UWSP press to launch newest Portage Poetry Series collection
Metro Wire Staff
Cornerstone Press, the student-staffed publishing company at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, will launch its newest book, a collection of poetry, on Thursday, May 13.
“Holding My Selves Together: New and Selected Poems,” a collection by 2019–2020 Wisconsin Poet Laureate Margaret Rozga, will be released at 6 p.m. May 13 through Zoom webinar.
Attendees must sign up through Cornerstone’s Google Form, https://forms.gle/KgenNUXaWZPpb47o6, which sends a link to the Webinar to participants. The event will feature a question-and-answer session with the author and a roundtable discussion of the collection. In addition, the winners of the first Portage Poetry Contest will be announced.
The book is part of the Portage Poetry Series and is available for pre-order at www.uwsp.edu/cornerstone as well as during the launch on May 13. The book will be for sale on the Cornerstone website and Amazon.com on May 14. For more information, visit @uwspcornerstonepress on Facebook.
In “Holding My Selves Together: New and Selected Poems,” her fifth volume of poetry, Milwaukee resident Rozga brings together some of her best-loved poems about her city’s fair housing marches and her concern for issues of peace and social justice. Her new poems identify with Alice in Wonderland and imagine new Alice adventures, as well as grapple with issues of recent political turmoil and pandemic-induced uncertainty.
“Margaret Rozga is a pleasure to work with,” Morgan Frostman, director of Cornerstone Operations, said. “Her poetry dives into topics that need to be talked about. As a social justice advocate, Rozga and her book will change the way readers think.”
“Rozga is a state treasure. Her poetry shines with the light of truth, hard-earned experience and a commitment to bettering everyone around her,” said Ross Tangedal, assistant professor of English and Cornerstone director. “There is a tenderness in her work, but there is also an urgency, a call to act and act now. Let her poems become part of your Midwestern life; they just might change your life.”
Established in 1984, Cornerstone Press is made up primarily of students in the English: Writing, Editing, and Publishing major and writing minors offered at UW-Stevens Point. It operates with the support of the English Department, with Tangedal leading coursework. Students gain hands-on experience in all aspects of publishing, from acquisitions to marketing the finished product, with courses highlighting editing, design, and management.
