COOL CLEVELAND

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Markk Kuhar of deep cleveland pressPreserving d.a. levy and Cle's poetic historiography
You could walk right past Markk Kuhar on the street and miss him. You'd never know he’s one of the most tireless poetry and writing advocates in the entire city if you weren't looking for him. He doesn’t carry himself with that quotient of "hip sophistication" that some artists and writers do; he’s a straight-shooter. The keeper of Cleveland’s poetic and literary flame sports a black shirt, black boots, a shaved head, a great sense of humor, sharp insight... and no pretenses. Like everything he’s involved in, he lets his work speak for him.
Kuhar is responsible for deep cleveland press, llc, a boutique publishing house he operates to perpetuate “post-industrial literary culture & other types of cosmic enterprise in the service of the arts.” He operates the d.a. levy center for progressive poetics, “which exists to perpetuate the legacy” of the famed Cleveland artist, publisher and cultural icon, responsible for the city’s "mimeograph revolution" poets. He works with the Poets and Writers League of Greater Cleveland and edits their Ohio Writer Magazine – a bi-monthly repository with a calendar of literary activities and writing opportunities throughout the state. He runs a monthly deep cleveland poetry hour event in Strongsville, is a business-to-business trade press editor by trade, a visual artist, and is the custodian of record for the famed Cleveland poetry anthologies called ArtCrimes – the brainchild of writer/editor Steven B. Smith. And believe it or not, Kuhar has even more literary projects in the pipeline.
When does he sleep? Eat? Chill out? Search us. He’s everywhere. And if you’ve attended a poetry or literary event in town, odds are Kuhar was responsible for it, a part of it, behind the organization of it, written about it, or, at very least, most certainly in attendance. He sat down with Cool Cleveland Managing Editor at Visible Voice Books in Tremont recently to talk about the flurry of it all, chapter by chapter:
On the monthly deep cleveland poetry hour:Kuhar calls the evening of live poetry, spoken word, “recitations, incantations, and general sublime idiocy” that he founded in 2002 “a really good event that fills a void. There was nothing going on in the southwest quadrant of the city and the idea was originally to look for an independent bookstore to offer it at.” With nothing to fit the bill in that area, Kuhar approached the manager of the Borders in Strongsville with an idea: how about a monthly event that featured poets reading works of all varieties, and an open mic for writer newbies looking for an outlet off the printed page or screen? The folks at Borders were surprisingly “positive and very cooperative,” said Kuhar, and in no time, the event was a staple of the area. The event is now officially sponsored by Borders and the Molly Gallery in Strongsville.
“The store manager [at Borders] was all for it… they did have a couple requests, to keep the bad words and the volume to a minimum. And once we started, all these great people showed up – Dan Smith Joanne Cornelius, Jennifer Napier, Terry Provost, Miles Budimir. I mean, all these great people. Joshua Gage, who is now running the event for deep cleveland, was living in Pepper Pike at the time for God’s sake!” Kuhar laughs. “I had no idea why he’d drive that long. The intent was to gather a little community around the Borders readings; it was nice to see the [writing] community come out from all over the place. I was a bit skeptical if we would be able to generate enough interest with the event, but it has survived and thrived, which is great, and draws from all over.”
The timing of the event couldn’t have been better, either. The deep cleveland hour ended up partially filling a larger void as well – one left when the Classic Cleveland Poetry Slam, run by poet Michael Salinger on the third Sunday of each month at the Beachland Ballroom – ceased operations. Though components of each event are very different, the critical elements of featured poets and an open mic are the same. Encouraging new and unknown writers to deliver their work among more established ones is another similarity. Kuhar is “proud” of what the deep cleveland poetry hour has accomplished.
The deep cleveland poetry hour hits Borders Bookstore at 17200 Royalton Rd. in Strongsville on the second Friday night of each month. This month's edition, which hits Friday, September 14, features poet Cat Valente and a slate of others. The words fly starting at 8:30PM; call 440-846-1144 for directions and visit http://www.deepcleveland.com/borders.html for details.
On deep cleveland press:Kuhar relates on the deep cleveland website that the small-press publishing function of the organization was “formed to serve the literary and cultural community of Greater Cleveland as a publisher of local and regional poetry books and chapbooks and nonfiction special-interest books.” The press also publishes poetry anthologies with a "partners-in-profit" good-karma business model - a portion of proceeds donated to WCPN 90.3 FM; The Cleveland Foodbank; and the Poets & Writers League of Greater Cleveland. Kuhar’s press has released works by Joshua Gage, Miles Budimir, Ray McNiece, Terry Provost and many of the other “usual suspects” who have been featured during deep cleveland poetry hour events.
“I extended the deep cleveland franchise with small press publishing to help get a lot of really talented writers get their stuff published,” Kuhar relates. The decisions on what gets published really come down to the who and what inspires him.
