There was a time when poetry was vital to the public discourse, when poets were lauded as literary heroes and a new poem from a renowned artist was a newsworthy event. Today, even our greatest poets labor in anonymity, clawing for coveted spots in The New Yorker, where their work will be skipped in favor of an adjacent cartoon, or in obscure poetry journals available by mail order only.

Thus, when he came to us before the launch of his new book, the poet C. Floyd sought not fame, nor fortune, nor even a spot on the New York Times bestseller list. Simply, he wanted to present his work in a remarkable way that would grasp targeted reviewers and distributors by their rumpled lapels and to them urgently say, “Gentle friend! Really, you should take a look at this.”

Project 13 agreed to intervene.

Selecting a few choice works, we decided to turn the poems into pieces of fine art. Each collection of verse was laser cut into old-growth pine salvaged from local demolition sites, employing a typesetting style that was at once contemporary and classic. This truly original approach to poetry presentation drew an overwhelming response, not only attracting increased interest in C. Floyd’s book, but also leading to the sale of these pieces in galleries of art. We call that poetic justice.