My hopes for this internship at Belladonna is to make connections and to learn what it takes to run a small press. I’ve always valued small collaboratives that center their ethics. Belladonna has shown me the pros and cons of a company that tries to steer clear of capitalistic exploitative behaviors. I hope the company can show me that you don’t need to exploit labor in order to run a company. Belladonna really tries to take care of everybody—the writers, the workers, and me. It often comes at a monetary cost. Everyday I also learn how vulnerable small presses and collectives can be. But I would love to continue to learn how to plan events and write grants. A lot of the money we acquire comes from grants and I think that’s an invaluable skill to learn. I would also love to learn more about the physical process of printing the book. We’ve halted printing books for right now as the company is going through a transitional stage. But to see the physical process would be dope. 

I also hope Belladonna can show me how to produce a reading. I would like to know what goes into hosting a poetry reading. The process of security readers, promotion, and then publishing the poems in a chaplet. I think this would be great for connecting with other poets and learning how to plan an event in general could look great on a resume. I am already helping to plan their 25th anniversary Gala. I’ve gotten in contact with speakers and I’ve looked at the menu from the caterers. Belladonna has been super transparent when it comes to the event planning so I am already learning so much. Overall, I feel like I am already learning a lot on the job and I am excited for learning more in the upcoming weeks.