Wolfgang Carstens of Epic Rites Press recently anointed Rob Plath as editor of the small press publication Tree Killer Ink, as he says in the interview below, ‘to keep the material [in the magazine] fresh.’ In its second year the 12 page black and white magazine has been rebirthed by Plath as ‘Fluorescent Stilts For Your Uncle.’ In the tradition of Tree Killer Ink, issues #1 and #2 features poetry by some of the leading exponents of underground poetry today, including Misti Rainwater-Lites, Dan Fante, Ben Smith, John Yamrus, William Taylor Jr., Mathias Nelson, as well as other lesser known voices such as John Sibley Williams and John Macker, whom I haven’t stumbled across before.
The writing is varied but characteristically inornate and
explores core themes in underground literature: sex, drugs, disappointment,
appreciation of the small things in life, death. Issue #1 of ‘Florescent Stilts
For Your Uncle’ is more substantial and draws you in with a provocative but enigmatic photo entitled
‘FUCK OFF UNIVERSE’ by Yvette Sohl- who also features in many other photos and
concrete poems in Issue #2. Rob Plath also features predominately in each issue
with two pages devoted to his work, including his sketch ‘BORN TO DIE’ in issue
#1.
The magazine is only available through a yearly subscription
through Epic Rites Press and at $75 per year most underground readers will certainly buck at the cost. The quality
of the writing is good but the expense of publication and postage is perhaps prohibitive,
especially to the younger generation of readers who usually snarl at print. This magazine is an important creative arm of ERP and a means to attract established and up & coming talent in the small underground press. This said, although Wolf
Carstens, the owner of Epic Rites Press, has thrown in many freebies (if you
subscribe shortly), you may be better off purchasing three or four of ERP’s
growing inventory of excellent underground books. I recommend you start with
Rob Plath’s brilliant a bellyful of
anarchy (2009) and then move on to Carsten’s extremely capable ‘crudely mistaken for life’ (2010) or John Yamrus's minimalistic collections of poetry.
INTERVIEW WITH
WOLFGANG CARSTENS 28 November 2011
BOLD MONKEY: I was
wondering about the creation of Tree Killer Ink. What is the story behind it?
When did you first develop the idea for the project and what were your initial
goals?
Wolf: Tree
Killer Ink was born out of the Epic Rites Press netzines The Abyss Gazes
Also, The Thin Edge Of Staring and Lines Written With A Razor.
Each netzine had its own mandate and each was widely successful in promoting
great underground writing. With more and more netzines popping up every
day, muddying the waters on what great underground literature means, I killed
all three and started working on the The Epic Rites Journal. The
first full-length print edition was subtitled "Building A Better
Bomb" and was released shortly after the death of Tood Moore. In
addition to a balls deep interview with Todd Moore, the book featured poetry
and prose by writers like John Yamrus, Rob Plath, William Taylor Jr., Gerald Locklin,
John Dorsey, Tony Moffeit, Zack Wilson, and Mathias Nelson. I had so much
fun putting the ERP Journal together that, with the recent
destruction of the three netzines, the only way for me to continue with these
kind of projects was to continue with a print magazine. The first issue
of Tree Killer Ink was built from the bones of The Epic Rites Journal.
My
initial goals for the project were to publish the best underground writing and
images, to print as many copies of the magazine as possible, and to distribute
the magazine to as many places around the world as possible. In order to
maximize exposure of the magazine, I concentrated on places where the magazine
would reach the widest possible audience. The magazine initially found homes
in "waiting rooms" inside hospitals, hospices, service stations,
tattoo shops, and other lonely places where people go to die. To date,
thousands of copies of Tree Killer Ink have been distributed around the
world. There are numerous people who help distribute copies of
Tree Killer Ink around the world.
Q2: The magazine seems to be a breeding ground for future
full length collections by your contributors. Who have been some of your
special ‘finds’?
Wolf: Some
of my "special finds" have been William Taylor Jr. whose short story
"An Age of Monsters" (first published in The Epic Rites Journal:
Building A Better Bomb) became the cornerstone in a new collection of
stories published by Epic Rites Press under the same name. William's
poetry was exclusively featured in issue #6 of Tree Killer Ink - and those
poems became the basis of William's forthcoming collection, The Blood of a
Tourist, to be published by Sunnyoutside Press. Another "special
find" was Zack Wilson, whose contributions to the magazine have sprouted
into a forthcoming novel by Epic Rites Press called Stumbles and Half Slips.
