33 IBBETSON STREET: The Orange House Down the Block

City of Poets Anthology--produced at 33 Ibbetson St. ( Don DiVecchio, Richard Wilhem and Doug Holder editors) 1998 (Click on pic to enlarge)





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33 IBBETSON STREET: The Orange House Down the Block

By Doug Holder






Back in 1994 I decided to give up my small, rent-controlled flat in the Republic of Cambridge, to get married. My late wife Dianne said, " I am convinced you loved me, because you gave up a rent-controlled apartment for me." As it turns out rent control was soon to be abolished, and there was a mass exodus to Somerville--where -- if you can believe it--rents were cheap. But moving to Ibbetson Street and Somerville proved to be the best move we made. At 33 Ibbetson Street--we had a huge apartment, with a parlor, dining room, large kitchen, a bedroom and a study. It was there the idea of   the Ibbetson Street Press was birthed. We started this press in 1998--and threw a party where many people from the community and small literary presses gathered. We got coverage in the Boston Globe and other local papers. That unassuming, orange house--will always have special meaning to me... the heated editorial meetings, the documentary that was filmed there, the late night sessions getting the books and magazines ready for print--the City of Poets anthology we put out --with a diverse group of poets like the late Jack Powers, Don DiVecchio, Aldo Tambellini, Linda Conte, Richard Cambridge, Askia Toure, Harris Gardner and many others. I wrote my first book introduction, and helped mediate the many differences that these talented folks had with the anthology and each other. In 2001 we moved to School Street--just outside Union Square. These were the most productive years--we produced books, and we are releasing our 50th issue of the Ibbetson Street magazine. We couldn't have done it without our great landlords --who are supporters of the arts--and have given us a break on the rent--so we could still afford to live in Somerville. During this time I was able to help get the Poet Laureate position up and running in Somerville, I have an arts column in The Somerville Times, and for years have had a TV show, Poet to Poet/Writer to Writer on Somerville Community Access TV. I think this all happened because we moved to Somerville--where all these opportunities are available. On the rare occasion that I pass that unassuming, orange house on Ibbetson Street, I can picture that group of Ibbetson poets sitting on the front steps--gazing out into the street--probably contemplating another poem...