2023 Year-End Appeal Letter
Dear Friends of Perugia Press,
Building community is at the heart of Perugia Press. When so much of our country and the world seems fractured, the value of community rises. By “community,” we mean strong connections both within the organization and between our press and other organizations. We also mean friends of the press, like you, who help sustain our mission by reading our books, submitting to our contests, attending our events, and making donations that support Perugia’s work. Here are some examples:
- In dozens of events and readings over the years, poets we published 25 years ago meet and read with our newest poets. This is a cornerstone of how we build community within Perugia.
- For instance, our 2000 prize winner, Catherine Anderson, our 2010 winner, Melody S. Gee, and our 2023 winner, Carolina Hotchandani, have a reading planned at the St. Louis Poetry Center.
- This year, we collaborated with Black Writers Read to host readings and conversations with poets Lisbeth White and Lynne Thompson. Other recent partnerships were forged with the Emily Dickinson Museum’s Phosphorescence series and the Straw Dog Writers “Celebrating Voices of Resistance” initiative.
- Our monthly Emerging BIWOC Poet Spotlight continues to highlight the work of women poets of color (November’s spotlight is on Palestinian-American poet Deema K. Shehabi). Plus, we donate 5% of our book sales to support organizations that promote the work of women of color.
What does it take to create a welcoming, ongoing, healthy community like ours? It takes hard work, care, dedicated poets, staff, and volunteers, and, of course, financial resources.
Donations are an integral part of how we fulfill our mission to celebrate and support the work of women poets. As part of our community, please consider a year-end gift to our press.
With gratitude,
Rebecca Olander, Editor/Director and the Perugia Press Board
P. S. All gifts to the press are tax-deductible. You can give securely on our website. For donations of $100 or more, or for donors who sign up to give monthly at any amount, we’ll send you a signed copy of The Book Eaters by Carolina Hotchandani.
