I recall finding Diane Di Prima's 'Calculus of Variation' (Eidolon Press 1972) in a thrift shop back in the late 1990s or early 2000s. I found the contents quite different from the Di Prima poetry I was familiar with – I think I'd read an early selected by then – very dense and difficult. Which was probably why she went the self-publishing route with it!
Such an interesting article David. I self published two things in the 1970s Space Magazine (underground political) and Dreams(music, poetry, manifestos) Now I publish through a “vanity” or “subsidy” commercial press (Atticus) and Kevin Ring’s The Beat Scene. Important to get the work out somehow. The vanity publishers do pr etc but it’s expensive and doesn’t work all that well.
Two "publishers" not mentioned in your article Charles Plymell for his NOW magazines often the first time for several writers (Brautigan) and Beach Books, Texts, and Documents, Mary Beach, my mother. She didn't self-publish but everyone else. In the last 60 years the big publishers rarely published poetry unless it was academic. Harper only published Ginsberg when they knew he would sell. The caveat was poetry doesn't sell. To get it out small presses were essential. It still is nearly impossible to get a small press book reviewed by NYT. Your article covered a lot of territory. Greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Thanks for that. The list was a bit limited or else this would've turned into a book.
As someone who runs a small press, I know how difficult it is to get reviews. It's my least favourite part of the whole process. My experience is that you're lucky to hear back from even 1 in 50 that you contact.
Ginsberg was enthusiastic about self-publishing until the end. Even as I was beginning to get "real" publishing credits, he urged me to self-publish _every_thing. And the GenX underground zine movement of the 90s was something he very much loved.
I recall finding Diane Di Prima's 'Calculus of Variation' (Eidolon Press 1972) in a thrift shop back in the late 1990s or early 2000s. I found the contents quite different from the Di Prima poetry I was familiar with – I think I'd read an early selected by then – very dense and difficult. Which was probably why she went the self-publishing route with it!
That's probably the case. It seems self-publishing was the way to go when you had something wildly original.
Such an interesting article David. I self published two things in the 1970s Space Magazine (underground political) and Dreams(music, poetry, manifestos) Now I publish through a “vanity” or “subsidy” commercial press (Atticus) and Kevin Ring’s The Beat Scene. Important to get the work out somehow. The vanity publishers do pr etc but it’s expensive and doesn’t work all that well.
Thanks. I’ll be sure to send you the new one next month!
Well the two books you sent me certainly had a great print quality, so those presses are both doing a good job.
Two "publishers" not mentioned in your article Charles Plymell for his NOW magazines often the first time for several writers (Brautigan) and Beach Books, Texts, and Documents, Mary Beach, my mother. She didn't self-publish but everyone else. In the last 60 years the big publishers rarely published poetry unless it was academic. Harper only published Ginsberg when they knew he would sell. The caveat was poetry doesn't sell. To get it out small presses were essential. It still is nearly impossible to get a small press book reviewed by NYT. Your article covered a lot of territory. Greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Thanks for that. The list was a bit limited or else this would've turned into a book.
As someone who runs a small press, I know how difficult it is to get reviews. It's my least favourite part of the whole process. My experience is that you're lucky to hear back from even 1 in 50 that you contact.
Ginsberg was enthusiastic about self-publishing until the end. Even as I was beginning to get "real" publishing credits, he urged me to self-publish _every_thing. And the GenX underground zine movement of the 90s was something he very much loved.
Thanks for sharing that. I'm not surprised. He certainly retained his core beliefs towards the end.
And his use of the word "mimeograph"! I would show him laser printed zines, and he'd acknowledge it as "ah, mimeographs!"
Interesting!