Poetry Press Week aims to radically change the way poetry is presented, publicized, published, and perceived. In the early days of Fashion Week (initially called “Fashion Press Week”), members of the press were invited to observe and comment on the trends they saw emerging season by season. As a result, the fashion industry and those who write about it now wield enormous influence, and designs that appear on Fashion Week runways have untold impact at every cultural level.
In a Poetry Press Week show, poets present their unpublished work in 10-12 minute, live, conceptual runway shows to an audience of publishers, press, and the general public. Poets present their work via “models” and other various media, staging, and effects to produce a three-dimensional experience of their poetry. Full poem text as it would potentially appear in print is projected alongside or in conjunction with the presentation. All work is available for publication the moment it is presented.
In addition to inviting literary journals and publishing houses to sit front and center at every show, Poetry Press Week invites the press to attend and to comment thoughtfully and critically on what is presented, draw interdisciplinary analogies, and forecast emerging trends of form, content, and presentation.