[Pank] fosters access to emerging and experimental poetry and prose.  What is the edge of things these days?

The edge of things tends to find us, and all we can really do is decide whether or not to publish it.

Find out more about what you can expect from a [PANK] invasion and running an arts collective on peanuts and duct tape after the jump.

[PANK] is an arts collective based at Michigan Technological University.  Is it still important for a literary outlet to be attached to a university or based in a city?

Don’t kid yourself about institutional affiliation. We’re not the Virginia Quarterly. We run [PANK] on peanuts, duct tape, and a lot of hustle and volunteer labor. Both of our institutions provide us a kind of safe haven and stability, but not much else.  Think Cormac McCarthy at the Sante Fe Institute.

And, god no, lit outlets needn’t be based out of universities or cities. Journals put out by MFA or English programs aren’t generally very good in my opinion, what with committees and boards of trustees doing their best to kill what makes art tick. Cities, in my opinion, tend toward myopia in the same ways. Cliques form. There’s enough people in the near vicinity that cities cease to engage much beyond their limits. That’s not always the case, but you see it a lot.

How do you decide where to invade?

The Portland and Seattle readings began with me having a conference in Seattle. To date, we’ve invaded Chicago, DC, Brooklyn, New Orleans and San Francisco.

What can we expect from an invasion?

Poetry and prose readings from [PANK] contributors and friends. And drinking. There is usually drinking.

The Romans would go in to expand their territory. After we’re invaded by [PANK], will we be part of an empire when you leave?

I like to think of us more like Visigoths, invading and sacking Rome. [PANK] is coming for your treasure and your women, figuratively speaking.

Catch more of [PANK] this Friday the 23rd at E.A.T. Chapel, 850 NE 81st St., 7PM.  Co-presented with Burnside Review and Housefire Publishing.  This interview was edited for clarity.

Plazm magazine turns 20 this year and launches a new issue featuring writing and artwork by local and international contributors. Join us for a Powell’s celebration reading and a first peek at the new issue.

May 9
7 pm: Music with theremin player Larold Will
7:30: Readings by Jon Raymond, Tiffany Lee Brown, Kevin Sampsell, and Leanne Grabel

Plazm editor Jon Raymond is the author of Old Joy and the Ken Kesey Fiction Award-winning short story collection Livability. He recently wrote screenplays for Meek’s Cutoff, set on the Oregon Trail and directed by Kelly Reichardt, and Mildred Pierce, the HBO miniseries starring Kate Winslet and directed by Todd Haynes.

The other Plazm editor, Tiffany Lee Brown, is author of A Compendium of Miniatures and director of New Oregon Arts & Letters. Her work has appeared in Utne, Bookforum, Tin House, Oregon Humanities, and Wired; her short fiction has been published in anthologies such as Northwest Edge and The Bust Guide to the New Girl Order. She writes the Idea Lab blog for the Syfy Channel.

Kevin Sampsell is an editor (Portland Noir and other books), publisher (Future Tense Books), bookstore employee (Powell’s Books) and author (Creamy Bullets and the memoir A Common Pornography).

Leanne Grabel is a poet, spoken word performer and illustrator who teaches Language Arts and Creative Writing throughout the tri-county area, most currently at Rosemont Rehabilitation Center and School and Marshall High School. She is also the co-founder of the legendary Cafe Lena.

More information at www.plazm.com/magazine/features and blog.plazm.com .