To encourage the growth of small print presses, and to bring their works to a wider audience, STANDARDS annually reviews submissions from the great tradition of small presses in the United States.

We've done a great deal of reading, over the long winter months, and the good news is we've had a wonderfully mixed-bag of selections from which to choose. As our readers browse through the following reviews, we hope you'll find the same integrity within diversity that we noted, in perusing the submissions for our annual Best of the Small Presses Awards.

This year, we have been most taken with the largesse of style and intelligence within the materials sent to us by Graywolf Press. A long-time beacon in the field of independent publishing, Graywolf has consistently earned the respect of educators, students, readers and writers alike. Their recent publications are no exception. Here, we extend our STANDARDS' tribute to the excellence and integrity of this small press, keeping in mind that integrity is, after all, one of the central elements of pride. Our congratulations to the hard-working staff of Graywolf and, for our readers, we offer a look into some of the most compelling literary achievements of the past year:

Red Crane Books' Almost Americans: A Quest for Dignity, an American Memoir by Patricia Justiniani McReynolds, and On Behalf of the Wolf and the First Peoples, by Joseph Marshall III. Finally, from Wolfhouse Publishing, we are pleased to present a review of Devilfish Bay: The Giant Devilfish Story, An Alaskan Indian Adventure, by Rudy James/ThlauGoo YailthThlee, The First and Oldest Raven.

So, once again, dear readers, we invite you inside...Let us know what you think of our selections!

Here's to Spring and Summer readings,

Canéla Analucinda Jaramillo
Editor-in-Chief
STANDARDS