What the Dance Looks Like: A Conversation with Ron Pretty

Abstract

I met Ron Pretty through the Five Islands New Poets' Publishing Program which he has run, almost single-handedly since 1993. A lot of people meet Ron this way, he spends a lot of time working with fellow poets, developing and publishing their poetry. This makes him a rare man, and an even rarer publisher in these economically rationalist times. I love meeting people who are passionate, who put their passion unashamedly in the centre of their lives. Ron is passionate about poetry, not just his own, but the poetry of others. He is a poet whose ego and self-interest seem consistently to take second place to a profound altruism and generosity towards others. These too are rare qualities. So I decided to talk to Ron about this. As we couldn't co-ordinate our travels to meet in person in the company of a bottle of red, we conducted this conversation by email over the period February-March 2001.