FREE downloads of RATTLE ebook-issues from the archive

Timothy Green (rattle.com), posted by Ellie Askew

Some News in May

Dear Rattle Readers, It's only a random Monday in May, but we've reached a critical mass of news and updates, so I hope you don't mind a quick off-season email blast before our summer issue appears. The most exciting thing might be that we've finally figured out what to do with ebooks: we're giving them away. For the last decade we've had a love-hate relationship with ebooks: There are some wonderful benefits for some people but, frankly, we'll always prefer the stillness of paper. We've experimented with different ebook distribution methods, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble, but what makes the most sense is just to make them free. Subscribers can still use a password to download the current issue, but once all of the poems have appeared individually at rattle.com, we'll release those ebooks into the wild. At the moment, we have issues 50–62 available for download in standard EPUB and MOBI-Kindle formats. We'll also be adding new issues as we go, and gradually converting older issues into ebooks, so that eventually our entire archive will be available this way. Put them on your phones and tablets and bring poetry everywhere you go, even where there isn't wifi! This also means that many of our conversations will be available online for the first time. This set of issues includes great interviews with poets like Jimmy Santiago Baca, Francesca Bell, and Maggie Nelson. See more on that below. We've interviewed nearly 100 poets over 24 years, and it's time we put that resource online in a way that's searchable, so we'll also be republishing them as regular web pages. To start, I've just put up my conversation with Stephen Dunn from issue #60. This is one of our most popular interviews—some have called it a "master's class in poetry," and Dunn truly is a master, with a tremendous amount of wisdom to share over these 10,000 words. We'll be adding more conversations like this throughout the rest of the year, so be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. In other news, we're happy to announce the next round of Rattle Chapbook Prize winners. This trio of manuscripts covers a wide range of topics and moods. Print subscribers can look forward to each of them riding along with issues starting this fall. Finally, we've released our third A Poet's Space video, visiting with 2018 Rattle Poetry Prize winner Dave Harris on campus at U.C.-San Diego. We're trying to decide whether or not we should make more of these, so if you enjoy it, be sure to share and give it a thumbs-up or comment on YouTube to let us know. That's all for now. The summer issue and chapbook are at the printer and about to be shipped. I'll check in with our regular summer calls for submission email next month. Until then— Cheers,

Timothy Green Editor / Rattle rattle.com

p.s. You're receiving this email because, as someone who has submitted poems, subscribed, or purchased issues, we think these occasional updates serve your established legitimate interests, but you can unsubscribe using the link at the bottom of the email any time if you'd rather not get them.

2019 Rattle Chapbook Winners

We're excited to announce the three winners of the 2019 Rattle Chapbook Prize: Al Ortolani, Christina Olson, and Jimmy Pappas. Visit the winners page for more on each of them. Their chapbooks will be included free to all subscribers for three straight issues, starting with Al's Hansel and Gretel Get the Word on the Street this fall. Click for more information

"Turbulence" by Dave Harris

The third installment of our new series with Blank Verse Films, A Poet's Space, was released last month, featuring 2018 Rattle Poetry Prize winner Dave Harris's "Turbulence." As with the first two videos, the goal is to provide an intimate glimpse into the spaces where poems are actually born. Join Dave in La Jolla, California, at the link. Click to watch the video on YouTube

Conversation with Stephen Dunn

An excerpt from the conversation … __________ GREEN: You said that poetry matters, and that’s something I’m always curious about. Why does poetry matter? There’s a sense that it does, that we take it for granted as readers and writers of poetry, but to communicate that to other people who haven’t had the experience yet is difficult. So why does poetry matter?  DUNN: The poetry that ends up mattering speaks to things we half-know but are inarticulate about. It gives us language and the music of language for what we didn’t know we knew. So a combination of insight and beauty. I also liken the writing of it to basketball—you discover that you can be better than yourself for a little while. If you’re writing a good poem, it means you’re discovering things that you didn’t know you knew. In basketball, if you’re hitting your shots, you feel in the realm of the magical. GREEN: Do you think that writing is that same feeling as being “in the zone”? DUNN: Yes. But then, almost always, you have to revise. Read the rest at Rattle.com...

Rattle eBooks

Finally, here's your chance to download all those ebooks. We have a baker's dozen online to start with, featuring the following conversations and tribute themes: #62: Jimmy Santiago Baca & 2018 Poetry Prize #61: Marvin Artis & First Publication #60: Stephen Dunn & Athlete Poets #59: Alejandro Escudé & Immigrant Poets #58: Diana Goetsch & 2017 Poetry Prize #57: Ken Meisel & Rust Belt Poets #56: Francesca Bell & Mental Illness #55: A.M. Juster & Civil Servants #54: Meena Alexander & 2016 Poetry Prize #53: Jennifer Jean & Adjuncts #52: Brendan Constantine & Angelenos #51: Maggie Nelson & Feminist Poets #50: Lester Graves Lennon & 2015 Poetry Prize Click here to start downloading

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