Best Book of 2005

Stayed up past my bedtime last night reading Stuart Ross' Confessions of a Small Press Racketeer. It's one of those books on my shelf that I know is going to be great so I hoard it until the perfect moment. No question, it was just what I needed last night.

I bought a copy of Confessions from Stuart at the Advanced Poetry Bootcamp he ran last November. These days, I go into workshops with some trepidation, wondering how painful the experience is going to be and if I'm going to get my time & money's worth. Of course, Stuart doesn't pull any punches: it's a bootcamp, dammit! I leave his workshops feeling exhausted and exhilerated and keen to get back to my writing projects. I call that getting your time & money's worth!

Like a long-distance telephone converation with an old friend, Confessions is one of those books that won't let you put it down until it's finished with you. Yes, it's hilarious but, more importantly, Stuart Ross has a lot to say to writers in love with books and language and writing. He also has a lot to say to readers who wonder what the writing life is all about. And, just like a long-distance telephone conversation with an old friend, Confessions lets you remember why you do what you do and why you wouldn't trade a minute of the writing for anything, even if no one ever reviews your book and the League of Canadian Poets denies your application for full membership (more about that debacle another time). Yeah, I felt better after I read Confessions of a Small Press Racketeer. Better, and even a bit silly for being silly about how Moon Sea Crossing is doing out there on its own in the big, bad world. Great books are like old friends -- who said that??