Black Star Press

Black Star Press was created by Sarah (see also Nebraska Authors), my wife, and myself in 1993 with the avowed intent to publish poetry by Nebraska poets, with some variety allowed in the event we wanted to include play scripts, general fiction,  and perhaps even academic material. etc.  Ultimately, we published only poetry (two trade books, -- That Other Brightness (1993) by Virginia Gilbert, and The Grand Canyon and other Selected Poems (2009) by Amil Quayle; one songbook with lyrics and a musical score (in the 1990s) by Alan Kitto); numerous chapbooks, and, of course, the Nebraska Poets Calendar (1994 - 2001, 2011,2012). 

We were best known for our Nebraska Poets Calendar, a wall calendar, in which each month featured, on the top portion of the calendar,  one poem, by a Nebraska poet paired with one artwork, by a Nebraska artist (essentially a broadside). Poets had a bibliography in the front of the calendar, and artists were also identified along with the medium used, and the galleries where their works could be found. In the calendar proper on the bottom of each month's spread appeared the grid of the month's days, with various days of note, relevant to Nebraska. Initially, this consisted of lunar phases and legal holidays, eventually, it was expanded to include dates of famous birthdays,  historical events-related dates, arts, poetry-related dates, culturally relevant dates, religious holidays from any religion to be represented in the state,  and all major astronomical phenomena.  Dates and times for the latter were tailored to the dates and times when they occurred in Nebraska (Central and Mountain time zones when possible), including the dates and times of lunar phases -- which are, in most calendars, usually given for the dates and times on the east coast, or England. 

We also included minor essays (notes) about Nebraska-related subjects, focusing on literature and history in empty spaces at the beginning and end of the months, and tables of information (dates about astronomical, meteorological, historical, and cultural, events with dates & times when relevant) at the bottom of each month. 

It was exhausting and did not leave much room for users to jot notes on the calendar, but we hoped that Post-it notes could make up for that! Still, we wanted to provide Nebraskans with a calendar that we thoroughly tailored to their state.

The name was chosen to honor our engagement and wedding bands, in which were set Black Star Sapphires. 

Since Sarah's untimely death in 2017, at the age of 58, I have not had the heart to continue Black Star Press without her. It is just too much work for one person, and the heart of it was gone for me. Technically it still exists, but is inactive. I hope someday I can find someone with the passion and energy to revive it, with at least some major Nebraska-oriented material being published, including the Nebraska Poets Calendar. Poetry is, after all, what brought Sarah and I together to be united with Black Star Sapphire wedding bands, and kept us together, with a Nebraska-oriented raison d'être.  I would want the name to invoke some memories of her wonderful talent and enthusiasm. for Nebraska, its poets and its artists.

I do, today, try to run a poetry reading venue at St. Mark's on the Campus, where Sarah & I were married, and where she did volunteer -- with some minor paid -- work until the day she died, called at The Lion, which I hope preserves something of the feel of the Nebraska Poets Calendar, in a reading-venue format. I try to maintain an emphasis on the poets and artists (I have ensured the displays of artwork at the venue), and exposure to the seasons.  I, being who I am, have insisted that this be a community venue, without any religious pressure involved for the audience. It is meant to be all about poetry and the arts.

You can see a list of poets and artists published in the Nebraska Poets Calendar here. (It is in a text table, so you might have to use 'ctl +' and 'ctl -' to adjust the magnification of your screen to make the columns all line up.)  Among them were all of the Nebraska Poet State Poets (/Laureates) to date (2024).