i n t e r e s t i n g s i t e s & r e s o u r c e s
| Independent Presses Catbird Press publishes, among other notable books, a number by Czech writers in translation, including Jaroslav Seifert, whose THE POEMS OF JAROSLAV SEIFERT is the first large collection of his poems published in America; a garland of these poems appeared in our last issue. A volume of Czech fiction from the “post-Kundera generation,” is DAYLIGHT IN NIGHTCLUB INFERNO. Robert Wechsler, publisher of Catbird, has written an interesting book-length essay, WITHOUT A STAGE; THE ART OF LITERARY TRANSLATION; worth reading. Chelsea Green Publishing Company in White River Junction, Vermont, specializes in books about sustainable living, with selections of environmentally friendly, thoughtful, and hopeful books. GAVIOTAS, A Village to Reinvent the World, by Alan Weisman, received has received much attention. The editor in chief, Jim Schley, wrote us about our conversation with Michael and Cornelia Bessies (Archipelago, Vol. 1, No. 4; Vol. 2, No. 1): “As a younger editor who has every intention of emulating such ... predecessors, I find this conversation to be truly illuminating.” This press has high standards. Columbia University Press puts up a utilitarian site through which their useful catalog of books and reference works, including CD-ROMS, can be ordered. Two noteworthy CD-ROMs are THE COLUMBIA I CHING and THE CLASSIC HUNDRED POEMS; the latter is very expensive, but delightful. William Strachan, the director, speaks about publishing elsewhere in this issue. The Harvill Press publishes, among many estimable authors, Richard Hughes, Richard Ford, and in translation, Anna Maria Ortese (THE LAMENT OF THE LINNET), Ismael Kadare, Javier Marķas. Many of their titles are available in the U. S., particularly at independent bookstores. We urge our Readers to look for their books. (Ortese’s “Where Time Is Another” appears in this issue.) The Lilliput Press is an Irish publisher founded in 1984 by Antony Farrell. Some 150 titles have appeared under its imprint: art and architecture, autobiography and memoir, biography and history, ecology and environmentalism, essays and literary criticism, philosophy, current affairs and popular culture, fiction, drama and poetry - all broadly focused on Irish themes. Since 1985 they have brought out four volumes of the essays of the late Hubert Butler. Hubert Butler’s “The Artukovitch File” appears, with their permission, in Archipelago, Vol. 1, No. 2. McPherson & Co publishes such writers as the fascinating Mary Butts (THE TAVERNER NOVELS), Anna Maria Ortese (A MUSIC BEHIND THE WALL, Selected Stories Vol. 2, just published), and the performance artist Carolee Schneeman. A beautiful story by Ortese, “The Great Street,” appeared in our inaugural issue, and the writer’s testament, “Where Time Is Another,” appears in this issue. Mercury House is a not-for-profit literary press in San Francisco. Members of the staff used to be associated with the respected North Point, before that imprint closed its doors. Alfred Arteaga’s HOUSE WITH THE BLUE BED is out now; “Beat,” from that volume, appeared in our Vol. 1, No. 3. They are to publish NARROW ROAD TO THE DEEP NORTH, a non-fiction narrative by Katherine McNamara; a chapter of it appeared in our last issue. Online Originals is an internet publisher of literature who take the position, one we find ourselves much in agreement with, that “Conventional book publishing has changed dramatically in recent years. Most of the world’s publishers are now owned by a handful of media conglomerates, ruled in turn by their finance and marketing departments. To guarantee high profits, they tend to accept manuscripts only by celebrity writers than authors whose output conforms to the conventional mainstream market. ... We believe that the Internet is the way forward for all kinds of publishing. But for the benefit of our authors, we do not prevent them also publishing printed versions of their works at a later date.” They deliver “book-like” texts by e-mail. Sun & Moon Press is a fine, serious, literary press with a long backlist. They publish classics as well as contemporary fiction and poetry; writers and poets such as Arkadii Dragomoschenko (astonishing Russian poet), Paul Celan, Harry Matthews, Djuna Barnes, Paul Auster, Russell Banks. In 1999, they will publish Maria Negroni’s LA JAULA BAJO EL TRAPO/CAGE UNDER COVER, tr. Anne Twitty, in a Spanish-English edition; a selection appears elsewhere in this issue. Fine Arts Colophon Page and Photo Arts are two handsome sites devoted to the fine arts. Colophon Page reproduces artists’ books, which are displayed in pages as if in a gallery; there is an attendant shop, and review and forum pages. Photo Arts presents and offers for sale the works of fine-arts photographers and photojournalists. The design and quality of reproduction of these sites are excellent. Read Jeanette Watson’s ‘Off the Wall,’ book reviews by the owner of the now-closed Books & Co., Manhattan. “The Ancient Jewish Cemetery at the Lido in Venice, On the Photographs of Claire Turyn,” hosted by PhotoArts, appeared in our last issue. Fray. Strange. Cool. Heartbreaking. A delight. Incompetech. We can’t quite figure this site out, but we like it very much. They want to publish interesting and good material and have resigned themselves to not making money at it. Laura McLeod does a fine job with her “British Authors” section, from which we downloaded John Donne’s “The Flea” for Endnotes. Octavo is a digital publisher committed to
conserving books, manuscripts, and antiquarian printed materials via digital tools and
formats. They make original works available to readers and book lovers through
partnerships with libraries, individuals and institutions. As a sample, they offer a PDF
download of William Shakespeare Poems. We are always pleased when web publishers use PDF
files, as we do for our Download edition.
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