Silently (and not-so-silently) celebrating Canadian small presses

How we gather has changed profoundly over the course of the pandemic.

How gathering has been curtailed and modified has challenged us. We haven’t always executed it successfully or derived from it what we did before, in person and in beloved spaces.

But gather we have, and sometimes we’ve gained unique connections, insights and solace in these new forms of meeting.

Silent book clubs – long chronicled here – have always been about readers gathering to share each other’s company in the act of reading. The being-in-the-company-of-readers part is where the “silent” comes from, but interestingly, the gatherings were often book-ended (!) with considerably less than silent sharing of enthusiasms and challenges around one’s reading. While “club” echoes the concept of traditional book clubs, where there was something of the likeminded in choosing a single book for all participants to read and discuss, these gatherings were more like community, where any book in any form was warmly welcomed and not judged.

While we’ve missed sharing coffee and scones around a cafe table with our fellow readers, the conversation and community has continued online. In fact, we’ve been able to fling open those coffee shop doors to welcome people from around the world. It’s the comforting trade-off to not being able to meet with the people just around the corner.

When the Meet the Presses collective approached me about hosting a silent book club zoom meeting as part of the group’s second virtual small press book fair, I was delighted to be asked. I was equally delighted to realize that the silent book club model could work for other book-related communities.

Meet the Presses

Meet the Presses values small presses and the authors they publish. The organization supports the ongoing creation of new literary work in all formats and across all genres. Meet the Presses’ annual Indie Literary Market is an invitational event for independent literary publishers — presses, micropresses, zines, and journals — as selected by this volunteer collective. Since 1986, Meet the Presses has also awarded the annual bpNichol Chapbook Award. This year and last, the group replaced its the vibrant in-person market, readings and professional sessions with virtual events. The 2021 schedule featured:

A cozy (for zoom) gathering of about 10 writers and publishers gathered for the Small Press Silent Reading Group. In the notably non-silent portion of the meeting, we celebrated the bounty of small press beauty, largely but not exclusively in chapbook form, that has been capturing our hearts and minds and helping us all get through challenging times. The following is part of that cascade of small press delights.

My silent book club book and chapbook selections

I was fortunate to enjoy two silent book club meetings the day of the Meet the Presses event. Here are all my silent book club book and chapbook selections, all lined up.

Interestingly, the discussion segued into observations about how many forms of reading can provide distraction, solace and more during trying times. Beautiful World, Where are You by Sally Rooney was just one example … but the best tribute was to – wait for it – Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery, delivered in a captivating, rhapsodizing near-rap. Riding that wave of singular energy, we departed the zoom room to enjoy our respective allotments of silent reading bliss.

Thank you to Gary Barwin and Tali Voron to inviting me to host and take part in a special silent book club gathering that tells me yes, communities of those devoted to beautiful words beautifully assembled will always find a way to celebrate.

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