Sage Trail Publisher Suzanne Frost Is Passionate for Poetry.
Melinda Palacio -- April 2, 2009
Last February Suzanne Frost reached her year anniversary for publishing Sage Trail Poetry Magazine. For Frost, the road to publishing a poetry magazine began ten years ago in Taos, New Mexicio with the models of two poetry journals: Cathy McCracken's Willow Street and Dale Harris's Central Avenue. Sage Trail is a rebirth of the two magazines and is currently produced in Santa Barbara, California. Frost releases a new issue of Sage Trail at the Poetry Zone, every second Saturday of the month, held at the Karpeles Manuscript Library, 21 West Anapamu Street in Santa Barbara, from 2 to 4pm.
Frost returned to California ten years ago and has been hosting poetry readings in Santa Barbara for the past ten years. She holds a Master's in English and Creative Writing from the University of New Mexico and has a long history working as a technical writer in the business field. Her husband, Greg Scott, is an environmentalist and owner of Environmentally Safe Products. The two work hard at their business endeavors. Frost dedicates herself to Sage Trail Poetry Magazine. "I chose to quit working for other people, take a risk, and start a small business," said Frost. The magazine provides an outlet for new voices with an emphasis on inspiration from nature.
"In poetry, I value crosspollination of cultures, getting out of the old school way of looking at poetry. It's important to open up poetry to the different voices that make up our community. In the magazine, we try to focus on the inspiration we can get from nature. We need to find nature in the city and poets point to it in a beautiful way. We also look for voices that reveal more about our lives."
During her years in New Mexico, she helped put on the Taos Poetry Circus and rose from volunteer to a paid staff member and board member. She helped bring Jeanine Pommy Vega and Lorna Dee Cervantes and several other Albuquerque poets to the festival.
Her journey with her labor of love means that sometimes she finds herself "swimming upstream" and working the production line herself. She has volunteer and paid staff. She finds a way to multiply herself, serving as publisher, editor, proofreader, and host of the Poetry Zone readings. Currently, advisory editors and poets Sojourner Rolle and G. Murray Thomas assist in acquiring and selecting poems as well as PR.
As a woman and feminist, Frost insists on giving equal voice to women and multicultural voices as often as she can. She tries to publish at least 50 percent women poets.
The magazine's companion Poetry Zone readings are a gratifying component for Frost. After a featured reader and an open mike, Frost hands out complementary copies to contributors, many of whom are able to attend the Poetry Zone and read their selection from the magazine. "The reading is like a river," says Frost, "it keeps the water flowing. It's also a free speech form and that's something that poetry offers to the community." Frost also enjoys promoting poets' book sales.
Some of the new changes to Sage Trail include switching to a bi-monthly format, bringing on G. Murray Thomas from Long Beach as advisory editor, and as of the April/May issue, the magazine will pay $5 to publish poems. Her goal is to keep publishing the magazine. Some months are harder than others to perform her publishing trick. Frost has recently recruited advisory editors, but admits she could use more help. "It's a four-week out of the month job," says 48-year-old publisher. She's a perfectionist whose top priority is quality. The tough job is fueled by thank you notes from the magazines contributors and fans.
"Knowing I've published a poet who's never been published before, who's been struggling keeps me going. It's difficult to publish. Projects like this can be incredibly inspirational to new writers. I've had amazing support from local, well known poets. We have a wide circulation and people have been appreciative of the quality of the magazine."
Sage Trail Poetry Magazine can be purchased online or at D'Vine Cafe in Santa Barbara, Westmont Bookstore, Bookworks in Albuquerque, Brodsky Books, Beyond Baroque, and the Poetry Zone readings at the Karpeles Manuscript Library.