Gentleman Poet's Hunt & Light Kickstarts New Poetry Book
In celebration of National Poetry Month, East Hampton independent poetry imprint Hunt & Light, helmed by Gentleman Poet Lucas Hunt, has launched a Kickstarter campaign seeking $5,000 to fund its newest volume of poems, Constellations by Esther Mathieu.
Hunt & Light’s first poetry collection, *****Original Message***** by Matthew Frazier, was produced in 2013 through the generosity of a group of people who believe new poetry is important—including a volunteer art director and designer, a few creative publicists, local booksellers and Montauk Printing—and by all accounts it was a success. This year, Hunt says he’s turned to Kickstarter’s crowd sourcing site to raise funds for printing and a book tour.
“Esther writes about how the particular things of this world relate to the universe, in melodic language,” the Hunt & Light founder and director says, explaining the poetry in Mathieu’s book. “This campaign is not just about poetry, but a way for us to help others achieve their dreams,” Hunt adds before asking that people donate and share the campaign with others. “Esther is a new voice in poetry and that’s what Hunt & Light is about—sharing new voices,” Hunt says.
The Kickstarter—which includes the video featuring Hunt below—is open through April 30 and it has already (as of Friday afternoon, April 3) earned $1,010 from 17 backers. Hunt hopes to raise all $5,000 by month’s end in order to get the book printed in time for Printer’s Row Book Festival in Chicago in early June.
In the meantime, they are working on a second round of edits and designing the book’s cover and planning a series of book launch events at NOoSPERE gallery in Manhattan, Harbor Books in Sag Harbor and at Engine in Maine, with the sponsorship of Engine and Maine Writer’s Alliance. Mathieu’s Constellations book tour would follow over the summer and into early fall.
Constellations will also be available at independent bookstores—including BookHampton, Harbor Books, Berl’s Poetry, Posman Books, Housing Works, McNally Jackson, Engine and The Society Club (UK)—and through online retailers, such as Amazon.com.
Click here to view and donate to Hunt & Light’s Kickstarter campaign.
To find out more about Hunt & Light, visit huntandlight.com.