Sowing Seeds: The Minnesota Literary Renaissance & Robert Bly

My new book, Sowing Seeds: The Minnesota Literary Renaissance & Robert Bly, includes a chapter on the early history of the Loft. 

The book has been endorsed by the Loft's founder, Marly Rusoff, as follows: "With Robert Bly leading the charge, and with stakes made extraordinarily high because of the war raging in Vietnam, our generation fed not only on poetry and literature but on impassioned discussions of politics, sex, race, music, feminism, and ideas; we read aloud from works in progress, saw a proliferation of underground and small presses, and trusted one another enough to give companionship, support, love and occasionally, criticism. In the process, Minnesota’s poets, booksellers and small presses gave birth to an important cultural renaissance, the effects of which are still being felt today. Mark Gustafson has brilliantly and meticulously chronicled this time and has set it in amber, a gift for all who experienced it and a handbook for generations of readers and writers who believe that many voices are better than a few, and that art and poetry matter." 

This book is not about a person, but about a community of writers who supported one another, knowing that "all flourishing is mutual." Profusely illustrated, it tells of the rise of poetry readings, literary magazines, small presses, independent bookstores, and much else in the 1960s and 70s. Find more info at calumeteditions.com   Thanks! and write on!