Kelsey St. Press |
Aunt Lute Books |
2004 marks the thirtieth anniversary of Kelsey St. Press, which publishes innovative writing by women including experimental work by emerging writers, women of color, and lesbians. The idea for a press came from a group of Bay Area women writers who wanted to address the marginalization of women writers by mainstream publishers. The first books were handset and printed in a letterpress in the basement of a house on Kelsey St. in Berkeley. Today founding members Patricia Dienstfrey and Rena Rosenwasser continue to direct the press with the assistance of members and interns. In the mid-1980s Kelsey St. started a series of collaborations between visual artists and poets. The press coordinates the collaborations and then documents the results. An example is "Arcade" by two African-American artists, poet Erica Hunt and drawings by visual artist Alison Saar. In 1999 Kelsey St. Press established the Frances Jaffer Book Award in honor of Bay Area poet and editor, Frances Jaffer (1921-1999). The award is given to a first book of poetry that is experimental in spirit and practice. The winning selection is published by Kelsey St. Several writers who published their poetry or collaborations with the press have received national recognition including Myung Mi Kim and Mei-Mei Berssenbrugge. The latter was born in Beijing and grew up in Massachusetts and is the author of numerous award-winning books of poetry including "Four Year Old Girl" which won the Western States Book Award in 1998. Kelsey St. Press books are included in the Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature of the New York Public Library. Their archives are located in Bancroft Library. |