Black Sparrow Press

Identity area

Type of entity

Corporate body

Authorized form of name

Black Sparrow Press

Parallel form(s) of name

    Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules

      Other form(s) of name

        Identifiers for corporate bodies

        Description area

        Dates of existence

        1966-2003

        History

        "Black Sparrow Books, formerly known as Black Sparrow Press, is a book publisher originally founded in 1966 by John Martin of Santa Rosa, California. He founded this company in order to publish the works of Charles Bukowski and other avant-garde authors. He initially financed this company by selling his large collection of rare first editions. Typography and printing were the work of Graham Mackintosh of San Francisco, Noel Young and Edwards Brothers, Inc. Barbara Martin oversaw all of the title page and cover designs, which are still unique today.

        Black Sparrow Press most prominently published the work of authors Charles Bukowski, John Fante, and Paul Bowles. A more complete list is shown below. These artists, now considered part of a contemporary 'alternative tradition,' were first established and nurtured under the auspices of Black Sparrow Press. Many of its titles are now highly collectible.

        Black Sparrow Press sold the rights to publish Bukowski, Bowles and Fante to HarperCollins Publishers in 2002. At this point, John Martin retired. Martin then sold the remainder of his inventory for $1.00 to David R. Godine, Publisher who adopted the name Black Sparrow Books. Godine is now the exclusive licensed distributor of Black Sparrow Books while HarperCollins continues to print and reprint the books by Bukowski, Fante and Bowles, replicating the original designs. In 2010, Black Sparrow published Door to the River, a collection of essays by Aram Saroyan; Well Then There Now, a collection of poems by Juliana Spahr; and Cheyenne Madonna, a collection of linked short stories by Eddie Chuculate. Copies of all editions of Charles Bukowski's works published by the Black Sparrow Press are held at Western Michigan University, which purchased the archive of the publishing house after its closure in 2003."
        -from Wikipedia entry available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sparrow_Books .

        Places

        Legal status

        Functions, occupations and activities

        Mandates/sources of authority

        Internal structures/genealogy

        General context

        Relationships area

        Access points area

        Subject access points

        Place access points

        Occupations

        Control area

        Authority record identifier

        http://viaf.org/viaf/262971909

        Institution identifier

        VIAF

        Rules and/or conventions used

        Status

        Final

        Level of detail

        Minimal

        Dates of creation, revision and deletion

        Record created by Anna St.Onge 2 September 2014.

        Language(s)

        • English

        Script(s)

        • Latin

        Maintenance notes