DISCLAIMER:
All writing and art created by Lucas Scheelk / Sa’ar Keshet is 100% human-made, and does NOT use generative AI or ChatGPT.
This page does NOT endorse generative AI or ChatGPT.
Any writing and/or art created by Lucas Scheelk / Sa’ar Keshet may NOT be used for generative AI or ChatGPT, and permission will NOT be given for that purpose.
Introduction
My third poetry book, “A Prayer For A Non-Religious Autistic,” was originally published in July 2022 by my former publisher Mason Jar Press.
I removed myself as an author from Mason Jar Press in February 2024 after months of being ghosted by them; I had sent emails and social media calls for MJP to, as an independent press, support Palestinian writers in the community (from within Falastine and in the diaspora) during an ongoing genocide.
Mason Jar Press failed to do so (their silence during Mosab Abu Toha’s kidnapping by the IOF angered me the most), and it came to a point where I could not stand with a press that fails to encompass that all our struggles are interconnected.
I posted an Open Letter to various social media formats on February 12th 2024 stating my separation as an author from their press. The remaining physical copies of, “A Prayer For A Non-Religious Autistic” were shipped out to a friend’s place where I had been staying while homeless, and those copies were donated to local Little Free Libraries throughout my area in the Salish Seas.
Mason Jar Press Apology
While an apology was posted on the MJP website in April 2024, at some point after a new Executive Director was hired, the post was taken down.
Below is a quote from the Wayback Machine post captured from Spring 2024:
A Letter From Our Founding Editor
Mason Jar Press recently received criticism for our lack of public statement in support of the Palestinian people, including by our former author, Lucas Scheelk.
First and foremost, I apologize to Lucas. My inaction caused Lucas harm that they did not deserve. As a publisher and human, I failed in my duties to Lucas, and for that, I am truly sorry.
Second, I apologize to Maya Salameh. When we met with Maya last weekend, I did not articulate what I believe in my heart clearly or forcefully enough. This, too, caused harm, and I am truly sorry.
At the end of the call with Maya, we all agreed that Mason Jar Press would release a statement in support of the Palestinian people. We did so on Thursday. The contents of that statement are what I believe, and have believed, for months. The fact that the statement did not get made sooner—and that we did not acknowledge Lucas’s pleas for us to do so—is ultimately my responsibility.
I hesitated in making a statement on this very important issue for several reasons. The first was that, historically, Mason Jar Press has not made statements on large geo-political issues on social media. I feared that the nature of social media opened those involved with the press to unwanted and unwarranted hate and threats. I did not feel comfortable speaking as a press, which includes volunteer staff and authors who didn’t ask me to speak for them.
The second reason is that I am a publisher. I see publishing as an artform. I speak to the world through the books that I publish. If you want to know my views on the world, I encourage you to look at the catalog of books that Mason Jar Press has published. If you want to know my views on Israel and Palestine, I encourage you to read Hisham Bustani’s book (translated from the Arabic by maia tabet), The Monotonous Chaos of Existence, in particular the section entitled “Gaza.” Publishing books by people who are smarter than me, and can speak with more authority on subjects I care about, felt more impactful than a statement on social media. It was one reason I was excited that Maya’s poetry collection was selected for our book prize. It is a powerful collection by a brilliant young writer, and I encourage someone to publish it as soon as possible. Their message needs to be spread.
The third reason I did not fulfill my duties with Lucas, or push to make a statement sooner, or ramp up the idea to publish a journal of Palestinian voices (again, please more presses do this!) is more symptomatic of a larger problem: I am exhausted. I did not have the time, mental, or emotional capacity to do the work that should have been done. And if I can’t run a press to the standards that I set myself, then I should not be running a press. I should have done this sooner, but a sense of duty and obligation to the staff of MJP and our authors has made me stay with the press longer than I should. Also, I just really love the press and everyone involved in it, and selfishly, I didn’t want to lose that. But my life is very different than it was when I started this press 10 years ago, and my hesitation to put the best interest of the press first has made me worse at something I loved doing. That’s no way to do the important work that I believe small presses (or any publisher!) have the obligation to do: raise the voices of others.
