Florida Poet Says Use it or Lose it

Florida poet Kay Day says authors of poetry books need to focus on sharing their work with the public, rather than restricting it to fellow poets. For writers in search of a publisher, she says there may be one in your back yard.

Kay Day, a poet and author from Jacksonville, Florida, is a writer with a mission. She freelances for magazines, newspapers, and a radio station, but she does that for one reason--to subsidize her poetry. The late poet James Dickey told me he did the same thing," she says. He wrote ad copy by day so he could write poetry at night." Ms. Day studied under James Dickey while she attended the University of South Carolina.

Her poems have been published in magazines and on Net sites. Shes won national awards, such as the ByLine Literary Award for Poetry. With her new collection, A Poetry Break, coming out from Ocean Publishing in January, '04, Day is planning a multi-state tour. Its just one segment of her overall philosophy. Poetry," says Day, belongs to the people. And I plan to take mine to as many of them as possible."

Newspapers like The Independent Group in Great Britain bemoan opportunities for young poets, and mainstream publishers in America turn their backs on all but the top tier of poets, most of whom teach at universities. I dont have a federal grant, and I dont teach at a university," says the middle-aged mother of two. But Ive studied poetry all my life, and I concentrated on it heavily in college. After college, I designed my own fine arts program for learning about form and style." She says thats when she tackled the hard part. I realized that even if I wrote poetry based on what Id learned from the masters, that I still had to figure out how to write it so that your average person could get an idea what I was aiming for."

She says shes not bashful about promoting poetry, not just hers but that of other poets as well. At a convention last year where I was presenting a seminar," she says, I grabbed an editor from a major publishing house and gave her an earful. I told her that publishers have turned their backs on poetry at the very hour that Americas youth needs it the most. Because poetry teaches critical thinking skills. I think the editor was quite happy to lose me at the authors reception."

Day says her poetry is well-received when she speaks and reads at public events. Just last week, I participated in a multi-cultural event organized by a young artist and poet named Ingar Brunnett," says Ms. Day. Mortar and Pestle was held in downtown Jacksonville at an art gallery in a renovated building. We had art exhibits, spoken word, and poetry. We had a shadow puppet show, complete with a mini-theater. The place was packed. Hundreds of people turned out for this event. The audience responded warmly to every performer. I think it shows theres an interest in both art and literature that the mainstream publishing establishment is overlooking."

Originally from South Carolina, Ms. Day says even with extensive publishing credits, she knew better than to approach big publishers with her manuscript. So I looked at small presses," she says. After some research and contacts, I ended up with three different publishers showing strong interest in my book."

The author says none of the presses were subsidy publishers, and any one of them would have taken the manuscript. I chose Ocean Publishing because the owner, Frank Gromling, is very selective about the authors he signs," she explains. He offered me a very fair contract. And hes done a fantastic job seeing my book through the editing and production process. Hes even assisting with marketing."

Day has already committed to major book festivals, such as Floridas Amelia Island Festival in October. Its a pretty young festival," she says, but its become known internationally for its mix of authors and also for the beautiful locale. Poets Nola Perez and Andrew Glaze, whose book won the Southeastern Booksellers award will also read. Two-time Newbery Medal Award winner for fiction Lois Lowry will be there too. "

The author is very excited about appearing at Girlfriends Weekend in Jefferson, Texas, in January, 2004. Kathy Patricks Pulpwood Queens book club was the first one featured on Good Morning America, and its been featured in just about every major book publication in the country," says Day. When she invited me to present at the festival, I almost fell out of my chair." Smiling, Day adds, Of course, I sent her an email with poetry and a heart-felt message. So I think I basically invited myself and she was nice enough to let me come!"

Days advice for writers looking to publish centers around geography. Forget New York," she says. As long as your publisher goes through a major distribution network, you can get your book into stores. Take a look at small presses close to home. But only put the manuscript in the mail if youve studied your field and youre sure the manuscript is polished."