Alums’ TEMPER Press Heralded as Home of Experimental Literature

School of the Art Institute of Chicago alums Jourdain Barton (MFA 2023), Geoffrey Billetter (MFA 2023), and Nat Holtzmann (MFA 2023) founded TEMPER Press to foster collaboration and experimental writing. Inspired by the community the trio found as students in SAIC’s Writing program, the founders sought to make a platform for genre-defying literature that struggles to find a home with traditional publishers.

The Chicago Reader profiled the press and its re-imaginative practices which prioritize writer-editor relationships, integration into Chicago’s literary community, and the writer’s vision. Barton, Billetter, and Holtzmann identify micro-movements in literature to offer networks to writers. TEMPER’s upcoming project Three promotes collaborative engagement by including writer commentary amongst co-published works.