the genesis of the vertin press occurred in the late fall of 2004 during some early morning chattings up with jikiwe at the evergreen café’ in calumet, michigan.  jikiwe is the curator for the vertin historical building and art gallery in calumet, and, i have studio space on the third floor of the vertin gallery.  while served coffee by evergreen waitresses patrice kauppinen and mary rowe in the orson welles booth jikiwe and i discussed creative arts for the keweenaw peninsula.

     one morning in a not so serious voice i mused “jikiwe, we ought to start a small press and publish our own magazine of arts and literature.”  jikiwe heartily concurred, replying that “he believed the vertin gallery should reach out and encompass as wide a variety of creative arts as possible,  instead of being satisfied to with a narrower focus.  it is the rare art gallery located in a big city metro let alone an out of the way backwater that can boast having its own press and publishing operation.

     thus, one wintry late november evegreen café’ orson welles booth morning it was agreed we would establish a literary publication and we chose the vertin press as for its press title.

     selecting a name for the vertin press small arts magazine proved to be  not so easy a decision.  originally we  thought of using the title of the abandoned literary magazine of the mid-peninsula library cooperative  the big two-hearted.  during the l980’s, borrowing on the literary currency of the ernest heminway short story set in  michigan’s upper peninsula, the big two-hearted published  excellent collections of poetry, short writings and line drawings.  the big two-hearted was produced and edited by gary silver in iron mountain, michigan..

     in seeking permission to use the title the big two-hearted for the vertin press operations, i discovered that the mid-peninsula library cooperative district had been abolished.  my further investigation failed to find an address or telephone connection to contact gary silver and ask  his permission to use the big two-hearted name.  thus, sensing possible legal and or ethical difficulties, jikiwe and i decided to seek another vertin press literary magazine title.

     there is a substantial basaltic range north of calumet called the cliffs, after the old cliffs copper mining operations and the long ago mining village of clifton.  today there is little that remains to remind the visitor to the cliffs of the once important keweenaw peninsula copper mine and a significant chapter of michigan upper peninsula history.  still visible are the massive stone foundations of copper mining buildings, magnificent cobblestone smokestacks, towering  piles of poor rock tailings, and the ancient clifton village cemeteries.

       for the adventurer with serious imagination, the cliffs provide a mysterious aura and a sense of holy sanctuary.  the cliffs offer a spiritual  attraction for both jikiwe and myself.  jikiwe’s great grandfather golden hawk worked in the cliffs mines from their beginning in l860 until his death in l883.  almost daily regardless of the season, i drive out, hike in and climb the cliffs for my own existential renewal.

      on a recent spring pilgrimage jikiwe held a homage for golden hawk at the old cliffs mine site.  i have established a poet tree at the clifffs summit and designated another secluded wooded escarpment overlook as “point betsy.”   at point betsy a red tibetan prayer flag is secured to a pine tree limb in memoriam to my sister mary elizabeth smith.

      following a few evergreen welles booth early morning musings, jikiwe and i finally agreed on the name of cliffs soundings for the vertin press literary publication.  upon reflection, the title cliffs soundings more clearly suggests the originality of a fresh creative beginning.  in addition, the image of the cliffs provides a convenient emphasis that as editors of cliffs soundings we are looking to publish works of art that possess a definite “edginess” in  the vertin press pages.

     cliffs soundings and the vertin press born in the quiet arctic clarity of an upper peninsula season in the long white has had a most successful short history of operation.  editor jikiwe and i are firmly committed to presenting the best of the local, regional and national creative arts.

          vertin press has published the dredge, a brief historical account with color photographs of the old copper mining dredge grounded on the shore of torch lake in the keweenaw peninsula.  besides the dredge, vertin press has produced five t. kilgore splake poetry chapbook titles: betsy, shadows passing, dream song dream, cold mountain passages, and bum wine.