PROSE
I published my first book
A tribute to a proud Canadian literary tradition, 55 years and counting
An edited version of this essay appeared in the Windsor Star .
“Individually, we are a ass; but together, we are a genius.”
The late great Neil Peart of the rock band Rush quoted that line, one of the inspirational slogans that hung on the walls of their recording studio during the making of the album Test for Echo in 1996. The drummer said it expressed a truth that, “We do our best work together. And have the most fun, too.”
Maybe writing a book is like that. There are a lot of hands and great minds that go into producing a book, even though it has one name on the cover. The coming-together of all those hands and brains is proof of the second half of that statement, at least.
As for the first half, I’ll take ownership. If there’s an ass around, I’ll speak for myself and not the partners and supporters who helped me produce my first book.
It’s called Stories in the Key of Song, a book of short stories including some that have appeared online on various publications on Medium including Illumination and my own site. It is being published by Black Moss Press, an esteemed small publishing house based in my hometown of Windsor, Ontario. A book launch date is set for Sept. 12.
To say that I’m overwhelmed with pride, humility and bewilderment is an understatement.
Hell, I’m blown away just to be included among more than 600 first editions and 200 new authors — outstanding writers and poets, every one of them Canadian — whose names have graced the covers of Black Moss Press since its humble beginnings in 1969, 55 years ago. They include: Joyce Carol Oates, Al Purdy, Earle Birney, Patrick Lane, and, yes, Black Moss Press’ founder and publisher Marty Gervais.
Now me, too. Are you friggin’ kidding?
Is any of this real?
In an industry beset by economic and technological challenges over the years, this press, started by Marty Gervais and his wife Donna, has survived and thrived. It is among the oldest of literary presses in Canada, according to the Windsor Star.
Black Moss Press started as a magazine of mostly poetry from the attic apartment of the Gervais’ home on Dougall Avenue. Marty was a university student before he started working at the Star.
“It was a little daunting because you take all the money you’re making at a regular nine-to-five job, a journalist’s job, and then borrowing money to go into debt to publish other people’s work,” Gervais told the Star in 2019. “But I believed in it. I thought it was important their voices get heard.”
Black Moss Press published the City of Windsor past poet laureate, Peter Hrastovec, who commented, “If it wasn’t for Marty Gervais, a lot of us wouldn’t be able to call ourselves writers or published authors.”
Writers like me, for instance.
I have published a lot of stuff over the years, mostly journalism and some creative writing online. Each time I see something of mine published, especially in print, I feel a thrill. But holding my first book in my hands was another level of thrilling. Perhaps other established writers, even longtime, very successful ones, feel that same titillating tingle.
What’s impressive about publishing with Black Moss Press and working with Gervais and his team is the pride that he feels for the authors he publishes.
Julienne Rousseau, Black Moss Press’s director of sales and marketing and a whirlwind of let’s-get-’er-done efficiency, recently arranged to meet me at a local Tim Hortons to show me my book for the first time. I was surprised to see Gervais arrive first. He was supposed to be leaving for vacation and to see the joy on his face at opening up my book showed me his pride and love for the printed word.
His is a passion that has not dimmed over time. Gervais is an award-winning poet, historian, journalist and photographer; he has been a beacon to writers in Windsor and Canada. Among his many achievements, he founded the groundbreaking Editing and Publishing Practicum course at the University of Windsor, where he taught a new generation of students who have helped edit and publish books through Black Moss Press.
The prolific writer Bruce Meyer says it takes one publisher to believe in a writer.
“That publisher for me was Marty Gervais. I love the guy,” he told one interviewer. “He’s saved my life numerous times, not just my publishing life, but my actual physical life. He is a great soul.”
Andre Narbonne was one of Gervais’ teaching colleagues at the university. He published two books with Black Moss Press: a book of short stories, Twelve Miles to Midnight, and the novel, Lucien & Olivia, which was longlisted for the prestigious 2022 Scotiabank Giller Prize.
“Since the 1971 publication of Eugene McNamara’s The Dillinger Poems, Black Moss Press has proven a capable steward of Canadian literature, publishing more than 600 titles,” Narbonne says. “With his press, Marty Gervais has launched the careers of new writers, who would win the recognition of major awards, including the Scotiabank Giller Prize. Partnering with the University of Windsor, Gervais mentored more than a thousand future editors and publishers. Gervais’ genius for cultivating a community of talent puts him at the forefront of the Canadian literary scene.”
McNamara, who died in 2016, was a professor at the University of Windsor when I was a student there in the 1980s. Sadly, I never took one of his classes, but two of his short story books sit on my shelves: Spectral Evidence (Black Moss Press, 1983), and Waterfalls (Coteau, 2000).
Another prominent writer who published under Black Moss Press, Rosemary Sullivan, has enjoyed a celebrated career as a writer of fiction and history, and in academia. She is a Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence winner and has won such prestigious honours as the RBC Charles Taylor Prize for Non-Fiction and the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Non-Fiction for her book, Stalin’s Daughter. She has also written works about Gwendolyn MacEwan and Margaret Atwood. One of her recent books is the “cold case investigation” The Betrayal of Anne Frank.
An Officer of the Order of Canada and Governor General of Canada winner and professor emerita at the University of Toronto, Sullivan is effusive in her praise about Gervais and Black Moss Press.
“Marty Gervais is astonishing. Over fifty years as a publisher!!” she wrote me. “He draws volunteers with his dedication to books and creates communities of writers. I’ve published six books with Black Moss, each of them beautifully produced. My kid’s book Molito is a lovely graphic creation.”
For its part, Black Moss Press is proud of its place on the Canadian literary landscape for the last half century. As it says on its website, it “remains dedicated to publishing new and innovative work by authors from across Canada.”
“We publish literature and narrative poetry that chronicles and explores experiences common to the everyday lives of Canadians, the places they live and current and historical events that have had an impact on their lives.
“In the process we make literature, and poetry in particular, relevant to a wide variety of audiences and open the door to a new way of looking at the world to people who would not normally be interested in these genres.”
As one author publishing under its proud banner, I only hope to do justice to that great tradition. There is a lot of pride that goes into writing a book. Also, a lot of emotions, including dread and uncertainty: How many people will read it? How many people will show up at my book launch?
At times like this, I draw encouragement from the leadership and guidance of the folks at Black Moss Press. Also, I find inspiration in the example set by the famed Texas rock band ZZ Top. In 1970 when they were starting out, they played at a Knights of Columbus Hall outside Houston before an audience of one.
ZZ Top bought the guy a Coke and finished the concert — validation of the truism that the show must go on.
And hey, that band turned out okay.
Thanks for reading.
For details about the Sept. 12 launch of Stories in the Key of Song, click here. To pre-order books for the launch, email julienneblackmosspress@gmail.com To order online visit: Stories in the Key of Song — Black Moss Press.
Claudio D’Andrea has been writing and editing for newspapers, magazines and online publications for more than 30 years and has published a book of short fiction, Stories in the Key of Song. Visit him at claudiodandrea.ca or read his stuff on LinkedIn and Medium.com and follow him on Twitter (now X).
