The Marshfield Mariner published a story about the launch of Dog Days Press and the Sowing Seeds charitable endeavor of 'hoi polloi'- a literary journal for the rest of us.
Reaching out to the masses
By Kathryn Koch
Thursday, January 25, 2007 - Updated: 10:53 AM EST
The term “hoi polloi’’ may not be a common one, but that will change as word gets out about a new literary journal that will plant the seed of what good can be done with words.
Bob McNulty, the creator and editor of the literary journal, or hoi polloi, wants to reach out to the community of writers and readers and benefit Sowing Seeds, a non-profit network of people who provide companionship, rides, clothes, counseling and other aid to those in need at the same time.
The Greek term “hoi polloi” means for the masses. McNulty wants the journal to appeal to a wide audience of readers, writers and people interested in the writing process as well as non-readers. All the royalties will go toward Sowing Seeds and its mission to help Marshfield residents.
McNulty, a former Marshfield School Committee member for six years, served on the board with Bitsy Bullock, a member of the Sowing Seeds board of directors, and keeps in touch with her.
Conversations with Bullock, who had been brainstorming fundraising ideas with other board members to bring additional income to Sowing Seeds, led to his idea of a literary journal. She encouraged him to go ahead with the idea.
“I’ve always enjoyed literary journals and such, and I thought it would be fun to create a literary journal for everyone,” he said.
Bullock said she knows how creative McNulty is and that he has lots of connections that will enable him to turn the literary journal into a success. She said his efforts are very much appreciated.
“Bob’s a real creative guy, and he’s taken the idea and run with it, and I think it’s great,” she said.
Bullock said she hopes the idea will really take off because it’s a great way for writers to get their work out there.
To fill the pages of the journal, McNulty is reaching out to the writing community for essays, poetry, short stories, and creative non-fiction. He has reached out to professional and published writers, but contributions from all types of writers are welcome. Local writers are especially encouraged to submit writings for inclusion.
“I think the more people involved the better,” McNulty said. “Having more people involved should create a larger audience.”
McNulty said many talented readers have stories to share and have hopes of being published, but are not sure how. He said the hoi polloi would provide these writers with that opportunity.
The first section of the journal will feature original, unpublished submissions from writers. The second section will feature author profiles and interviews on the writing process, and a third section will include a profile of Sowing Seeds. McNulty also has other ideas for ways to engage readers that are still being developed.
The Internet proved to be a useful tool for McNulty, an information technology consultant, when he helped promote his son, Mark’s book “The Sea Shack,” and he’s using it again to generate interest in the hoi polloi.
McNulty created a publishing Web site, www.dogdayspress.com, to reach out to the writing community. Guidelines for submissions are accessible by clicking on the hoi polloi link. The journal will be generally geared toward adults, but young people are encourage to submit their writing, too. McNulty said he’s thinking that the journal will be about 200 pages, but isn’t sure how long it will turn out to be.
The book will be self-published through a company that prints books on demand. McNulty welcomes sponsors to help him pay the additional cost of making the journal available through Amazon.com and other online book sites. He’d like to have the hoi polloi published by the end of May or something in late spring. The deadline for entries is May 31. All contributors will receive a free journal.
The hoi polloi isn’t the only book project McNulty has in mind. In late spring he hopes to launch a book project to get middle and high school students to write over the summer. When he served on the School Committee, he started a summer enrichment program to encourage young people to read. He’d also like to publish interviews with Vietnam War veterans like himself.
McNulty said he wants Sowing Seeds to get more recognition for its efforts to help make a difference in people’s lives. He doesn’t want to stop with Sowing Seeds, however.
“I’d like to have hoi polloi be a vehicle for raising money for charity,” he said.
-kkoch.cnc.com
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