Editing, editoing: me with Mansfield, and I don't mean Jayne

So I'm immersed in a huge edit for ECW Press. Soon I'll be done. I was telling my shrink about it, that it's a book about wrestling, and he got very excited. "I love wrestling!" said Dr. T. "Does he talk about Whipper Billy Watson?!"

The other editing on my plate this summer is for Mansfield Press. Last fall, publisher Denis de Klerck asked if I'd be interested in putting a book through his press for fall 2007. I would solicit a manuscript and edit it. In the spring, this grew to two books for fall 2007. This was like a dream for me. I drew up a list of possible authors to invite, and Denis and I discussed the options. He preferred that I choose Toronto writers with something of a publication track record.

So this fall, Mansfield will be publishing poetry books by Lillian Necakov and Steve Venright. It's been a blast working with them so far, and I'm hoping to see the finished manuscripts by the end of the month. What's particularly exciting is that both these books are, in ways, departures for the authors. Not entire detours in style or content, but more an expansion and exploration of various directions they've been feeling out. Some of the material stems from their respective sections in my anthology Surreal Estate: 13 Canadians Under the Influence (The Mercury Press, 2004 — you can get copies from me at a decent price!).

I couldn't squeeze an imprint name out of Denis; maybe if this works out and he keeps me on, that might happen. For now, I guess I'm a "guest poetry editor" for Mansfield.

A while back, I'd also suggested to Joe Rosenblatt that he send a MS to Mansfield, and he did so. Denis accepted it. It's not my acquisition, but I'll be working on that one as well. An amazing year, working on books by elder writers who I consider influences and mentors: David W. McFadden, Ron Padgett, Joe Rosenblatt.

The fourth book on the Mansfield list this fall is Christopher Doda's second collection. Denis will be editing that one himself, having worked with Doda on his first book.

Somewhere amidst all this, I will get my own writing done this summer. I've got to.

Over and out.