Diana Woodcock with her chapbook “By Way Of”.

DOHA: Virginia Commonwealth University-Qatar (VCU-Q) Assistant Professor of English Diana Woodcock has just had her chapbook entitled “Travels of a Gwai Lo”, one of the four in “By Way Of”, published by Toadlily Press, with a launch held recently at Katonah Museum of Art, New York.

A chapbook is an informal self-published book, useful for poetry collections, family stories, and even a cookbook.

“Travels of a Gwai Lo” includes 14 poems inspired by the years Diana Woodcock spent living and traveling in China, Thailand and Burma and is her first chapbook to be published. 

“By Way Of”, the fifth book of the Quartet Series, to be published by Toadlily Press, features the works of Diana Alvarez of Northampton, MA; Emily Carr of Quincy, Ill.; Matthew Nienow of Seattle, WA; and Diana Woodcock of Doha, Qatar. Of the four distinct voices collected in the book, poet Sean Nevin has written in the foreword that, “You will find a harmony and by way of (the) poems, you will come to recognise yourself.” A reception and book signing at the Museum followed the reading on 4 October, 2009, which was funded in part by Poets & Writers, Inc. with public funds from The New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.

“As I’m still awaiting my complimentary copies to arrive here in Doha, it is hard for me to say how I feel about the book,” said Ms. Woodcock.  “I’m delighted that my chapbook was chosen to be included in it and I look forward to reading the other three chapbooks in By Way Of.” Although she would have loved to meet the other three poets and the publishers of Toadlily Press, Ms. Woodcock could not participate in the launch reading early this month in New York due to her teaching responsibilities at VCU-Q.

Woodcock has Mandala, another chapbook forthcoming from Foothills Publishing soon featuring 30 poems. It is dedicated to the Tibetan people and their exiled leader, the 14th Dalai Lama, in this 50th anniversary year of his forced flight to India. Last year her poem, “Survivor,” was chosen by former U.S. Poet Laureate Mark Strand for inclusion in Best New Poets 2008.

Woodcock is in her fifth year at VCU-Q. She previously spent seven and a half years in Asia, teaching English in Tibet and Macau and working with refugees on the Thai-Cambodian border.  

Toadlily Press is an independent poetry press (in Chappaqua, New York, USA) committed to publishing and promoting poetry in perfect-bound volumes that juxtapose multiple voices in dialogue with one another and the reader. Each year, the press sponsors a poetry chapbook contest,

The Quartet Series, through which four poets are chosen to be published in one full-length book.  Authors of selected manuscripts receive $100 and 25 copies of the book. Since its inception five years ago it has published 20 poets and has been awarded several grants from the NY State Council on the Arts.