From the Publisher's Desk

Dear <<First Name>>,

If you are not new to the Meadowlark email list, you're probably laughing at what is written above as you know, as well as I do, that it's been so long since the last Meadowlark note, it may as well be the first one for all of us. What can I say? We've been busy . . . publishing lots of lovely books.  

We have so many fun and exciting projects happening at Meadowlark right now. I had to stop to take a moment to share. Scroll down in this newsletter and you'll get to hear Mandy Kern, author of Ava: A Year of Adventure in the Life of an American Avocet, reading a proof copy of our very first full-color, illustrated book. For many months, I've been calling this our first children's book, but after passing proofs of the book around for review, I've come to the conclusion that everyone is going to love Ava. It's full of conservation science and education, it's definitely a book for bird lovers. But it is also a book for people who appreciate amazing art. (I'll tell you a little secret. I've lived in Kansas for 45 of my 50 years and I learned so much about Kansas from this book.) Buy it for your child's library, or buy it for your coffee table. We will begin shipping in June. More details can be found below.

This week we are finalizing our decisions for 2021 poetry books, and just today we began proofreading the first printed proof of issue #1 of 105 Meadowlark Reader, a Kansas Journal of Creative Nonfiction. I can't wait to begin getting feedback from subscribers when we ship in May.

As a publishing bonus, I've been getting some amazing workouts with all the shipping—carrying many packages of 400+ page books on walks from my office to the post office—of our newest title by James Kenyon, Echoes in the Hallways: History and Recollections of 102 Closed Iowa High Schools. It's such a popular title, the folks at the post office asked if I was thinking of moving to Iowa, we are doing such big business there.

I am looking forward to seeing what 2021 brings, and for our part, Meadowlark is going to focus on publishing even more great books. Feel free to take a moment to check-in, say hello, let us know what you are reading and writing today. And don't forget to read all the way to the bottom of the newsletter. Just wouldn't want you to miss any important opportunities. That's all I'm saying!

--Much Love & Good Reading--

Tracy Millions Simmons
Meadowlark Press

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When you order a book early--before it is released--your confidence and contribution help us to build a bigger, stronger Meadowlark. Books purchased directly from our small press are handled by us, packaged by us, and carried to the post office by us. We hope you feel our love and dedication, to our authors and to our readers, when you open that package. We hope you enjoy our tokens of gratitude tucked within, be it a bookmark, an extra poem for your pocket, or a flash of fiction by one of our authors.

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A book supersedes being a simple collection of words when a poet gets a hold of them. More Than Words by Kevin Rabas is an intimate collection of poetry and micro-fiction that takes a conscientious look inward and closely around us through stages of growing up, connecting with music, navigating romance, interacting with nature, and persisting through social and personal maladies.

As Kansas Poet Laureate Emeritus, Rabas’s expertise and passion shows. He can write a poem about anything, and this collection displays his versatility. Each page is a surprise, with some poems educating the reader on historic jazz saxophonist Charlie “Bird” Parker and other poems ruminating on contemporary social and political issues, such as the death of George Floyd and the COVID-19 pandemic. Rabas is creatively invigorated by everything from questions about our places in life to working from home. 

Rabas often finds inspiration in conversation, such as in an exchange about beekeeping between him and his father. Conversations between lawyers and jazz drummers, bullies and the bullied, and a boy and his crushes let the reader live vicariously through some of the worst, best, and creative experiences these characters have. 

Each poem and sketch guarantee a clever turn of phrase, strong imagery, and clear language. Rabas uses his jazz background to channel the direct, concise percussiveness of language. The pieces in this collection span the entire scale of literal to metaphorical, always leaving something more to think about at the end. With bite-size poems and prose sketches, this is the perfect book to read in one sitting or in pieces, whenever you need a little inspiration to look at the world in a fresh way.

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