Apparently a lot of big, cool stuff happening for Cannibal this year. Off the top of my head, I’m excited about the Claire Donato and Jared White chapbooks because I think both these cats are rad. Rad cats, they are. (You might remember that I blogged a poem of Claire’s when I wrote about Harp & Altar #5. For some instant Jared White-ification, check out this long great essay on Jack Spicer he wrote for Open Letters Monthly.)

But then there’s the cats I don’t know about, and only assume are rad. For example, Sommer Browning, who hosts a great reading series here in the city, and is super funny and fun to hang out with, but I don’t know her own work very well, so this’ll be my big chance. I also don’t know too too much about Shane Jones, except that he has a lot of fans among the writers/readers here on Giant–in particular I recall that Kendra was a huge partisan for Jones’s now-sold-out Greying Ghost chapbook, I Will Unfold You With my Hairy Hands–so I guess a lot of people are excited for that one and I further guess that if you’re excited I’m excited, because friends help each other learn and grow. Anyway, click through for the full press release from my favorite wife-husband duo in poetry:

The Henriksens of Fayetteville

Friends far & wide,

Cannibal Books is growing up. In 2009 we will have a studio space in Fayetteville, Arkansas through a local artist co-op, & we’ve compiled a mostly complete list of our books for the year, inlcuding chapbooks from Claire Donato, Carolyn Guinzio, Thomas Hummel, Shane Jones, Patrick Morrissey, Keith Newton, & Marvyn Petrucci.  Newton & Petrucci‘s books are available now.

We are currently selling subscriptions for $60, which includes all our 2009 publications, including Cannibal: Issue Four & Narwhal, a journal of seven chapbooks by Kaziim Ali, Maureen Alsop, Sommer Browning, Laura Goode, Karla Kelsey, Kate Schapira, & Jared White which we put together with Typo co-editor Adam Clay.

More on our new space, Cannibal parties in Fayetteville, New York City, & elsewhere, and on AWP off site events, will appear on the Cannibal Blog at flesheatingpoems.blogspot.com.

Thanks to everyone who supported us in 2008.

Warmly,
Katy & Matt
Cannibal Books