I am a graduate student at the University of Massachusetts Boston, where I study English Education. This project was born out of parallel events.
The first event was the realization that professors and fellow students leave books in piles marked “free” all over the 6th floor of the English building, and many of these books are poetry. I began to take them because I needed a detox from reading dense theory texts like Jameson’s The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. After campus ran out of books, I turned to local used bookstores. The collection quickly became eclectic and highly regional to New England poets.
The second event was a conversation with a student in the MFA program who had a great familiarity with the logistics behind indie poetry publishing. They told me, paraphrasing, "a lot of this is grit, and the work is ephemeral because of the fragile nature of small-press poetry.” Small presses emerge as one person’s passion project, publish anywhere from 20–100 copies of one book of poetry, and then vanish as the passion wanes, finances dwindle, or life gets in the way.
This website grew out of the realization that I now have an extensive collection of poetry found on campus and in local bookstores, and that this work deserves to be championed and remembered. Each book is a snapshot of a literary world that does not exist in the spotlight, but quietly goes about its life in the poetry ecosystem. It should be treated and documented as the living, breathing thing that it is.
I have tried to organize categories clearly and consistently, as well as provide brief biographical details about the origins of the book (e.g., “I found this in 2025 outside of X lobby, lounge, shelf, or place”). I take full responsibility for any incorrect details found on individual entries and will gladly correct them if informed. I do not provide reviews, full excerpts, or subjective commentary. I only document the fact that each book exists and provide brief context on its existence.
Questions, donations, or general comments are always welcome. I can be reached at studentatschool8@gmail.com
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