Michelle Detorie was born on Novemeber 21, 1975 in Madison, Wisconsin, where she lived until she was two. Then she lived in Springfield, Ill. where she went to Catholic school, feared the devil, and made her first communion. Her family arrived in Columbia, South Carolina on the first day of 1984. She went to six different schools between the ages of 8 and 13. During her adolescence, Michelle rejected Catholicism after experiencing a year of insomnia due to her fear that the Virgin Mary would appear in the corner of her dark bedroom. In high school, Michelle discovered zines, punk rock, and rap, and spent a summer at the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts writing fiction and poetry. She went to college and grad school in Baltimore, Maryland and San Marcos, Texas. She currently lives in Goleta, California where she edits WOMB, an online magazine for poetries by women, and Hex Presse. She is also a contributing editor for Little Red Leaves. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in How2, Chelsea, Bird Dog, Blackbird, Typo, Dusie, POOL, The Tiny and elsewhere.
Her poem "Feral Thing" was published as tinyside # 9 by Big Game Books and a series of visual poems, “Our Clean Heart,” was published as a special edition of FOURSQUARE. A chapbook, DAPHNMOANCY, was published by Peter Ganick's Small Chapbook Project and another chapbook, Bellum Letters, was published as pat of the 2007 Dusie Chapbook Kollektiv. A third chapbook, A Coincidence of Wants, is forthcoming from Dos Press. She is a 2007 NEA Literature Fellow. For more information, please visit her web site.
Publication Questions:
1) What projects are you currently on? (Include issue #s, books, chapbooks, broadsides, special projects, print and web).
I just finished editing the second issue of WOMB and I’m working on the cover design for Hex Presse’s first chapbook, Resurrection Party by Michalle Gould, which I hope to finally publish in October. As a sort of sequel to Bellum Letters, I’m getting ready to write a hypertext poem per day throughout October. I spent the better part of the summer designing poetry games and puzzles for Hex Presse. Today, I’m working on game boards to go with the Cleromancy Dice. For these I’m combining collage, pyrography and cartography. I also hope to return to Daphnomancy, an improvised music and text project with my partner and collaborator Kurt Newman. I’m almost always working on several things at once, which is one of the reasons why it sometimes takes me so long to finish any individual project.
2) What has been your biggest challenge as a poetry publisher/editor?
When I first announced the journal, I was surprised by some of the reactions. I think a few people were put off by the name. I responded to some of the criticisms and assumptions about the name of the journal on my blog (you can see the response here); most of all, I wanted to clarify that my choice to publish “women” was about recognizing how people self-identify, not about their anatomy. I also read on a few blogs that people perceived the mission of the journal to be divisive and – surprisingly—about creating inequality. In these cases I felt – and still feel – that there was some willful misunderstanding regarding the mission of the journal. I don’t say this to blow it off, only to say that I think there are ways some people are still made uncomfortable by feminism -- by the desire to discuss and acknowledge gender, and by the wish to create space for these discussions and forums for the work of women writers and artists.
To be honest, these are challenges for which I’m grateful. It was important for me to clarify and articulate the mission of the journal. It was also an opportunity to observe and pay close attention to the way discussions about gender unfolded online on blogs and in comment boxes. There’s a tremendous amount of celebration around a particular version of the heroic male avant-garde, which I find curious given the way many members of these communities define their politics. Following these conversations helped me understand the areas where work still needs to be done; I think before encountering these reactions, I’d made a few optimistic assumptions about how people might react to a new space for showcasing poetries by women.
You can read the FAQ’s about WOMB here:
And the Hex Presse mission statement is here:
3) Do you regret any paths you have followed as a publisher/editor?
I think that I haven’t always given myself enough time to read submissions. When I first started WOMB, I was promising responses within 2-4 weeks. As the sole reader/editor, I just couldn’t keep up.
4) Name one poet who has not appeared in your publication which you would love to have included and why.
Just ONE? If I have to pick just one I’m going to say Wanda Coleman because her poetry is amazing.
5) Who is the designer of your web site and how much input do you have in the design of the web site and the other design elements including covers for books, etc.?
I design and build the website. I’m still learning. I’m also designing and binding the chapbooks. I’ve also designed and made all the hex presse games and puzzles myself.
6) What recognitions have you received as a publisher/editor?
I’ve been thrilled to receive submissions and responses from poets and people I admire.
7) Where do you see your publication/editing in 5 years?
I just hope it’s still going. I’d like to do more to attract and promote women writers of color.
To be honest, my deepest wishes and dreams for the journal and press are to expand their mission and start a non-profit literary arts organization. I love teaching, and I’m interested in doing workshops with low-wage workers, women’s shelters, teens, and children. I’d like to find a way to do more art-as-activism work.
8) What are some of your other interests?
I volunteer with the wildlife rescue network here in Santa Barbara. I like taking pictures and going on walks. I’m a very picky pop-culture junkie. I like gardening. I love the ocean.
9) What is your favorite poem as of today and why?
Probably poem # 754 by Emily Dickinson (My My Life had stood—a Loaded Gun). I love the music and the tone of this poem. For some reason, I especially like the placement of the words “Sovereign” and “Doe.”
And now We roam in Sovereign Woods—
And now We hunt the Doe—
It’s chilling and vast and complicated.
10) Recommend a poetry book, blog or web site to our audience (not from one of your press) and why.
Sister, Outsider by Audre Lorde because of it’s generosity and optimism and teeth.
11) What is the most exciting aspect of being a poetry publisher/editor?
Not just publishing new poets and poems, but making connections between poets. Building and inspiring community.
12) Leave us with a recipe for poetry.
Gather words/letters/sounds you like and make something with them – a machine, an animal, a politics, a mirror.
Thanks for inviting me to participate!
