Poets Wear Prada is a poetry publishing house with excellent poets and affordable books with beautiful covers. Have you had your poetry today?--Meredith Sue Willis, Books for Readers * * * Stylistically, these beautifully designed and produced chapbooks bear their own distinctive signature.--Linda Lerner, SMALL PRESS REVIEW

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Lesbian Activist Debuts First New Book in Decades



Groundbreaking feminist writer Chocolate Waters will publish her first book in over three decades with Poets Wear Prada, it was announced today by Roxanne Hoffman, Publisher and Senior Editor. Written for anyone who has loved and lost, queer, straight, male or female, "The Woman Who Wouldn't Shake Hands" will be released as a trade paperback this summer. Waters, the "Poet Laureate of Hell's Kitchen," is one of the first openly lesbian poets to publish in the U.S.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact:
Caitlin Foster
cmf3@williams.edu
413.652.8277



Lesbian Activist Debuts First New Book in Decades:
A Look in the Mirror, "The Woman Who Wouldn’t Shake Hands"

Hoboken, NJ, Jul 03, 2011 – Groundbreaking feminist writer Chocolate Waters will publish her first book in over three decades with Poets Wear Prada, it was announced today by Roxanne Hoffman, Publisher and Senior Editor. Written for anyone who has loved and lost, queer, straight, male or female, "The Woman Who Wouldn't Shake Hands" will be released as a trade paperback this summer. Waters, the "Poet Laureate of Hell's Kitchen," is one of the first openly lesbian poets to publish in the U.S. Her contribution is documented in "Feminists Who Changed America 1963-1975" (University of Illinois Press, Barbara Love, ed.).

With apologies to Diane Wakoski who got a whole book, "The Man Who Shook Hands," from a rebuff by a man who shook her hand after spending the night, Waters writes of a woman who wouldn't even, despite an intimate friendship. Publisher Roxanne Hoffman says "Leave it to a lesbian activist to write a roadmap to get us out of the woes of relationship hell with a book of poems in the form of little rants" that Stephanie Dickinson describes as "revelatory, lucid, luscious and laugh out loud funny but so psychologically astute." "Waters writes without inhibition, inviting readers to tag along on her journey of self-discovery. You'll take comfort in the fact that another human being has been there, done that, and written a poem about it," adds Caitlin Foster, Editorial Intern for Poets Wear Prada.

The Woman Who Wouldn't Shake Hands by Chocolate Waters (Poets Wear Prada, 2011)
Waters hopes that "the pain, and the humor in our pain, will pave the way for something sweeter to come." She "dedicate[s] this collection to all of us who have loved and been rejected (in other words, all of us) — whether out of the fear of loving or the fear of being loved."

"I first met Chocolate Waters in July 2004 at the New York Ear Inn Reading Series hosted by Michael Broder. I was taken in by her poetic confession of embracing femininity after years of living the dyke stereotype, her ability to write with candor, simplicity and great wit about what was still considered controversial, and that trademark non-stop wry delivery. An instant fan I ran up to Waters to introduce myself and took home a signed copy of 'To the Man Reporter From The Denver Post.' Glad to say seven years later I have the opportunity to publish my favorite funny feminist poet and that she's back on the scene and in fine form," says Roxanne Hoffman.

About Chocolate Waters:

A pioneer in women's publishing and in the art of performance poetry, Waters has toured throughout the U.S. but makes her home in Manhattan. Her three earlier collections: "To the Man Reporter From The Denver Post," "Take Me Like a Photograph," and "Charting New Waters" were produced by Eggplant Press in the late '70s and are considered classics of the early women's movement. "Chocolate Waters Uncensored," her CD spanning three decades of groundbreaking work, was released by Eggplant Productions in 2001.

Chocolate Waters is available for interviews, public readings and book signing events.


About Poets Wear Prada:

Poets Wear Prada is a small press based in Hoboken, New Jersey, devoted to introducing new authors through high-quality chapbooks primarily of poetry, since October 2006.
"Have you had your poetry today?"

Poets Wear Prada
c/o Roxanne Hoffman
533 Bloomfield St., #2.
Hoboken, N.J. 07030
201.253.0561

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Pears, Prose & Poetry: LGBT Poets at NYC's Fresh Fruit Festival Fight Intolerance


Fresh Fruit Festival Logo

Pears, Prose & Poetry: LGBT Poets at NYC's Fresh Fruit Festival Fight Intolerance


The 9th Annual All Out Arts' Fresh Fruit Festival presents Pears, Prose & Poetry, Mon. July 11, 2011 at The Center, 208 West 13th St., NYC. Showtime: 7pm. 17 poets read. FREE. Hosted by Roxanne Hoffman & Robert Urban.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Roxanne Hoffman
201.253.0561


Fresh Fruit Festival LogoPRLog (Press Release) – Jul 10, 2011 – This year marks the 9th anniversary of the All Out Arts’ Fresh Fruit Festival created in 2002 to support and present LGBT Art and Artists to fight intolerance. The July 11, 2011 Pears, Prose & Poetry event at The LGBT Community Center in Greenwich Village, New York City, will feature the work of 17 poets, some past "fruities" and some new faces.

The 17 poets include: Austin Alexis • Joel Allegretti • Dorothy Friedman August • Davidson Garrett • Melinda Goodman • Dean Kostos • Michael Montlack • Carol Polcovar • John Marcus Powell • Jessica Reed • Vittoria repetto • Jason Schneiderman • Sinclair Sexsmith • Robert Urban • Chocolate Waters • Chavisa Woods • Richard Marx Weinraub.

Robert Urban of Urban Productions will also act as emcee along with Roxanne Hoffman, publisher and editor of Poets Wear Prada. Poets Wear Prada has published an anthology for the event including work by the 17 featured poets. Pre-release copies will be available for sale at the event.

The LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th Street, New York, NY 10011
The LGBT Community Center is located at 208 West 13th Street (just west of 7th Avenue) in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City.

What is LGBT poetry? "For those who need to know — I don't know if I could every fully explain just what 'LGBT' poetry is. ... I daresay, underneath the same-sex surface — it looks, smells, sounds and tastes just like hetero poetry. Yet not a day goes by that I don't thank the world for blessing me and my kindred spirits with the alienation, distance and perspective that being queer adds to our special way with words. There's something to that." says Robert Urban.

Roxanne Hoffman,  who co-hosted the Rainbow Reading Series at Pisces Cafe in Babylon, New York,  adds "Want to find out what LGBT poetry is all about? Come to The Center on Monday evening and hear for yourself. You'll also meet some of best writers in New York. "

"The Festival’s refreshing, innovate approach to LGBT arts allows audiences to sample a wide range of poetry from writers representing different ages, ethnicities, sexualities, and gender orientations. Attendees are certain to find something fresh and innovative to inspire them." says Caitlin Foster, Editorial Intern at Poets Wear Prada and co-editor of the anthology.

The Fresh Fruit Festival prides itself on the diversity of its performers and equally diverse audiences. All are welcome and encouraged to attend.

The mission of the All Out Arts’ Fresh Fruit Festival is "to fight prejudice and homophobia by celebrating LGBT art and artists."

For more about the Fresh Fruit Festival visit http://www.freshfruitfestival.com/.

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Poets Wear Prada is a small literary press based in Hoboken, New Jersey, devoted to introducing new authors through high-quality chapbooks primarily of poetry, since October 2006. "Have you had your poetry today?"