Gus Ferguson Courtesy: Ben Oswest on Flickr
However, there are still brave and committed publishers that keep the fires burning - Kwela, Umuzi, Deep South, UKZN Press and others. Ironically, at the same time as the decline in sales, there is a huge increase in the writing of poets encouraged by workshops and university-based creative writing programmes. Inverse proportion goes like so: as readers dwindle, poets grow.
What are some of the challenges that come with publishing poetry?
Trying to balance a publishing list between my own taste and other poets of merit.
Do you think younger and older poets collaborate enough?
I think they do. A shining example of this are the regular Monday night Off the Wall readings, in Observatory, Cape Town, run by Hugh Hodge. His openness to poetry of all kinds allows old and new poets to read and respond to each other's work.
It's a delightful learning process that sharpens the critical faculty and offers the useful opportunity of trying out new work in front of a generous audience.
What satisfaction did you get from your latest book, Dubious Delights of Ageing and Other Follies?
The satisfaction of receiving positive comments from readers.
What is your fascination with snails about? The title of your first book is Snail Morning and then there's The Herding of the Snail and your company, Snailpress.
In the late '70s I had a burst of unexpected inspiration following a first poem about the common or garden snail . I wrote around 60 "poems" in around three months and a selection of these, Snail Morning, was published by Ad Donker. It sold well and proved to be popular and stimulated a lot of correspondence.
I had no intention of writing about snails. I was urged on by slow, but insistent pressure from my muse, that humble vegetarian, Helix aspersa.
What are you currently busy with?
I am contemplating putting together a selection of very small poems. The older I get the briefer and more ambitious the poems.
Anything you'd like to add?
Just the remark that as a reader of poetry I can't understand why so many people prefer novels.
In a book shop
By Gus Ferguson
A couple called Gladys and Rex
were suddenly keen to have sex,
(such urgency's vaguely perverted).
'But, where can we do it?' cried she.
'The poetry section!' said he,
'I know that it's always deserted.'
©2008 Tonight & Independent Online (Pty) Ltd.
August 19, 2008
SOUTH AFRICA: Ferguson's a man of many words
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (Tonight), August 19, 2008:
People News
By Kgomotso Moncho
Gus Ferguson is one of the greatest poets this country has. His poetry is quirky and sometimes very deep.
Based in Cape Town, he's a cartoonist, a pharmacist and a committed cyclist. He publishes other poets through his company, Snailpress, and runs Carapace, a poetry magazine. His latest book is called Dubious Delights of Ageing and other Follies.
You have a long history with poetry in SA. What are your observations?
Sadly, in the main, poetry publishing remains a sub-economic activity, forcing many publishers to depend on funding to get books out. The net result is usually that the audience is limited as marketing is limited in proportion to the likely sales.
Literary publishing in SA is just coming out of a phenomenal boom which, due to the number of novels published, had as its unintended consequence the effect of distracting readers from the far superior art form - poetry. Sales on average of small poetry collections are around 50% of what they were five years ago.
Gus Ferguson Courtesy: Ben Oswest on Flickr
However, there are still brave and committed publishers that keep the fires burning - Kwela, Umuzi, Deep South, UKZN Press and others. Ironically, at the same time as the decline in sales, there is a huge increase in the writing of poets encouraged by workshops and university-based creative writing programmes. Inverse proportion goes like so: as readers dwindle, poets grow.
What are some of the challenges that come with publishing poetry?
Trying to balance a publishing list between my own taste and other poets of merit.
Do you think younger and older poets collaborate enough?
I think they do. A shining example of this are the regular Monday night Off the Wall readings, in Observatory, Cape Town, run by Hugh Hodge. His openness to poetry of all kinds allows old and new poets to read and respond to each other's work.
It's a delightful learning process that sharpens the critical faculty and offers the useful opportunity of trying out new work in front of a generous audience.
What satisfaction did you get from your latest book, Dubious Delights of Ageing and Other Follies?
The satisfaction of receiving positive comments from readers.
What is your fascination with snails about? The title of your first book is Snail Morning and then there's The Herding of the Snail and your company, Snailpress.
In the late '70s I had a burst of unexpected inspiration following a first poem about the common or garden snail . I wrote around 60 "poems" in around three months and a selection of these, Snail Morning, was published by Ad Donker. It sold well and proved to be popular and stimulated a lot of correspondence.
I had no intention of writing about snails. I was urged on by slow, but insistent pressure from my muse, that humble vegetarian, Helix aspersa.
What are you currently busy with?
I am contemplating putting together a selection of very small poems. The older I get the briefer and more ambitious the poems.
Anything you'd like to add?
Just the remark that as a reader of poetry I can't understand why so many people prefer novels.
In a book shop
By Gus Ferguson
A couple called Gladys and Rex
were suddenly keen to have sex,
(such urgency's vaguely perverted).
'But, where can we do it?' cried she.
'The poetry section!' said he,
'I know that it's always deserted.'
©2008 Tonight & Independent Online (Pty) Ltd.
Gus Ferguson Courtesy: Ben Oswest on Flickr
However, there are still brave and committed publishers that keep the fires burning - Kwela, Umuzi, Deep South, UKZN Press and others. Ironically, at the same time as the decline in sales, there is a huge increase in the writing of poets encouraged by workshops and university-based creative writing programmes. Inverse proportion goes like so: as readers dwindle, poets grow.
What are some of the challenges that come with publishing poetry?
Trying to balance a publishing list between my own taste and other poets of merit.
Do you think younger and older poets collaborate enough?
I think they do. A shining example of this are the regular Monday night Off the Wall readings, in Observatory, Cape Town, run by Hugh Hodge. His openness to poetry of all kinds allows old and new poets to read and respond to each other's work.
It's a delightful learning process that sharpens the critical faculty and offers the useful opportunity of trying out new work in front of a generous audience.
What satisfaction did you get from your latest book, Dubious Delights of Ageing and Other Follies?
The satisfaction of receiving positive comments from readers.
What is your fascination with snails about? The title of your first book is Snail Morning and then there's The Herding of the Snail and your company, Snailpress.
In the late '70s I had a burst of unexpected inspiration following a first poem about the common or garden snail . I wrote around 60 "poems" in around three months and a selection of these, Snail Morning, was published by Ad Donker. It sold well and proved to be popular and stimulated a lot of correspondence.
I had no intention of writing about snails. I was urged on by slow, but insistent pressure from my muse, that humble vegetarian, Helix aspersa.
What are you currently busy with?
I am contemplating putting together a selection of very small poems. The older I get the briefer and more ambitious the poems.
Anything you'd like to add?
Just the remark that as a reader of poetry I can't understand why so many people prefer novels.
In a book shop
By Gus Ferguson
A couple called Gladys and Rex
were suddenly keen to have sex,
(such urgency's vaguely perverted).
'But, where can we do it?' cried she.
'The poetry section!' said he,
'I know that it's always deserted.'
©2008 Tonight & Independent Online (Pty) Ltd.
