Photo by Isaac Faleschini, Oracle
Hamline undergraduate Lee Kisling (‘14) read from his recently published chapbook, “The Lemon Bars of Parnassus” at Chapter Two Books in Hudson, WI. Cherry and Kwame Dawes among its authors. I imagine that Lee is is exciting. She said, “The completion of any project is a milestone proud to be listed among them.” for a writer. And publication, in particular, can allow you to close Another Hamline professor in the creative writing department, the door on a kind of writing or part of your life.” Deborah Keenan, a well published poet—40 years and countMost of Kisling’s stories about his poems and his process twist ing—and Kisling’s internship advisor, agrees that Parallel Press is and wind in that associative pathfinder style so often equated to one with a history of “finding good poets and good poems and getpoets and poetry. As he talked about his process in creating the ting them out into the world.” Keenan wrote in an email interview, poem “The Lemon Bars of Parnassus” Kisling fell easily into the role “Competition for good presses to publish one’s poetry is fierce, and of the orator. “The whole story started because I was given these many fine writers who have lemon bars and they were wondergone on to full-length colful,” he said, “I tend to hyperbolize lections are listed at the back about things and I said, ‘These bars of Lee’s book with Parallel taste like the lemon bars of the Press.” gods.’ I started processing all this Chapbooks, according to and I came up with the first couple Vandenberg, are a traditional of lines and I ran with it, but immemethod of publishing poems diately, in the imagery in the poem, and have recently begun to you get jail bars. So, what does the make a comeback into the shift mean? How do you get these mainstream. “When I was two things back to making any first studying poetry, people sense? When you’re thinking about treated chapbooks as ‘prethe bars,” Kisling continued, “think books,’ something you pubabout the mother gorilla leaning . lished before you were ready down and whispering to her offto publish your first book,” spring, ‘Don’t worry, they can’t get Vandenberg said. “But in through the bars.’ So, what it really —Katrina Vandenberg, creative writing professor more recent years, as the inis, is a safe space. All those people terest in fine arts books and who for me were God-like in the sixmicro-presses has grown, I’ve seen an increasing number of chapties and seventies, the singers and guitar players and purple painter books published by poets in all stages of development.” people, who ushered the traditional God to the door, they became According to Keenan, “It is highly significant that Lee has alGod-like in that era and then, like all gods, they diminished. They ready published a chapbook of poems. All of us who have been start off strong and then they get ruined by pop culture and so on. Lee’s teachers at Hamline are thrilled for him, because he deserves Where did they all go? Behind bars. But Parnassus is the home of this recognition for his poetry. It is very unusual for an undergraduthe gods! They’re safe. Don’t worry, they’re safe.” It’s interesting to ate to publish a book through an established press before graduasee the connections after they have been explained by the author. A tion. We celebrate his achievement.” moment later, Kisling laughed and said, “This is what I mean, when Professor Vandenberg agrees that publication of Kisling’s book you explain that much, it takes twice as long as the poem!”
“He’s a great thinker, never afraid
of new subject matter, and dedicated. Lee’s poems have a wide range. They are by turns lyric, wistful, imaginative, sly and funny. Lee’s also a tireless reviser ”
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