Dr. Rachel Turney in Conversation with Cathrina Jakeman EIC and Founder of Vinegar Press
Rachel: Congratulations on all of your success, Cathrina! You are working with some powerful artists like mk zariel, Allister Nelson, and tommy wyatt blake over at Vinegar Press. How did you come to launch your press and why did you choose these three as your first cohort of published poets?
Cathrina: Thank you so much; that really means a lot! Vinegar Press started as this hazy dream that grew out of my love for work that doesn’t really fit anywhere else. I wanted to build a space where writers could experiment freely; where zines, chapbooks, and hybrid pieces could coexist, and where the work could be as strange, intimate, and unfiltered as the people making it.
Choosing the first cohort was an intuitive process. mk zariel’s work struck me because of how transgressive it is: in a way that feels deeply human and tender. It writes about rage, queerness, and institutions with this raw honesty that challenges and redefines what poetry can hold. tommy wyatt blake’s Crash pulled me in through its hybridity; they blur genre and form so naturally that reading them feels like stepping into a fever dream. And Allister Nelson’s Lucifer’s Icing captivated me through her manipulation of myth — she takes sacred and folkloric imagery and turns it into something sensual and alive, something entirely her own. Together, they felt like the perfect embodiment of what Vinegar Press wanted to be: boundary-pushing, insanely personal, and unafraid to scream.
Rachel: Your mission states a focus on “radical creation”. What does that mean to you and the work you are putting into the world?
Cathrina: For me, “radical creation” means building without permission. It’s about creating from a place of instinct, care, and rebellion all at once. So much of the literary world is ingrained with gatekeeping, aesthetics, and marketability, and I wanted Vinegar Press to feel like the opposite of that.
Radical creation is about trusting your gut; it’s about writers and artists who are willing to risk sentimentality, risk strangeness, and risk being misunderstood. Every project we take on is rooted in this belief: that art can be both tender and defiant, and that its value comes from its intimacy.
It also means community; that we’re creating with people, not just for them. I want Vinegar to be a space where art feels alive, collaborative, and a little scary. That, to me, is the most radical thing we can do.
Rachel: What do you see as the future of Vinegar Press and what are you working on next?
Cathrina: Right now, the future of Vinegar Press feels like expansion in texture. We’re also expanding our editorial team and creating more space for experimental voices (look forward to more hybrid writers, visual poets, essayists, and artists who push the boundaries of form). Beyond the chapbooks we’ve released from mk zariel, Allister Nelson, and tommy wyatt blake, we have limited-run print projects coming up with some Issue One contributors, like Conor Ryan, plus a few secret projects that lean heavily into collaboration and design.
Ultimately, I see Vinegar continuing to ask the question: what happens when we stop trying to be digestible?
Rachel: Ah, I see what you did with the name there. Clever! Thank you so much for sharing more about your vision and I look forward to what 2026 holds for Vinegar Press!
Cathrina Jakeman is a published author, set to graduate in the Spring of 2026 with her B.A. in English Literature and Creative Writing from Colorado State University, Pueblo. She is the founder and editor-in-chief ofVinegar Press (vinegarpress.org), a staff writer for The Lycian Magazine, and has work published in The Aftepast Review. Her debut chapbook,Why I Bite, was published by Bottlecap Press and is available now on their website. Cathrina’s work often explores the female experience, illness, and monstrosity. She will present her research on post-structuralism and cannibalism at the SWPACA conference in 2026.
Lone Yellow Flower by Erika Gill a Mini-Review by Rachel Turney
From page one Erika Gill’s Lone Yellow Flower resonated. (I also have a poem about the self which mentions Tupperware!) The first poem “Epitome” was a powerful beginning to a deeply personal collection. Gill goes on a journey of the self, relationships with others, and looking for balance in a toxic society. One of my favorite parts of Gill’s collection is their use of imagery. For example, Gill described an airplane as “ripping apart the air”. They compare a growing city to bacteria (genius!). Gill takes everyday occurrences and makes them poetic, this results in a first collection that is approachable and profound.
Publisher : Querencia Press, LLC
Publication date : April 18, 2025
ISBN-10 : 1963943392
Rachel Turney, Ed.D. (she/her) is an educator and artist located in Denver. Her poems, research articles, reviews, and drawings can be found in a variety of publications. Rachel is passionate about immigrant rights, teacher support, and empowering other artists. She is a Writers’ Hour prize winner and Best of the Net nominee. Her photography appears on a few magazine covers. Rachel runs the popular online reading series Poetry (in Brief). She is on staff at Bare Back Magazine with her monthly column Friday Night in the Suburbs. She reads for The Los Angeles Review. Website: turneytalks.com Instagram: @turneytalks Bluesky: rachelturney
Boulder Poetry Scene 