Ten Years and Two New Books

The Blasted Tree is ten years old as of this summer! It seems like only yesterday I was registering the domain name and asking my fellow creative writing students for short stories and poetry collections to publish as chapbooks. From its founding in Montreal in 2014 to the present day, The Blasted Tree has chased that special something that makes text fun to read and a page fun to read from. Now, I am delighted to present two new, fully-illustrated visual poetry books by ground-breaking Canadian authors, each available in a limited edition of 100 copies. Take a closer look at these titles below, and please consider participating in our 10-year anniversary fundraiser in support of these, and future, publications.

Game Genie Poems

by Kevin Stebner

Game Genie Poems takes the limited set of letters available in the Game Genie cheat code cartridge to its poetic extreme. Selecting only from words compatible with the code entry system, Stebner has crafted a collection of poems that treat topics as diverse as politics, gastronomy, sex, and literary formalism with rigorous precision and ribald humour. This volume presents photographs of Stebner’s code words entered into the Game Genie interface alongside textual versions to give readers an idea of the laborious process, not only of composing these poems, but of entering them letter-by-letter into a 1980s video game console.

HAVANA SYNDROME

by Sacha Archer

Slicing through genre and convention like a razor through celluloid, Sacha Archer’s HAVANA SYNDROME is a grimy, ink-splattered adventure in the hinterlands of typographic representation. Like a clandestine dossier of photocopied documents, these poems disclose themselves in furtive fragments, drawing the reader into a conspiracy of text and visual detritus. Which fingerprints are Archer’s and which are left by the reader? Whether you’re a detective or the culprit, HAVANA SYNDROME will enlist you into a secret agency of interpretation.

To celebrate ten years of small press publishing, The Blasted Tree is hosting an anniversary party and funding drive. Full details about the party are coming soon. Meanwhile, check out the fabulous offerings available through the funding drive over on The Blasted Tree’s online store, including book and chapbook bundles, one-of-a-kind art, out of print publications from our back catalogue, and more!

The Blasted Tree is looking to raise $2500 over the next couple of months to cover the production costs of our new books. Purchasing any of these bundles (or the books themselves) will be a huge help in meeting this goal. There are only 1 or 2 of each bundle available, so act fast! If you miss your shot at a bundle or just want to support the funding drive, The Blasted Tree also accepts donations. Any amount donated to the cause is greatly appreciated!

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The Blasted Tree's annual subscription drive

It's been a great year for the press, and I owe so much of our continued success to subscriber support. In 2021, I was able to do more color printing than ever before, several publications sold out in a matter of days, and we even put out our first two full-length books: Without Form by Ben Robinson and Barcode Poetry by yours truly. The stability provided by subscribers has allowed me to take more risks and keep trying new things. Thank you for making this possible!!!

And now it's time for The Blasted Tree's annual subscription drive! Subscriptions have formed the backbone of The Blasted Tree's publishing model for the last few years, and have become especially important through the pandemic. Sadly, COVID-19 continues to present challenges for small press publishers as we refrain from markets and in-person events, conventionally the best places to sell chapbooks. Moreover, without face-to-face interaction, it can sometimes feel like publishing into the abyss. Luckily, subscriptions change all that! When the going gets tough, subscriber support has made it that much easier to press on. And so I've endeavoured to line up a full slate of exciting publications for the next several months, including:

  • Daydreaming Melancholia by Danni Storm, a chapbook of typewritten visual poetry

  • Old Sea by Ryan Sterne, a statistics-based rewrite of The Old Man and the Sea

  • crease by Samuel Haecker, a foldable origami poetry leaflet

  • And many more! In fact, too many to list here!

I ask that you please consider subscribing to receive all of our forthcoming print publications over the next 12 months. I've got so many irons in the fire, and I can't wait to share them all with you! Sign up at www.theblastedtree.com/store/subscription! If you live in Calgary and are willing to pickup locally, I encourage you to sign up for the "Local Pickup" option, save yourself some cash on shipping :) For everyone else, there are tiered shipping options depending on where you live, as in previous years.

Thanks for supporting my publishing efforts, and here's to a poetry-filled 2022!

Cheers,

Kyle Flemmer, Editor in Chief

FLASH HAIKU - Rob Taylor

The winner of The Blasted Tree's sixth flash haiku contest, held on social media over Labour Day long weekend, is Rob Taylor! We've published the haiku into 2.5" x 2.5" mini-leaflets in a limited run of 75 copies. Rob’s poem was selected for it’s simple, domestic imagery, unfolding across generations through currents of life, death, and primordial language. Copies of the haiku are available from The Blasted Tree Store on granite-grey paper.

