THE HISTORY OF MATRIX part 1|2|3|4|5|6

by Tony Brewer.

ADVENTURES IN PUBLISHING

Early on, John and I had discussed the possibility of a free monthly poetry publication, of which Bloomington was in dire need. MATRIX was focused on live performance and exhibition, and yet John and I, and many of our colleagues, were also devout worshippers of the printed word.

Next step: MATRIX 1.1 (available in pdf) That first issue, consisting of poets Andy Coffey, a.livingston, Carrie Spadter, and Paul Kirby, [links to their poetry] and illustrated by Ted Giffin's wonderful graphite sketches , hit the streets in September 1999.

We were thrilled, and distributed issues all over town. Now people who had never been to a reading were catching the buzz and could take a piece of MATRIX home with them or pass it on to a friend.

About the time MATRIX 1.2 (available in pdf) came out in October 1999, we began developing a website. We had had a site for some time, almost since the very beginning. But lack of communication with our site designer and general dissatisfaction with the fruits of our efforts left us leery of the prospect of a digital presence. Besides, we're an anachronistic bunch. Who needs a website?

Enter Nathan Letsinger, who not only demonstrated why we needed a ‘net presence, but was actually able to explain to us how it was going to work . . . and we understood him! Then came our first serious setback.

After only four issues, we had to cut the publication loose. We simply could not cover the cost of production. And while the print quality was adequate, we wanted to do more, but with no budget to work with . . . well, we decided to table our publication aspirations for the time being.

Rest assured, we will print again. The ideals behind words in print are far too important to let the project wither on the vine. But our next pub' will most likely be an annual anthology with color printing, more poetry, and more art.

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