What is a Chapbook?

Chapbooks are small, poetry-centered booklets that showcase a poet's voice in just a few pages — focused on a single theme or idea. Think of them as compact poetry collections: brief but powerful.

The term comes from 16th-century "chapmen" traveling sellers who once distributes these pocket-sized books by hand.

Whether you're new to poetry or a longtime reader, chapbooks are a perfect way to discover new writers and fresh perspectives.

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VIOLETS

Come here, she said.
I want to show you something.

We were outdoors; it was April,
air chill, smelling of Easter.

My mother opened her hand.
A violet, plucked from the abundance
in our yard.

Gently, she pulled off the petals
one by one, letting them fall.

Look. You see?
It’s an old lady soaking her feet.
And there she was.
Tiny, skinny green legs,
folded at the knees.

Her microscopic feet
disappearing into a green bucket.
On her little head, a fluff of gold.

I stared in delight.
My mother’s face was beaming.

Her mother, now gone,
had shown her the old lady
and she passed the secret on to me.

Now, every spring,
I wait for violets.

It's part of our first chapbook.

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FISHES

I lift my paddle from the river
Leaving currents in the wake.
I peer into the water
The place where life begins.
I see minnows in the shallows
Countless!
Like stars in the summer sky.

Big fish rest placidly in deep water
Brook, brown and fat rainbow trout.
Bass: large and small
Perch, pike, catfish, carp.
They lurk in the depths
Hungry and watching.

Today, these fishes peer up at me
Wondering how I can live
In the open air; above the surface.

But I gave up my gills long ago
And grew legs, to dwell on land
And fashion poems about my ancient, legless cousins
Who now eye me from below.

It's part of our second chapbook.

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