"The business of the poet ... is to show the sorriness underlying the grandest things and the grandeur underlying the sorriest things."

As poets, we can't help but call things as we see them, and what better time to tell the truth through poetry than such uncertain times as these. In order to preserve the integrity of this practice, it is vital that small presses and nonpartisan avenues for free and creative speech receive our financial support.

Enter, Tupelo Press.

Over the past 20 years, Tupelo has developed a reputation throughout the country as a press with a "highly-inclusive aesthetic" and a passion for education through their writing conferences. Tupelo has published more than 150 authors and provided a platform for hundreds more through their 30/30 Project, to which I am now a contributor.

Here's how it works:

I write and submit a poem a day for 30 days. Each day, a new poem of mine (along with one from each of the other volunteers) appears on Tupelo's 30/30 web page for the month of August.

And that's pretty much it.

But wait, you might say — that's all? Wow, Tupelo is really generous! To which I would say, yes, you're right — they are. However, they're also depending on me (and the other volunteers) to let people know how awesome they are and so keep them in business.

This is where you come in.

In order for Tupelo and I to get the most out of this month-long (and hopefully beyond) relationship, it is imperative that you invest in both the press and my career as a poet by donating whatever you can to keep us going. If you value the art of poetry not just for art's sake but for its contribution to a greater good, this is one unique way you can keep it alive.

My great hope for my own poetry is that it would inspire people to create their own art, confront their own fears and prejudices, and strive to make the world a better place. These are values I see in Tupelo Press, which I look forward to manifesting with your help. Every dollar gives me confidence to write more, and helps the press place more poems in gorgeous books.

So, please: Help me help this distinguished press. Give today.

❤️ Caitlin M.S. Buxbaum

DONATION REWARDS

• $5 - shout out on all my social media platforms
• $10 - s/o and personalized thank you card, PLUS a homemade RSP sticker
• $20 - s/o, card, sticker, poem dedicated to you (i.e. for John)
• $30 - s/o, card, sticker, poem dedicated to you and/or written on a topic of your choosing, PLUS one of my first four books*
• $50 - s/o, card, sticker, a poem for you, plus TWO of my first four books*
• $60 - s/o, card, sticker, a poem for you, two of any paperback from Red Sweater Press OR Wabi-Sabi World
• $150 - s/o, card, sticker, a poem for you, my complete collection from Red Sweater Press (7 books, including Wabi-Sabi World)

* Songs from the Underground, Ever Unknown, Ever Misunderstood, Uneven Lanes or The Compendium of Lost Poems

Read new poems daily here!