Adrie Rose's Creation: Nine Syllables Press

hallieskrause
8 hours ago
2 min read

Adrie Rose, a poet herself, is the editor of Nine Syllables Press, which was started in 2022 at the Boutelle-Day Poetry Center at Smith College. Named after the first line of “Metaphors” by Sylvia Plath, Rose wanted to honor the Smith College alum and the press is focused primarily on promoting poetry by women. She receives help from Smith students in two classes every year in selecting submissions and designing the book covers. Rose will be showcasing the first three poetry chapbooks published by Nine Syllables, as well as other poetry items and stickers. Rose is very excited to be part of the Northampton Book Fair; being a new press, this is a great opportunity, she says.

I’m a riddle in nine syllables,

An elephant, a ponderous house,

A melon strolling on two tendrils.

O red fruit, ivory, fine timbers!

This loaf’s big with its yeasty rising.

Money’s new-minted in this fat purse.

I’m a means, a stage, a cow in calf.

I’ve eaten a bag of green apples,

Boarded the train there’s no getting off.

“Metaphors” by Sylvia Plath

Rose attended Smith College through the Ada Comstock Scholars Program where she majored in American Studies with a focus in poetry. She then got her Masters In Fine Arts in Poetry from Warren Wilson College. After she graduated, she began the press. Previously, Rose did an internship at Perugia Press, (another first time Northampton Book Fair exhibitor) where she tabulated the statistics of women who had won literary prizes, and she was disappointed by how low the numbers really were. Part of the reason she started Nine Syllables was to provide a space for women to publish their poetry and get it out into the world. Gender equity in publishing is very important to Rose, and she hopes to help it along with her press.

Outside of Nine Syllables, Rose writes poetry of her own and has two chap books published with Gold Line Press and Porkbelly Press. Her work previously appeared in The Baltimore Review, the Ploughshares blog, The Massachusetts Review, The Night Heron Barks, and more. This year, her poetry book Rupture, published by Gold Line Press, was chosen for the long list for Massachusetts Book Awards. To learn more about her and Nine Syllables, click here.