-writing scene in the 21st century. In addition to his long-running war-and-culture blog “Time Now”, Molin currently writes a limited-run column for Wrath-Bearing Tree titled “Strike Through the Mask!”

Molin also interviewed MilSpeak Books publisher, author, and U.S. Marine veteran Tracy Crow.

The Wrath-Bearing Tree was founded in 2015 by U.S. Army veteran Aidrian Bonenberger and others. In late 2021, the publication re-organized as a 501(c)3 non-profit. Strategic plans call for developing the journal as a paying market; literary press; writing contests; and readings and workshops. The journal celebrated publishing its 50th issue in March 2021.

The publication’s name notably refers to the poem “Gerontion,” by T.S. Elliot. The Wrath-Bearing Tree's mission statement reads:

Established by combat veterans and maintained by a diverse board of veterans, military spouses, and writers compelled by themes of social justice and human resilience, The Wrath-Bearing Tree publishes essays, reviews, fiction, and poetry on military, economic, and social violence written by those who have experienced military, economic, and social violence or their consequences. [...]

The Aiming Circle, a community of practice underwritten by Middle West Press LLC, considers The Wrath-Bearing Tree as one of the premier venues for military-centered and -adjacent poetry, fiction, non-fiction, and other work.

Middle West Press LLC is a Johnston, Iowa-based editor and publisher of non-fiction, journalism, and poetry. As an independent micro-press, we publish one to four titles annually. Our projects are often inspired by the people, places, and history of the American Midwest.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Anthology Seeks Visions of American Midwest in Poems, Micro-Stories

-
Image
Middle West Press LLC , an independent micro-publisher based in Central Iowa, has issued a call for human-generated poems and micro-prose (300 words max.) engaging with themes of environmentalism, climate change, technology, and more through a lens of Midwestern experience. The working title of this project is Midwest Futures: Poems from Tomorrow's Heartland . Deadline for submissions is Jul. 1, 2024. Publication is projected for Spring/Summer 2025. Submit via Submittable here at this link . This is explicitly a speculative poetry (and related micro-flash-prose) market. We are interested not only in the gritty and grounded, but also near-future science-fiction-infused visions of the possible. For inspirations and vibes, see also movements such “Solarpunk,” “Eco-modernism” and “Climate Fiction” (“Cli-Fi”), as well as these potential exemplars of eco-poetry and other writing: Field Guide to Invasive Species of Minnesota: Poems by Amelia Gorman “Botanical Fanaticism” and “Inte...
Read more

In New Anthology, Sci-Fi & War Poets Explore Human, AI, Robot Relations

-
Image
In an exciting new 190-page anthology, 66 emerging and established voices from the science-fiction-poetry and war-poetry communities have joined forces to deliver visions and explorations regarding 
how humans, Artificial Intelligence, and robots may learn to live, work, grow, and fight.  “Every day, our news feeds are crowded with dystopian reports of flame-throwing robots, killer drones, and cyber implants, ” writes anthology editor Randy Brown. “Against this virtual crush of ash and black, we wonder: If futurists and fictionalists, warriors and wargamers can deploy their respective toolkits to probe potential threats and opportunities, why not poets ?”   The anthology GIANT ROBOT POEMS: On Mecha-Human Science, Culture & War collects 92 poems involving concepts, narratives, and cautionary tales of “human-electro-mechanical-cyber interaction, connection, and competition.” To motivate other writers, veterans, and readers, the anthology includes a special section of...
Read more

Submissions Open for Poetry Manuscripts Connected to Midwest Themes

-
Image
Middle West Press LLC seeks poetry manuscripts by a single author , comprising 50 to 100 poems each, for potential publication in 2024-2025. We are particularly seeking manuscripts that intersect in some way with the people, places, nature, and history of the American Middle West , especially those stemming from the lived experiences of women, poets of color, poets who identify as LGBTQ+, military veterans, and other marginalized voices. We are motivated by any work that helps renew and revise the milieu of the Middle West as a growing, changing, modern, complicated place . Our informal rule-of-thumb is that the modern U.S. states carved from the Louisiana Purchase, and/or states located west of the Ohio River and east of the Missouri River, safely define our intellectual playground . The Middle West is a moveable feast, however. We recognize that the Middle West includes themes, characters, and geographies that cannot be contained by mere borders . In fact, the Middle West may be mos...
Read more