Welcome to Washtub Press!
I wanted to avoid publishing my explanatory note as the first post of my blog, so here it is, as the second:
What is a washtub moment? They say that in order for your blog to be good, you need to pick a theme and stick to it, rather than posting a hodgepodge of unrelated information. Picking a theme deterred me for some time, but I ultimately settled on the philosophy behind my press name, which is now the name of my blog as well. I chose my press name in college, having stumbled upon a copyright-free etching of a woman in a washtub that gave me a chill (will post if I can find it again). Much of my writing and artwork, thus far, has centered around the idea of an intimate moment, usually that of a woman, doing some kind of mundane task, so the image of a woman bathing, in deep, internal deliberation, became an icon for me. Much of my work has also been private, as I have shied away from sharing for quite some time. I guess I have wanted to keep my washtub moments to myself, holding them sacred.
I have toyed with the idea of starting a blog for some time now. It is terrifying! Starting a blog, it seems, has become so taboo, so cliché. Everyone and their mom’s dog has a blog, and most of them are typical, craptastic confessionals (probably a lot like this one). I am completely insecure about the whole darn thing! So why am I starting a blog? I still can’t answer that question, except I think I need some pressure in order to produce more and better work–I have never been motivated to publish, beyond my own self-printed poetry chapbooks from college (still unbound in a bag under my bed).
I still have not told anyone ( not even my mom!) that I have started a blog . . . we’ll see how that goes. For now, I am going to stay in denial about the fact that my posts are actually public, which is not to say that I will not try to make them interesting for anyone who happens to stumble upon them. I will tell myself that these are still my own washtub moments. I am allowing them to live a bigger life, and perhaps allowing myself to do the same. The pressure is on!
Washtub Press 
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