The Host Dispatch: A Literary Podcast

Adventures in Book Design: Color

In this episode, the second in our Adventures in Cover Design series, Managing Editor and cover designer extraordinaire, Annar Veröld, gives us her personal masterclass in all things color! We talk about everything from the ways to use the Pantone wheel to create the perfect color combinations, to the prehistoric origins of Barbie Pink (yup, you heard that right!) 

Here are the color design resources that Annar recommends from this episode:

Werner's Nomenclature of Colours

Dictionary of Color Combinations, Vol. 1

The Secret Lives of Color by Kassia St. Clair

Ithell Colquhoun's Taro as Colour

(check out this beautiful article Annar wrote about this deck!)

What the Hell is an Em Dash?

This episode asks the age old question: What the Hell is an Em Dash? As the first punctuation mark Annar and Claire cover in the WTH series, it is a fan favorite among contemporary writers, as evidenced by this tweet from author Alexander Chee: “Em-dash is the ‘just belt it and go’ of punctuation. Thus my devotion to it.” There's even a (particularly nerdy) Distracted Boyfriend Meme circulating the web. 

So what distinguishes an em dash from other dashes? Why do poets in particular have such a fondness for it? Why is she so flirty and fun? In this episode, the Host team gets to the bottom of these questions and find: more questions, of course! But also, lot's of great insight into how writers have come to affectionately use this hip punctuation mark. 

These are the books discussed in this episode:

Final Harvest by Emily Dickinson

Sho by Douglas Kearney 

To the Realization of Perfect Helplessness by Robin Coste Lewis

 

In Conversation with Bianca Alyssa Pérez

In this episode, we had the abundant pleasure of talking with the Spring 2023 Host Publications Chapbook Prize Winner, Bianca Alyssa Pérez!

In this conversation supercharged with Bianca's charm, we talked about  all things Gemini Gospel, from the inspiration behind the cover art to the poems themselves, full of spirit, grief and healing. We know you'll be charmed, too, by this lovely conversation with Bianca!  

If you're listening before April 8th, 2023 and you live near Austin, Texas, please join us for the in-person book launch for Gemini Gospel at the Host Office! We'll have cake, a photo booth and a reading by Bianca from her stunning new chapbook. 

And if you're near San Antonio, please join us for the second launch party at Poetic Republic Coffee Co. on April 29th!

Celebrating National Poetry Month: Something Old, Something New

For this episode, Claire and Annar each brought "something old" and "something new" - a mashup of very old and very contemporary poems to learn a little more about what poetry can do, what it has always done, and how it speaks remarkably clearly to us through the centuries. 

Annar's Mashup: "Darkness" by Lord Byron and three poems from the book Blood Snow by dg nanouk okpik. 

Claire's Mashup: "Field-Song" by Anachreon, (from Stone Garland: Six Poets from the Greek Lyric Tradition edited by Dan Beachy-Quick) and "Serenade behind a Floating Stage" by Shangyang Fang (from his book Burying the Mountain)

 

Let’s Talk About: Submissions

In this episode, Claire and Annar get into the nitty gritty of where, how and what to submit when sending your writing out for publication, whether it be to a literary magazine, a chapbook prize, or to a press for full-length manuscripts. 

Focusing on the practical details, we offer lists, tips and insights into the the daunting task of sending work out to be considered for publication, and dive into some philosophical questions like, "What, of your work, needs to be out in the world?" "What are you saying with this work?" "What is the dialogue that you want to have with this publication?" We talk about some of our personal submission strategies, how we cope with rejection and keep our spirits alive to send the next batch of poems out into the world, feeling supported and hopeful. 

If you're listening before March 17th, 2023 (St. Patty's Day!) Host Publications is open for submissions! If you've got a chapbook manuscript ready to go, please send it our way! 

What the Hell is Dada?

Welcome to Season 4 of The Host Dispatch!! 

We're kicking this season off with another pressing question: "What the Hell is Dada?" Annar and Claire dive into the absurdity, revolution, play, and anti-art of the Dada movement, sharing some of their favorite writings from the likes of Tristan Tzara, Til Brugman, and Mina Loy.

Here's our curated Dada Reading List, including books we discuss in this episode:

Seven Dada Manifestos and Lampistries by Tristan Tzara 

The Dada Market Anthology edited by Willard Bohn

Dada: Themes and Movements (Phaidon), Rudolf Kuenzli

The Lost Lunar Baedeker: Poems by Mina Loy

Three New York Dadas and The Blind Man: Marcel Duchamp, Henri-Pierre Roché, Beatrice Wood 

The Dada Spirit by Emmanuelle De L'Ecotais 

In Conversation with Sophia Stid

In this episode, we had the immense delight of chatting with the Fall 2022 Host Publications Chapbook Prize Winner, Sophia Stid! We discuss her prize-winning chapbook, But For I Am a Woman a gorgeous collection of poetry which explores the intersection of personal autonomy and deep spiritual connection through the writings and life of Julian of Norwich (ca. 1342 – 1416), a mystic who was the first woman known to write a book in the English language. 

Sophia illuminates for us what drew her to this communion with Julian of Norwich, where she draws inspiration from (spoiler alert: the writings of Christian mystics + classic mystery novels are both involved!), how she approached writing the poems in But For I Am a Woman, and so much more. 

Here are some of the books and other media discussed in this episode:

Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich

Reassemblage (documentary film) by Trinh T. Minh-ha

The Works of Dorothy Sayers

A Ghost in the Throat by Doireann Ní Ghríofa

Sensational Books Exhibit at Bodliean Libraries

We hope you enjoy this conversation among friends, and as always, thanks for listening. 

SpOooky BoOks!

In this episode, we reminisce about all the good times we shared with our publisher, friend, and ultimate fan of Spooky Season, Joe Bratcher. 

Carrying on the tradition, we discussed two spooky reads that we've been enjoying this year:

A Phantom Lover by Vernon Lee (Creature Publishing)

Three Streets by Yoko Tawada (New Directions)

Adventures in Book Design: Inspiration

In this new minisode series, Managing Editor and cover designer extraordinaire, Annar Veröld, divulges all of her secrets to making the most striking book covers for Host Publications. In this first episode of the series, we focus on what it means to be inspired, and how to carry that inspiration through to the finish line. 

Some of the design resources Annar recommends in this episode are: 

Rijks Museum Archives 

The Look of the Book by Peter Mendelsund and David J. Alworth

Taro As Color Deck by Ithell Colquhoun 

Tantra Song - Tantric Painting from Rajasthan by Frank Andre Jamme

Celebrating Women in Translation

We offer this episode in loving memory of our publisher, mentor, and dear friend, Joe Bratcher III, who loved literature and was a champion of translated works, especially those written and translated by women. We celebrate Women in Translation Month this year in his honor. 

 

In this episode, we discuss:

Shapeshifter by Alice Paalen Rahon

Extracting the Stone of Madness by Alejandra Pizarnik

Please visit our website where currently, all of our works by women in translation are 50% off!