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Publishing around half a dozen novellas, poetry collections, and graphic novels yearly, Driftwood Press resists narrowing itself to a specific niche; instead, the press is defined by its diversity in stories, styles, and perspectives.
The first lines of a dozen noteworthy books, including The World With Its Mouth Open by Zahid Rafiq and What It’s Like in Words by Eliza Moss.
Write a poem about the pains and pleasures of cold weather, a short story that brings together an unexpected series of events, or an essay that contemplates companionship.
For nearly three decades, from the early 1980s until 2013, Dr. Jonathan Zizmor’s skincare ads for his dermatology practice were a mainstay in New York City subway cars, touting treatments for various skin problems and displaying the doctor’s own slightly smiling visage. A 2016 New York Times article noting his retirement stated: “To know Dr. Zizmor is to know the city’s secret handshake, to appreciate its quirkier, more pedestrian pleasures that natives claim as their own.” What’s hyperlocal to where you live? Brainstorm some ideas of things that might qualify as local lore, your city’s secret handshake—perhaps some idiosyncratic window displays or advertisements, a distinctive element of the urban landscape, a quirk of the natural environment, or public street art. Write an ode to one of these items, to commemorate and share its pedestrian pleasures.
In this video, Nikki Giovanni reads a selection of her poems and speaks about her life and career for the Wright Conversations series hosted by the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit and PBS Books. Giovanni died at the age of eighty-one on December 9, 2024.
