Adastra Press

Poet, teacher, and printer Gary Metras founded Adastra Press in 1979 in Easthampton, Massachusetts. Metras’ small-scale operation prints and publishes short collections of quality contemporary poetry using the methods and equipment of the antique book arts, letterpress printing, and hand-sewn bindings. Most recently, Adastra Press was publishing 2-5 titles per year, each one of them a work of art all its own.

Adastra has printed and published renowned poets such as Thomas Lux and Ed Ochester, but has also published many debut collections as well, including Michael Miller’s Each Day (2005) and Gertrude Halstead’s memories like burrs (2006). The press has produced over 80 titles by more than fifty poets from around the country.

First Edition Identification

First editions from Adastra Press state “First Edition” on the copyright page and also display the company colophon, which includes its own poet Mary Jane White’s translation of New Year’s: An Elegy for Rilke by Marina Tsvetaeva (2007).