 Coinciding with the release of our newest title Funny-Ass Thoreau, edited by Atelier26 publisher M. Allen Cunningham, Lit Hub is featuring Cunningham's full introduction to the book.
Here's a snippet: "When I was fourteen my mother, exasperated by the onset of my teenage angst, handed me a Penguin paperback of Thoreau’s Walden and said, “Read this. The guy who wrote it was a rebel like you.” For some reason, I did as she suggested, and in Walden’s transcendental rants I found all my angsty teenage convictions gloriously and authoritatively ratified. Institutions were bad: they wanted to straitjacket my thoughts and crush my creativity; my elders were either corrupt or absent-mindedly hypocritical, either tyrannical or brainwashed, tragic or just pitiful; the dictates of fashion and good form were stifling and almost always ridiculous; money was a golden calf, prosperity overrated, and “making a good living” was a fool’s errand; as for our so-called government, it was just one big immoral business. ...For me, Thoreau’s writing was a drug. It knocked my neurons around. It worked me over completely, induced a sort of insanity, and actually changed the course of my life forever. And still, until quite recently, I did not get the jokes. Had you taken the pains to point out to me, at fourteen, the extent of the levity that permeates Walden and much of Thoreau’s writing, I might have punched you in the nose. ..." Visit Lit Hub to read the rest. And get your copy of Funny-Ass Thoreau right here, or ask for it at your neighborhood bookseller.  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 7, 2016
Atelier26 Books is proud to announce that it is the recipient of a $2,000 Small Arts & Culture Grant from The Oregon Community Foundation. The grant will support the publication of a new work of literature slated for release in 2017. “This material support from the Oregon Community Foundation is extremely meaningful,“ said Publisher M. Allen Cunningham. “One of my core beliefs about publishing is that quality books are far more than consumable goods, and shared reading experiences can foster community and cultural vitality. It is thanks to grants like this and generous donations from readers that Atelier26 is able to bring unconventionally beautiful and resonant works to the public. I hope that our recognition by the Oregon Community Foundation will encourage generous individuals to consider us for their year-end giving.” Cunningham notes that Atelier26 always accepts tax-deductible donations of any size through its website. Atelier26 is an independent publisher in Portland, Oregon that exists to demonstrate the powers and possibilities of literature through beautifully designed and expressive books that get people listening, talking, and exchanging ideas. Our recent release, People Like You by Margaret Malone, was named a 2016 PEN/Hemingway Award Finalist for Debut Fiction and was awarded the Balcones Fiction Prize. The mission of The Oregon Community Foundation is to improve life in Oregon and promote effective philanthropy. OCFworks with individuals, families, businesses and organizations to create charitable funds to support the community causes they care about. Through these funds OCF awards more than $60 million annually in grants and scholarships.The Foundation makes grants available through an application process that involves local citizens in the review and evaluation of requests for funds. Applications are available through the Foundation’s Portland office. Individuals or businesses interested in establishing a fund should visit www.oregoncf.org. www.Atelier26Books.com | Distributed to the trade by IPG/Small Press United For more information, contact: M. Allen Cunningham, Publisher: atelier26books@gmail.com or Diane Prokop, Publicist: atelier26books.publicity@gmail.com |
(Atelier26 Blog Archives from 2011-2016 can be found HERE)
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