BUY FLASH HAIKU: ROB TAYLOR MINI-LEAFLET

Quite a few exceptional entries came in this time, so we are awarding two runner up prizes and a bunch of honourable mentions. Congrats to Mark Laliberte and Catherine Vidler, whose visual haiku entries earned them Blasted Tree book bundle prizes! You can see their kick-ass poems on our Instagram story for the next 24 hours. Shout-outs also to Mandy Alzner, Gary Barwin, Amanda Earl, Khashayar Mohammadi, and mwpm, who also entered stand-out poems. Honestly, we could go on and on, so thank you to everybody who participated in the contest!

FLASH HAIKU - derek beaulieu

The winner of The Blasted Tree's fifth flash haiku contest, held on social media earlier this week, is derek beaulieu! We've published the haiku into 2.5" x 2.5" mini-leaflets in a limited run of 60 copies. derek’s poem was selected for it’s unconventional approach to the form, electing to substitute syllables for Space Invaders descending in haiku formation. As always, selecting a winner was quite a challenge, and reading through the submissions really brightened our week, so thanks very much to everyone who participated in the contest! Copies of the haiku are available from The Blasted Tree Store on metallic grey paper.

BUY FLASH HAIKU: DEREK BEAULIEU MINI-LEAFLET

12-Month Print Subscriptions to The Blasted Tree

Subscribe to The Blasted Tree and receive one of everything we publish in print format for 12 months, including all our limited edition chapbooks and artbooks, leaflets, broadsides, booklets, and who knows what else! Great care is taken in the design and production of each of our publications, so you can expect a wide variety of formats and materials responding to the weird and wonderful work of the Canadian and international contributors we feature.

SUBSCRIBE TODAY

Shipping is included, and new publications will be mailed to you twice throughout the year (specific titles can be sent on release by request). Subscriptions also come with 25% off in our online store, giving you the best deal on our back catalog, Blasted Tree merch, and extra copies of new publications. Still not convinced? Check out our ever-growing list of print publications past, present, and forthcoming…

VIEW PRINT PUBLICATIONS

The Blasted Tree 5-YR Anniversary Party

Five years young and ready for fun! Join me on Nov. 21st for The Blasted Tree's 5-YR anniversary party, celebrating five years of independent small press publishing. There will be authors. There will be chapbooks. There will be prizes and music and libations and maybe even an awkward toast or two. Mostly I want to express gratitude to the community that's helped keep this dream alive, so come party with me pretty please! Thursday, November 21, 7 - 9 pm at LOFT 112, 535 8 Avenue SE.

FLASH HAIKU - Johannes S. H. Bjerg

The winner of The Blasted Tree's fourth flash haiku contest, held on social media earlier this week, is Johannes S. H. Bjerg! We've published the haiku into 2.5" x 2.5" mini-leaflets in a limited run of 60 copies. Johannes’ poem was selected for the zen-like irreverence befitting a true haiku master. The twisting grammar of this poem takes us to the brink and leaves us “there beneath a duck.” This was a very hard decision to make, lots of funny and thought-provoking entries this time around, so thanks very much to everyone who participated in the contest! Copies of the haiku are available from The Blasted Tree Store on antique grey Classic Laid paper.

BUY FLASH HAIKU: JOHANNES S. H. BJERG MINI-LEAFLET

FLASH HAIKU - Amanda Earl

The winner of The Blasted Tree's third flash haiku contest, held on Facebook last Sunday, is Amanda Earl! We've published her haiku into 2.5" x 2.5" mini-leaflets in a limited run of 80 copies. Amanda's poem was selected for its elegiac tone, multivalent natural imagery, and deeply moving turn. (It's another trick entirely to land an earnest "fuck" in a poem, let alone haiku; bonus points awarded.) We loved so many of the entries this round, thanks to everyone who participated in the contest! Copies of the haiku are available from The Blasted Tree Store on metallic grey paper.

BUY FLASH HAIKU: AMANDA EARL MINI-LEAFLET

Spoken Word - Complete Verbal Vol. 1 Anthology

The Blasted Tree's first foray into the publication of spoken word recordings, Verbal Vol. 1, is complete! Each of the eight tracks can be listened to and read on our website, plus now you can download the entire anthology from our Bandcamp. Thanks for listening, and thanks especially to the poets, musicians, and recording experts who contributed to putting this thing together: Audrey Lane Cockett, Anthony J. Gavin, Ilona Martonfi, Laine Pineo, Prairie Chola Ayatollah, Ian San Agustin, Adrien Smart, Michael Smilovitch, Alec Panikian, SHIGETO, and Josh Cunningham.

Download Verbal Vol. 1