For half a century, local press Boa Editions has published about a dozen poetry books per year, using a logo design pulled from Greek mythology. The bard Orpheus, best known as a storyteller and musician, became a fitting symbol for Boa, depicted in the publisher’s logo with his trademark lyre.
Rochester-based Ukrainian artist Mirko Pylyshenko carved the linoleum block print. But the design wasn’t always clear, according to Peter Conners, Boa’s executive director and publisher.
Case in point: some folks even called it the “monkey man.”
“It was an extremely difficult image to reproduce on let’s say a shirt or a bag or anything that might help spread the Boa word,” Conners said. “There’s so many fine detail lines to it. It was almost impossible to put on anything else.”
Boa officially marks 50 years of publishing in 2026. Conners and his team have started the celebration by bidding farewell to Orpheus in favor of a sleek, modern new logo. The wordmark centers the three letters in the publisher’s name but also presents its full business name, Boa Editions, in title case.
The presentation should clear up some lingering confusion, Conners said.
“People don’t know that it’s called Boa. They’ll say, how is B-O-A? And then they’ll say, what does B-O-A stand for?” he said. “It really doesn’t stand for anything. It’s just Boa.”
The new wordmark was created by Boa’s senior cover designer, Sandy Knight. She said the design of the three letters contrasted with dark shadows of negative space mirrors the work Boa does.
“That negative space, it’s such a pronounced part of the mark,” she said. “I do feel like Boa holds and creates a space for many, many voices. We want there to be a space for all of it. This is what independent publishing brings to the table.”
Below the wordmark, Knight presented the full name of the publisher in a typeface called Benton Modern — used for daily periodicals like “The Boston Globe” and the “Detroit Free Press” — to nod to Boa’s literary history.
“We wanted it to be something about the future while also conveying a sense of legacy,” Knight said. “Being able to describe the fact that this is an entity of independent publishing, established in 1976, was a really important part of the conversation, and to feel proud of that legacy as well.”
Boa celebrates that legacy in the wake of distinctly modern federal funding cuts. In May, the organization lost a $35,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, its largest funder, amid a torrent of cuts affecting dozens of nonprofit organizations across the country.
The loss dashed plans for a special hardcover edition of an upcoming release. But Conners said the milestone anniversary provides the publisher a rare opportunity to tell its own story at a time when support is more welcome than ever.
“I hate to put it in such dire terms, but it’s about survival,” he said. “We’re a nonprofit arts organization that nobody goes to, because our books go into the world, so people don’t interface with us as an organization. It is important to put the word out there.” boaeditions.org
