From ISOBEL DIXON, poet, translator & literary agent
I am writing in support of Arc Publications as I am shocked that they, like some other important poetry organisations like the Poetry Book Society, have lost their Arts Council funding. I am a literary agent and director at the Blake Friedmann Literary Agency where I work with several literary authors in translation and know how important it is for translated literature to receive support. I am also a translator myself and a poet, published by Salt, and know both as someone promoting others' work, and also having my own published, that it's vital to have a lively ecology of small presses functioning, in the face of corporate same-ness. Britain has always been a nurturing ground for literary talent, and poets of enduring importance, but the field is very narrow if left only to the bigger publishers, some of whom publish very few new poets. The fact that other small presses, and poets published by other companies are speaking out in support of Arc, bears out how vital this is.
I hope you will reconsider your funding strategy with regards to Arc.