Most recently, the work of Misti Rainwater-Lites has led to the forthcoming
project Bullshit Rodeo - which is a novel to be published in 2012.
The work of the great Henry Denander has sprouted into numerous projects which
include book illustrations, broadsides and other "secret stuff" that
can't be mentioned yet. The work of Erik "The Lizardman"
Sprague has sprouted into numerous projects that can't be be mentioned
here. Although not so much a "special find," both Rob Plath and
John Yamrus have been featured in exclusive issues of Tree Killer Ink - and
both of their contributions have become the foundation of full-length
collections. The Rob Plath issue became the foundation of Plath's
forthcoming collection Staring Down Your Wounds and the John Yamrus
issue became the foundation of his newest collection, Can't Stop Now!.
Q3: For the second year of Tree Killer Ink you recently appointed
Rob Plath to edit the magazine. Why the change?
Wolf: The
passing of the chainsaw to Rob Plath happened to keep the material in Tree
Killer Ink fresh. Rob used to edit a netzine called The Exuberant
Ashtray - and it was (in my opinion) one of the best netzines around.
I knew that Plath was more than capable of delivering the goods. Anyone
who has read the first two issues of Fluorescent Stilts For Your Uncle
knows full well what Plath is capable of achieving. The first issue of
the new year is (in my opinion) one of the strongest issues of Tree Killer Ink
ever released. The second issue is a continuation of that strength.
Plath has, among other things, added new depth and variety to the magazine by
including strong images.
The
third issue of Fluorescent Stilts For Your Uncle will be a Dan Fante
exclusive - presenting thirty pages of his unpublished novel, Malibu Blood.
Q4: What’s with the title ‘Florescent Stilts For Your
Uncle’?
Wolf: I
can't answer this question. Plath has always had a knack for creating
unique titles - just look at his poem/book titles! When I asked Plath
what he wanted to call the new magazine, he said "Fluorescent Stilts For
Your Uncle" and we ran with it - no questions asked.
Q5: You are a hugely ambitious guy who wants to sell not
just thousands but hundreds of thousands of your Epic Rites Press books. You
have been very active in promoting Tree Killer Ink but how do you sell a small
press magazine to a generation who usually expect everything for free on-line?
Wolf: The
only way to receive Tree Killer Ink is by subscription. For $75 a year,
you receive twelve scheduled issues of the magazine, and (while quantities
last) limited edition broadsides, glossy prints, and five autographed books by
Mike Meraz, Mike Taylor, Milner Place, R L Raymond and Lawrence
Gladeview. These subscriptions with all the freebies are only available
to the first twenty-five subscribers. There are, at present, only a
handful of these subscriptions left. These subscriptions are the only
"selling" that happens with Tree Killer Ink. The magazine, at
present, contains no advertisements.
Now,
when you add up the printing and shipping cost of a yearly subscription and all
the free stuff that comes with it, you immediately realize that the main drive
of Tree Killer Ink is not to make money. If you consider the Joe and
Maisie Fay book by Milner Place, for example, you realize the amount of
money involved just to distribute twenty-five autographed copies. There
is the initial purchase of twenty-five copies, and then the international
shipping costs. These twenty-five copies must first be shipped from
Canada to the United Kingdom to be signed, then shipped from the United Kingdom
to Canada to me, and then shipped from Canada to subscribers around the
world. This book has been shipped three times by the time it makes it
into the hands of subscribers!
The
main drive of Tree Killer Ink is as a guerilla marketing campaign. My
goal is to distribute great literature around the world. This is what
makes Tree Killer Ink special. The reason most underground magazines fail
is because the publisher has his/her eye on the bottom dollar. As such,
publication in these magazines amounts to your work being read by maybe one
hundred readers. With Tree Killer Ink, the work of contributors is read
by thousands of readers worldwide! As I boast on the Tree Killer Ink
webpage, soon enough we're gonna crawl out of the underground with cockroaches
in our teeth and middle fingers stabbing the air!
-
Wolfgang Carstens
--
--
Epic
Rites Press
240
- 222 Baseline Road
Suite
#206
Sherwood
Park, Alberta
T8H
1S8
Find Tree Killer Ink info and promos here: http://www.epicrites.org/tree-killer-ink.html
Sample Issue:
Tree Killer Ink poems on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLAYr4ywkU8