“[R]elationships are a part of it, but by the same token, the people attracted to deep cleveland think the same way and bring the same energy to it. We’re not really doing iambic pentameter or rhyming journal entries,” he adds with a laugh. “There’s none of that going on these are all great writers work hard see a lot get out and work hard at their craft and translate it into really good work. It’s great to have opportunity to work with those people, and to get their word out to other people in print, but that has less to do with me, really, because they’re all extremely talented individuals on their own.”
For a complete list of books, published works and chapbooks through deep cleveland press, visit http://www.deepcleveland.com/deepclevelandbooks.html.
On d.a. levy and the mimeograph revolution:The creative fortitude of d.a levy “looms large” over Cleveland – even long after the poet and pioneering alternative press operator died in 1968. Darryl Allan Levy may have lived on the near west side, but his spirit lives within and without the city... and lives on in Kuhar's work. The poet is Kuhar’s main focus with the d.a. levy center for progressive poetics' levy's legend continues to inspire and inform Cleveland’s literary population. Kuhar and other accomplices work to offer symposiums and regular events to honor his work and cult-like following.
Kuhar and a slew of other authors were a part of the recent literary event called ukanhavyrfuckincitibak (or, “you can have your fucking city back”) at Art House. Bottom Dog Press and Mac's Backs co-hosted a reading of levy’s works to celebrate the release of two new books related to his legacy. levy grew up down the street from Art House on Denison in Cleveland's Old Brooklyn neighborhood. It’s just one of many celebrations that Kuhar has been a part of.
The latest? As part of The Art Gallery at Cleveland State University's exhibition The Ineffable Object -- featuring works of conceptual art and material evidence of aesthetic thoughts and ideas -- there will be a poetry reading celebrating levy, whose artwork is included in the exhibition. It hits Wednesday, September 19th at 7:30PM. The gallery is located at 2307 Chester Ave. The reading will be hosted by Kuhar, with other featured readers and an open mic. http://www.csuohio.edu/artgallery.
On bringing poetry to the forefront in Cleveland:It’s something that has been discussed a lot back and forth amongst the poetry and prose crowd, especially through the online newsgroup ClevelandPoetics: what can these talented writers do to command greater attention in the larger literary scene in Cleveland? It’s certainly a thought that crosses Kuhar’s mind often.
“This is but one small part of the whole picture – and we tend to be very biased about the wish for added attention of the media and the public at large – but it’s because we think it’s important for us,” says Kuhar. “If you’re a poet in Cleveland, it is a very serious vocation and you tend to take it very seriously. The general public at large doesn’t always tend to think of it that way, so there’s probably a disconnect there."
With the hope and dream that the public at large will take poetry and prose as seriously as the writers themselves do, Kuhar says bridging that gap will require people on both sides to “engage in a much larger way, like they do with fiction and nonfiction. We tend to be the last stop on the train line for people who like literature,” he adds. “For those of us who consider it the first stop, that can be a frustration. But it's on us as poets to solve through collaboration.”
With poetry readings all over town (through the revered Cleveland State University poetry center, the great small venue gigs, and coordinated efforts by Salinger and his work with younger poets) there’s a lot of great talent to showcase. But in the end, it’s all about exposure.
“The people who come to hear poets are mostly, well, poets and friends of poets. How can we get fresh ears from the public at large? I think it is going to take a totally different approach, if we decide that the writing, publishing and performing of [poetry and prose] are the three key things for us. We’re going to have to link up with other organizations and types of art in a more coordinated manner. If we can get a piece of the art crowd, and the music crowd, and find some way to sort of merge our efforts with what they are doing, that’s where we’ll be successful as a group.”
On collaboration:Asked why there was no large poetry component in events like Ingenuity or Sparx Gallery Hop, Kuhar says “that was a failure on part because we [aren't] dialed into it. For an event [like Ingenuity] that has artists, technology and community as its primary elements, we would have had a captive audience. There may be other opportunities there, which we will have to stay ahead of. We tried to get a little piece of the Tri-C JazzFest at one point too, but [that] fell through the cracks.
“There has been some integrating with the music scene, which has been helpful. Ray McNiece merged talents with band Tongue in Groove, and he morphs into the poet while he’s doing his thing and people there for the music get the benefit of that. Drumplay worked with Daniel Thompson, which I think helped deliver him to a larger audience. And he worked with Jim Miller of the jimiller band,” Kuhar adds.
“We will work to continue to find the ways to broaden the exposure, and that situation will improve, but we can’t realistically expect large crowds to come and hear poetry on its own, because like I was saying, the average lit fan is just not wired to do that. We’ll always have the readings I mentioned, as well as the ones out at Mac’s Backs, the KSU Kent branch, Literary Cafe, Trinity Cathedral… and when the new people do show up, that’s always going to be really rewarding.”
