'The mouthmark Book of Poetry' is an anthology of
the individual-author titles published under the
mouthmark poetry pamphlet series, comprising the work of
Nick Makoha, Inua Ellams, Jacob Sam-La Rose, Jessica
Horn, Truth Thomas, Denise Saul, Malika Booker, Janett
Plummer and Warsan Shire. The series was conceived by
flipped eye publishing's senior editor, Nii Ayikwei
Parkes, as a means to get poets from non-mainstream
backgrounds - including performance - into print. It was
revolutionary for two reasons; first, it was a pamphlet
series developed with a specific aim (later,
tall-lighthouse would launch its pilot series, and, much
later, Faber would launch its New Poets Initiative);
second, it was a finite series - to end after ten
pamphlets. After some success with the first two
pamphlets in the series, Nick Makoha's 'The Lost
Collection of an Invisible Man' (2005) and Inua Ellams'
'13 Fairy Negro Tales' (2005), the Arts Council of
England provided funding for the next four. It took six
years for the series to be completed, but its impact far
exceeded expectations. Authors such as Inua Ellams,
Jacob Sam-La Rose (later editor of the last pamphlet in
the series), Nick Makoha and Warsan Shire, have risen to
international prominence; three of the pamphlets were
cited by the Poetry Book Society pamphlet selectors for
their quality; five of the poets have since been chosen
for the ground-breaking national Complete Works
development programme for UK poets of minority ethnic
backgrounds; and Truth Thomas's from his pamphlet 'Party of Black' (2006) was
chosen for Nikki Giovanni's 'The 100 Best African
American Poems' (Sourcebooks, 2010). Crucially, the
series retailed admirably as well, with over 10,000
copies sold at events - and through conventional retail
channels. Now, with the release of 'The mouthmark Book
of Poetry', readers can experience all nine individual
poets published under the mouthmark poetry pamphlet
series in this collectible volume that retains hallmarks
of the iconic series, such as the distinctive brown
paper-look cover with bold black designs.
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