From ELISABETE TOLARETXIPI, poet (Spain)
I am a Spanish poet who has published four collections of poetry, which have been shortlisted either for the Basque National literary prizes or for the Spanish National Literary Prize.
Arc published an anthology of my poems in 2008 in its collection Visible Poets, the book Still Lives with Loops, translated by Philip Jenkings and with a prologue by the renowned poet Robert Crawford. The book was reviewed by the renowned poet Ruth Fainlight in the Poetry Review magazine (see On Poets beyond Castille; volume 98:4 Winter 2008).
Thanks to the effort of the people at Arc, I have had my work read in English widely and I have been able to take part in International Poetry Festivals such as the King’s Lynn Festival, which is annually held thanks to the generosity of Tony Ellys and the citizens of King’s Lynn.
I am most appalled to hear that Arc has lost its Arts Council Funding and would like to fight with them against this new devastating wave that is sweeping away culture, art and freedom from the surface of the earth.
I can do nothing but express my disgust and my disappointment and hope that people and entities with power within the British cultural establishment struggle for the survival of small publishing companies which are the core, the seed and the showcase for authors and literary trends that go beyond borders and would go unnoticed otherwise.
I hope that Arc survives. Long live independent publishing companies that spread poetry all over the world!