On ArtCrimes:And then there’s the matter of ArtCrimes. Kuhar inherited the venerable “who’s who in Cleveland poetry and literature” series from Smith, who created and curated it. Smith left Cleveland with his wife Kathy Ireland Smith during the last year. Smith’s ArtCrimes anthologies spanned 20 years and 21 editions. When Smith decided to leave the city, “He gave them all to me to sell,” Kuhar says with a smile. “He said, ‘You’re the man that’s gonna handle it!’ and he gave me 20 boxes worth of those poetry anthologies. Dave [Ferrante, owner of Visible Voice] said he wants to get some of those up on his shelves.”
If you haven’t experienced ArtCrimes, you are missing the quintessential cult classic journal of the region – a blunderbuss of independent thoughts and ideas from the pens of current and former Clevelanders. The limited edition lit/art publication during the mid-1980s and came to an end with last year’s final (and in some ways, most impressive) missive, Duck & Cover. Since that time, Kuhar has thought about reviving the dormant series, but the time has to be right. “Steve told me that he’s done putting them together, but said if I ever want to revive ArtCrimes to go ahead and do it. We may do that at some point through deep cleveland press, but we are booked with projects through next year, so ArtCrimes needs to rest on its laurels for now.”
ArtCrimes features work from writers Charles Bukowski and the late poet laureate Daniel Thompson through Cleveland’s present day writers; their insights will rock your world. All 21 volumes of ArtCrimes are available through deep cleveland press, and are discounted when sales are bundled. And once they’re out of print, they’re gone forever. For details, visit http://www.deepcleveland.com/artcrimes.html.
On what’s on tap for Kuhar and deep cleveland:Kuhar has several other projects percolating. Booked through all of 2008 for new deep cleveland publishing titles, he’s helming a compilation called three-chord poems: the poetry of rock & roll, releasing a controversial book called the why and later: an anthology of poems about rape & sexual abuse edited by Carly Sachs and offering poetry books by Daniel Gallik, Matt Estvanic, Anna Ruiz, and Jack McGuane, poet laureate of Lakewood. A work of fiction by Kate Vogl and collection of writings and drawings by the late Sarah Tomm are also scheduled for release.
He’s particularly intrigued by the KSU grad Sachs’ book. “It’s a topic that a lot of publishers just wouldn’t touch,” Kuhar says. “It’s something people don’t want to talk about and to some people, if you do talk about [rape], you’re almost being exploitive. But she sat down and talked to me about it, and I told her if she believed in it, deep cleveland would [publish] it and donate percentage to rape crisis centers.” As for McGuane’s offing, Kuhar is similary charged up. “He never put out a book and he is over 80 years old. That book had to happen.”
Kuhar’s also working on a kid’s poetry project to help children write poems, and on the locally-focused clevelandpoetryarchive.com -- an up-and-coming web presence with writer/author Nina Freedlander Gibans. The former experience is “phenomenal,” Kuhar says. “You’d be amazed at the profound things these kids at the 4th and 5th grade level have to say. Their minds are just jumping with ideas and thoughts. We do writing exercises, but there are. I don’t care if they’re [using] iambic pentameter, haiku, limerick, or whatever, all the rules are gone. I am interested in words coming out and I don’t care if they make sense. Magic springs from that place.”
The latter project is still in the early zygotic stage, with Gibans, Kuhar and others working toward a comprehensive repository of all Cleveland poetry and prose. “When you go to this website, once it’s launched, any poet that ever released book, chapbook, was self-published, in small press, anything – if you have released something in Cleveland and we can find a record of it, we’re gonna put it on the website,” he says. “It will be the ultimate historical record and a great educational tool.”
Kuhar on Cleveland’s scene:“The two things I want readers to know, is that the Cleveland poetry scene has a lot of talented spoken word artists poets they know how to put words energy thought feeling into what they do, great talent pool out there," Kuhar finalizes. "That, and that Cleveland is very accessible to writers and poets. Poets are the conscience of the people, at least that’s the way I look at it. A lot of what people have to say in their poetry is full of strong feelings and might crystallize opinions and beliefs and feelings for others. There’s a lot of mutual co-mingling that goes on there, and it can be powerful and rewarding experience. And your barrier to entry in this scene is not very huge.
“There’s a nurturing of new folks and a lot of positive affirmation by going to poetry and writing events. I’ve heard people say that a lot of poetry things they go to in New York and Chicago are not really participatory, and if you go, be prepared not to read yourself. Cleveland is not that way at all. It’s not necessarily a big happy family, because even families have disagreements, but you can get into the scene if you want it and you’re serious about your craft and you'll be welcomed. In the end, everyone wants to know their words count, and here in Cleveland, you find out right away that they do.”
Interview and Photo by Cool Cleveland Managing Editor Peter Chakerian peterATcoolcleveland.com