2018 Massachusetts Poetry Festival

What are the choices that go into producing the physical book—the first thing a reader sees? How do the choices of physical object and artwork guide and enhance the text within to make a book more than the sum of its parts? Artist Carlyn Marcus Ekstrom joins members of Slate Roof Press to discuss the opportunities and constraints that come when poets, artists, and printers work together on a project. What do authors contribute, and learn in the process? What technical restraints does a bookmaker face? We will discuss overall book design along with printing options, cover choices, papers, bindings, typeface, artwork, die cuts, etc. Slate Roof poets are fully involved in their own book design, and each chapbook uniquely reflects its author, while showcasing the work of local artists and bookmakers.