Six Questions for Jeremiah Walton, Editor, Underground Books

SQF: Tell is a little about Underground Books (http://www.undergroundbooks.org/). Why did you start it and what do you hope to accomplish?

Jeremiah Walton: I didn't start it. James Keppling founded it when he was a teenager in 1997. He's been publishing "street books" (DIY chapbooks) since then.

I joined aboard this past summer as an editor and help manage the general press. We collectively work and decide upon the poems / books published through UB's various outlets.

The goal: give poetry a kick in the balls.

We're going to be a fully registered and functioning nonprofit organization by the end of 2013.

SQF: What do you look for in a submission? Put another way, what will set a submission apart from the rest?

JW:

1. They read the submission guidelines.

2. The voice is clearly the author's own. We want to hear the murmurs of inspiration you draw from your environment in your writing. Influence from other writers is fine, but we do want to see something progressive to the poetic community as a whole.

3. We appreciate youth poetry that rumbles our bellies into knots. Make us squirm.

SQF: What most likely will turn you off to a submission?

JW: Rhyming poetry, though that's just me personally.

SQF: Underground Books is a new publisher. Why would an author choose UB over a more established company?

JW: It's not too new. It's been around for a while but recently started gaining momentum and obtaining notice.

We care about poetry to the point we're all mad men. Your writing will be homed well here. We want to share your work. We're just going to do what we love to do and make sure our poets' voices are amplified.

SQF: What is your advice to new, unpublished authors looking to be published?

JW: Read the submission guidelines. Please.

SQF: What question do you wish I’d asked that I didn’t? And how would you answer it?

JW: How do you distribute your books?

Besides through the website and social medias, we hand make street books and sell them by busking, taking them personally to book stores, distributing them at festivals, and through open mics/slams. We will work hard for you.

Thank you, Jeremiah. We all appreciate you taking time from your busy schedule to participate in this project.

NEXT POST: 11/26--Six Questions for Amanda Nicole Corbin, Editor in Chief, Pure Coincidence Magazine