So, I’m stepping down as Editor-in-Chief of Mason Jar Press. What comes next for the press is still to be determined. I hope it continues, but I know that’s a lot to ask of others. Especially in a time where the landscape of publishing makes it harder to survive as a small press more than ever. If it is to continue, I will support a transition in the ways that I can. If the press is to shutter, I will do what I can to ensure that our authors are treated as ethically as they can be.
Sincerely,
Ian Anderson
What Does This Apology Mean Today?
Considering that two years later, no Palestinian writers have been featured on Tough Questions (which was one of the many suggestions I made from the ghosted emails), and from my research, no further follow-through on actions to support Palestinians in the writing community - the one-time $1,400 CAD donation to Unity For Gaza came after community pressure, myself dropping out as an author, and Maya Salameh dropping out of the 1729 Prize - Ian Anderson’s apology seems to mean very little to Mason Jar Press, in my opinion.
But it is not the remaining team or authors of Mason Jar Press that suffers most from this, nor is it myself. I cannot speak for Maya Salameh and how this experience affected her and continues to affect her.
The ones who suffer most from this are the Palestinian writers who we failed.
How To Continue Supporting Palestinians
No matter one’s financial situation, there is power in sharing articles, films, books, social media posts, etc. from Palestinians in Falastine and throughout the diaspora. In general, their perspectives are the ones we need to be sharing the most.
A few places to start with are the Palestine Film Institute, We Do Not Move Alone songbook, Decolonize Palestine, Palestinian Poems With And For The Now, Librarians and Archivists with Palestine, “Good Mourning Palestine” by Samah Serour Fadil, Refaat Alareer Mobile Library, Sonia Sulaiman’s Palestinian Speculative Fiction Reading List, and Palestinian Poets on the Role of Literature in Fighting Genocide.
If financially able, these are a small sampling of places to donate to:
Why Has It Taken Two Years To Revamp This Book?
February 2024 onwards, Life has been going in many directions for me - climbing out of homelessness again, being in & out of employment, facing harassment from multiple people, financial struggles, providing resources for loved ones back home in Minnesota during the ongoing Operation Metro Surge (Fuck ICE! - Chinga La Migra!), and health issues - those are the factors into why revamping my third poetry book hasn’t been possible until this point.
A Prayer For A Non-Religious Autistic
This revamp of my third poetry book is to be available to all for FREE; there is no use of ChatGPT or Generative AI anywhere in “A Prayer For A Non-Religious Autistic.”
I DO NOT GIVE PERMISSION FOR MY POEMS OR MY POETRY BOOK TO BE USED FOR CHATGPT OR GENERATIVE AI
As is a self-made tradition, I will continue to signal boost the Autistic People of Color Fund. If you’re an Autistic Person of Color and would like to apply for funds, please see the link here.
It was created by the Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network in partnership with Ly Xīnzhèn Zhǎngsūn Brown.
“The Fund practices redistributive justice and mutual aid by returning and sharing money directly to and with autistic people of color. We provide microgrants to Black, Brown, Native, Asian, and mixed-race people in the autistic community for survival, organizing, leisure, and pleasure.”
“A Prayer For A Non-Religious Autistic” was not able to gain a profit under Mason Jar Press (or break even), so no annual donations were able to be sent to the Autistic People of Color Fund from 2022 to 2024.
About The Poet
Lucas Scheelk (they/them) is an autistic nonbinary poet and artist; they’re an antizionist Jew who’s part of the Irish-diaspora.
[pronounced shh-elk - like you’re telling an elk to shh]
While it’s cool to note that Scheelk is a Pushcart Prize nominated poet, they’re a poet because it’s their promise to stay alive.
To read more of Scheelk’s work:
Hey There Fellow Masker (COVID-conscious song)