TINY BOOKS GOES INTERNATIONAL

Meritage Press Announcement

TINY BOOKS GOES INTERNATIONAL (OF COURSE) FOR POETRY TO KEEP FEEDING THE WORLD!

Meritage Press (MP) is pleased to announce the third title in its series of Tiny Books that aligns poetry with fair trade and economic development issues affecting Third World countries.

MP's Tiny Books initially utilize small books (1 3/4" x 1 3/4") made in Guatemala by artisans paid fair wages, as sourced by Baksheesh, a fair trade retailer. All profits from book sales then will be donated to Heifer International, an organization devoted to reducing world hunger by promoting sustainable sources of food and income.

We are delighted to announce that MP's third Tiny Book is

               "…And Then The Wind Did Blow..."
               Jainakú Poems
               by Ernesto Priego

Ernesto Priego was born in Mexico City. He lives in London. He blogs at Never Neutral and is the author of the first single-author hay(na)ku poetry collection, Not Even Dogs . The "jainakú" is Mexico's version of the hay(na)ku poetic form.

With Tiny Books, MP also offers a new DIY, or Do-It-Yourself Model of publishing. You've heard of POD or print-on-demand? Well, these books' print runs will be based on HOD or Handwritten-on-Demand. MP's publisher, Eileen Tabios, will handwrite all texts into the Tiny Books' pages and books will be released to meet demand for as long as MP is able to source tiny books -- or until the publisher gets arthritis.

This project reflects Meritage Press' belief that "Poetry feeds the world" in non-metaphorical ways. The Tiny Books create demand for fair trade workers' products while also sourcing donations for easing poverty in poorer areas of the world.

MP's other Tiny Books, which also are still available, are

               all alone again
               by Dan Waber

and

               Steps: A Notebook
               by Tom Beckett

Dan Waber is a visual poet, concrete poet, sound poet, performance poet, publisher, editor, playwright and multimedia artist whose work has appeared in all sorts of delicious places, from digital to print, from stage to classroom, from mailboxes to puppet theaters. He is currently working on "and everywhere in between". He makes his online home at logolalia.com. Meritage Press tapped Mr. Waber to inaugurate the series partly for his work in minimalist poetry.

Tom Beckett is the author of Unprotected Texts: Selected Poems 1978~2006 (Meritage Press, 2006), and the curator of E-X-C-H-A-N-G-E-V-A-L-U-E-S: The First XI Interviews (Otoliths, 2007). From 1980-1990, he was the editor/publisher of the now legendary critical journal, The Difficulties. Steps: A Notebook is Tom Beckett's first hay(na)ku poetry collection. The hay(na)ku is also a form that lends itself to minimalism.

Each Tiny Book will cost $10 plus $1.00 shipping/handling. To purchase the Tiny Books and donate to Heifer International, send a check for $11.00 per book, made out to "Meritage Press" to

Eileen Tabios
Meritage Press
256 North Fork Crystal Springs Rd.
St. Helena, CA 94574

Please specify which of the three Tiny Books you are ordering.

For more information: MeritagePress@aol.com

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FUNDAISING UPDATE:

As of Aug. 18, 2007, Meritage Press' Tiny Books has sold enough Tiny Books to finance the donation equivalent of about twelve gift packets of honeybees! Here's the buzz about bees from Heifer International:

"From India to the Dominican Republic, bees from Heifer International help struggling families earn income through the sale of honey, beeswax and pollen. Beehives require almost no space, and once established, are inexpensive to maintain. As bees search for nectar, they pollinate plants. Placed strategically, beehives can as much as double some fruit and vegetable yields. In this way, a beehive can be a boon to a whole village. Although most Heifer partners keep bees as a supplement to family income, beekeeping can be a family's livelihood. Your gift provides a family with a package of bees, the box and hive, and training in beekeeping."

Then of course there are the chickens, goats, water buffalos, pigs, ducks....all of which can help ease hunger around the world. Meritage Press thanks you in advance for your sweet support and hopes you enjoy Tiny Books -- small enough to become jewelry, but with poems big enough to resonate worldwide.