It's here!

Cathy and I stood in the empty parking lot of the storage locker facility. We were waiting for the drop-off. When the guy's truck pulled up, I knew it would be the good stuff. He unlatched the back of the truck...yeah, the good stuff.

Yes, our friend in the delivery truck was dropping off the newest issue (winter 2010 vol. 25:3) of CALYX! The cover features a lovely wrap-around black and white photograph by University of Oregon senior Andi Calliope Linden. I couldn't wait to get back to the office and take a peak at the full-color art and pages of delicious prose and poetry.

-Becky, Associate Editor and storage locker goon

Holiday Wishes from everyone at CALYX!

We hope you all have a happy season, filled with creativity and with peace!

Also, we would like to invite all the friends of CALYX to tell us what you think of our blog -- you can use the Comment function, or you can send email to info(at)calyxpress(dot)org. What would you like to see here? Are there questions about a literary press that you would like answered? Are you curious about our herstory? We'd love to hear from you.

December 5, 2009 Poetry workshops by Frances Payne Adler and Willa Schneberg, Corvallis, Oregon

The CALYX Workshops and readings on Saturday, December 5th were well attended and enjoyed by the participants. Eleven attendees for “Fire & Ink” heard Fran Adler describe several inspiring activist projects that either sprung from or resulted in poetry and image. She then challenged us to create a poem from a deep-seated concern. The shared poems ranged from hunger to abuse issues, to healthcare issues. Too quickly, the workshop itself was over, and attendees had the chance to buy Fran’s newest anthology “Fire & Ink” – it quickly sold out.

Frances Payne Adler giving "Fire & Ink" workshop

That afternoon, 13 attendees for Willa Schneberg’s “Dreaming the Poem” learned about how the unconscious can bring up images in dreams, how poets have used dream in various ways in their poetry, and how a poet can even use someone else’s dream to create an interesting poem. The attendees tried their hand at poems from selected anonymous dreams brought by Willa – the results were surprising. Several poets had the same dream, but created very different poems. Willa’s books were also available and popular with the attendees.

The evening reading showcased Willa and Fran’s poetry, in “Poems of Resistance and Resilience” – despite frigid weather, the audience proved that poetry is a draw in Corvallis. CALYX is very grateful to Willa and Fran for coming down from Portland to give these workshops and reading, and to Friends of the Corvallis Benton County Library, The Corvallis Arts Center, and the Benton County Cultural Coalition for sponsoring this event.

Sarah Lantz Finalists Chosen and Sent to Final Judge.

All the contributors to the Sarah Lantz Oregon Women's Memorial Poetry Book Prize have been read blind by the CALYX editors (they were accepted from 9/1/09 to 11/20/09). The finalists were sent on to the Final Judge, Colleen McElroy, on 12/14/09. We plan to announce the winner in late January, 2010.

Rainy Tuesday Morning with Two New Interns

Mollie, Jan, and Shayna in the office

I'm Mollie and today's my first day as an intern at CALYX! After graduating from the University of Oregon in June with a Bachelor of Arts in English, I contacted CALYX asking for an internship so that I might be able to learn more about jobs relating to literature. I'm really excited to be a part of such a great place and I look forward to all kinds of new knowledge and experiences. Maybe I'll even figure out for sure how to pronounce our name! --Mollie


My name is Jan, and today is my second day as an intern with CALYX. As Mollie, I am an English major from the U of O. My love is literature--reading and writing. I look forward to seeing just how a small press works, and being surrounded by women who have dedicated their time to literature, and hope to learn as much as possible from them. --Jan