It's pretty well established in the region that New London is home to a rather significant and e'er-evolving arts renaissance. This includes its indie and roots music scene, a healthy theater and dance scene, and plenty of novelists, playwrights and poets. Regarding the latter, the city is home to not one but two poetry publishing houses. In 2008, Little Red Tree Publishing set up shop and continues to prosper.

More recently, New London poet/editor Daniel S. Boroughs founded Good Cop / Bad Cop Press, an outfit dedicated to publishing and nurturing the works of what he calls "a family of community poets" - a roster than includes, in addition to Boroughs, Jake St. John, Seth Howard, Jane Anderson, Bruce McDermott and John Greiner.

To date, Good Cop / Bad Cop has published at least eight collections and chapbooks by its writers. On Saturday, in Bank Square Books in Mystic, several Good Cop / Bad Cop poets will read in collective celebration of new works by Boroughs and Howard. "Waters From a Well" is the latest chapbook from Howard, and Boroughs is releasing four connective chapbooks - "Medication + Solace," "ALL WOLVES," "EPISODES" and "Two Brothers - Birds: New Selected Poems 2013-2014." Boroughs' quartet is distinctive because each collection is introduced by a respective member of the poet's family.

Boroughs recently answered five questions about the Muse, the local poetry scene, and why it seemed a good idea to start his own publishing house.

Q: What compelled you to start Good Cop / Bad Cop - particularly since running your own publishing house could arguably take time away from actually writing poetry?

A: "To be perfectly honest, I didn't want to solely and selfishly release my own work without exposing and giving the opportunity to my friends who also write poetry in the greater New London area. This community has helped to strengthen and nurture my craft and voice over the years.

"I also was well aware of the fact that it would take away from the actual writing process, but being a father, a husband with a full-time day job and a DJ on the side, it's all a juggling act, isn't it? I have learned over the years to juggle and manage the hours I have in the day to exercise and carve that niche to write. It's my job as an artist to do so. It is vital as the heart and center of all that I do in relation to Good Cop / Bad Cop."

Q: In the context of Good Cop / Bad Cop, what's the climate like for an indie poetry house in the age when conventional print media is in trouble? Is this actually a good thing for small indies like yourself?

A: "Well, it's not all doom and gloom for the small indies, I hope, because I believe there is a community and culture of people that still desire the tangible object to have and to hold - rather than just reading words on a computer screen or smart phone. Good Cop / Bad Cop aims at distributing to that sort of audience and even getting people to go back and appreciate the printed medium. I also liken the sale of chapbooks to the vinyl revival in small record shops and even music chains across the country. Sales for that medium are up, up, up! People still believe in the tangible product. I have faith in that notion entirely."

Q: Talk briefly about your artists roster and comment on the rather extraordinary level of poetic talent we have in a relatively small area.

A: "To me, the Good Cop / Bad Cop roster first and foremost is like extended family and a network of closely affiliated poets. They are also diverse in each person's voice and demonstrate a certain caliber of poetry that is commendable, superbly crafted, and inspiring.

"The first two poets I took on to release, Jane Anderson and Jake St. John, had become dear friends of mine in the New London community from attending and banding together at the Bean and Leaf Poetry Open Mics almost every Thursday night. Jane and I were even co-workers at Border's bookstore - rest in peace! - before we even were aware of each other's talent.

"Seth Howard I met through volunteering at the Telegraph, and he was a familiar face on the street who would come in and buy books! At first, for a passionate record collector like myself, that was very frustrating, but I knew he had a spark in him that was worth building a friendship upon.

"From those initial releases, things followed suit in a similar fashion. More Poetry Open Mic familiars like Bruce McDermott got onto the roster. Jake also recommended a good friend of his in his poetry world, John Greiner, out of Astoria, Queens. And it all takes on new shapes from there; friends of friends of friends and new acquaintances."

Q: Your new project, four related chapbooks, has a bit of a complex concept. Briefly describe it and explain where the idea came from.

A: "The set is a family affair comprising poems that mainly bend my style of writing in a loosely autobiographical direction where I am offering the public an introspective side of myself. 'Medication + Solace' and 'ALL WOLVES' were manuscripts from 2011, written right before I was to become a father - and expressed excitement, trepidation, and anxiousness about this journey I was to make with my wife, Anne Marie. 'EPISODES' and 'Two Brothers' are more recent works written after the birth of my son Harvey that describe an even more distant time in my life. A lot of those poems concern trials and tribulations and tremendous mental stress I'd undergone during my mid-20s.

"To comment on and introduce each work, I chose the people that knew me best and the longest: my family. So I had my Mom, Dad, brother Aaron, and favorite Aunt Brooke write the introductions. They were actually gifts to them on various occasions throughout the year. I also assigned my beautiful wife, Anne Marie, a stunning and captivating visual artist, to create the cover art for each chapbook, as well."

Q: Seth is also featured at the reading. What's his new collection about?

A: "'Waters From A Well' is not about a particular thing or concept but mainly concerns his exploration into the use of an experimental poetic technique called disruptive language. It mines the psyche in pursuit of the truth and other philosophical matters. Seth loves to play with sound, performance, and syntax in all matters that question reality and the senses."

r.koster@theday.com

twitter: @rickkoster