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Let them panic.
That’s the basic philosophy that Marty Gervais, Windsor’s Poet Laureate Emeritus and publisher at Black Moss Press, has developed for teaching over the last two decades.
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The latest — and final — product of that approach is two new poetry anthologies diving into the history of Windsor and Amherstburg.
What Time Can’t Touch and Where the Map Begins, both edited and published by University of Windsor students in his Editing and Publishing practicum, will launch next month.
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After 22 years, they will be the last two books that Gervais oversees through the UWindsor course.
“I kind of sit back and let them go through the paces,” said Gervais, 77, who is retiring from teaching the program. “I see myself sometimes as a lifeguard at a beach. I see the swimmers going under. And I let them stay under for a while, because they need to experience some panic. But I always tell them I will jump in and save you, no need to worry. So far, no one has drowned.”
What Time Can’t Touch is a collection of poems about historical buildings in Amherstburg. Where the Map Begins explore Windsor’s wards.
“Our writers are writing about historical stories, crazy stories about different personalities and buildings, ghosts, and whatnot from Windsor,” said Gervais. “We’re also doing one the same way about Amherstburg.”
Writers featured in the anthologies include Irene Moore Davis, André Narbonne, Dan MacDonald, James Billing, Karen Rockwell, Rawand Mustafa, and Teajai Travis.
Gervais has been running the Editing and Publishing practicum for 22 years. Over that time, he has guided about 1,000 students in publishing more than 50 books through his Black Moss Press.
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Students do all the editing, design, layout, publishing, and marketing work.
“It’s really a hands-on course where students learn all the fundamentals of the publishing world,” said Gervais, also a retired Windsor Star journalist. “What’s really nice about this is if you don’t stand in the way, these students can be very creative. You need to let them fail at things. They try something and it doesn’t work out. Instead of giving them a bad mark, you tell them to do it over again.”
Gervais had his own experiences with the “learning by failing” approach as a young journalist, though the UWindsor process is a little more forgiving than what he saw six decades ago.
“I got a job right out of high school and learned on the job,” said Gervais, who was 18 when he landed his first job as a copy boy in Toronto. “All these old cigar-smoking newsmen were shouting at you and telling you that you were crazy and you can’t spell and everything else. The university calls it experiential learning.”
Gervais said the Editing and Publishing program is one of the few in Canada, if not the only one, where students work with a publisher to produce an actual book.
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“This is for real,” he said. “These two books they’ve edited will appear in bookstores. Then 20 years from now when they see that book in a library, their name is in the book. Their name is there as part of an editorial and publishing team. It’s something they can be proud of. It’s really something that matters, that is important. They’re doing something that makes a difference.”
Book launch
Black Moss Press will host a launch party for What Time Can’t Touch and Where the Map Begins on April 2 at Mackenzie Hall from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. The free event will include a live performance, along with remarks from Amherstburg Mayor Michael Prue and University of Windsor President Robert Gordon.
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