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WEST COAST SCENEAmong local groups of poets in Vancouver in the early 1960s was the Tish group, an academically oriented group of poets who were associated with the little magazine Tish. Original members of the group -- Frank Davey, George Bowering, David Dawson, Jamie Reid and Fred Wah -- had met at the University of British Columbia and openly acknowledged the influence of William Carlos Williams, Ezra Pound, Robert Creely and Charles Olson, especially the latter's theory of “projective verse”. Rattlesnake Press/Tishbooks (1961-1962)
The most influential and controversial little magazine of its generation, tish defined itself as a "local" magazine and was edited by Frank Davey. Its editorial policy welcomed American models, in particular the work of Charles Olson and the "Black Mountain School." Cover reproduced by permission of Frank Davey.
Cover reproduced by permission of Frank Davey.
Cover and drawings by Gordon Payne. Cover reproduced by permission of George Bowering. Robert Reid and Takao Tanabe (1962)
Designed and printed by Robert Reid and Takao Tanabe. This is an example of the association between Robert Reid and Takao Tanabe, two of British Columbia's best typographers and book designers. Cover reproduced by permission of John Newlove. Periwinkle Press (1963-1964)A second group was the “downtown bohemian set” which was loosely connected with the Vancouver Art School. Members included the poet John Newlove and artist/poet Roy Kiyooka. Although they never operated a small press themselves, their first books were published by the British Columbia printer and book designer Takao Tanabe's Periwinkle Press. In 1963, [http://canlit.st-john.umanitoba.ca/Canlitx/bill_bissett.html] bill bissett and Martina Clinton launched blew ointment magazine which was dedicated to visual and concrete poetry. bissett began to issue books, in 1967, under the imprint blewointment press. Another small press which was the centre of Concrete and Dadaist experiment was Intermedia, which published sporadically throughout the latter half of the 1960s.
Designed and printed at the Periwinkle Press by Takao Tanabe. Although Tanabe's Periwinkle Press was short-lived, he also published the poetry of John Newlove, Robin Matthews, Roy Kiyooka and Gerry Gilbert. Cover reproduced by permission of Phyllis Webb. Imago Press (1964-1974)
Issued as Imago 3. Edited by George Bowering, Imago magazine was dedicated to the long-poem format. Bowering published 20 issues of the magazine from three different cities during an eight-year period. As in this example, some issues were published under separate titles. © Lionel Kearns. blewointment press (1967-1983)
In 1967, after publishing his diffuse experimental poetry magazine for four years, bill bissett published his first book. Unlike the magazine which mimeographed assemblages, the books demonstrate restraint, but retain the bissett signature: line drawings, hand-lettering and visual poems. Cover reproduced by permission of bill bissett.
D.A. Levy. Red Lady. Vancouver: blewointment press, [1970]. Originally published by Open Skull Press, Cleveland, Ohio. Experimental poetry knows no borders. bissett, like other small press publishers during the period, was publishing the work of American and European counterparts. Here is an example of the Cleveland, Ohio poet D.A. Levy.
Fascist Court. Vancouver: blewointment press, [1970]. Sono Nis Press (1968- )
Since 1968, Sono Nis Press has published over 200 books, designed and printed by Morriss Co. of Victoria which acquired the imprint from founder, J. Michael Yates, in 1976. Cover reproduced by permission of Susan Musgrave.
Like many small presses, Sono Nis has been the mainstay of local writers and supportive of younger writers. This was Susan Musgrave's first book of poetry. © Mr. & Mrs. Looie Freeman. Cover reproduced by permission of J.M. Yates. [http://www.swifty.com/talon/] talonbooks (1967- )talon. Vol. 5, no 1, the final issue. An eclectic Vancouver literary magazine, talon was founded in 1963 and the final issue appeared in 1968. In 1966, the magazine's editors Jim Brown and David Robinson co-published several chapbooks with Very Stone House under the imprint [http://www.swifty.com/talon/] talonbooks/Very Stone House.
Patrick Lane. Letters from the Savage Mind. Vancouver: Very Stone House, [c1966].
Jim Brown. If There Are Any Noahs: Poems. Vancouver: Very Stone House, 1967. A Talon Book.
By 1968, David Robinson was the publisher of talon. The poetry list remained strong, but talon soon established itself as one of Canada's leading small press drama publishers. Talon remains one of the most important literary presses in Canada. Cover reproduced by permission of George Ryga & Associates Inc. 1605 Salisbury Drive, Vancouver B.C. V5L 4B9; Talonbooks, #104 - 3100 Production Way, Vancouver B.C. V5A 4R4. Very Stone House (1966- )In 1965 Patrick Lane, Seymour Mayne, [http://canlit.st-john.umanitoba.ca/Canlitx/bill_bissett.html] bill bissett, and Jim Brown founded Very Stone House. The first books published by this group appeared under the imprint [http://www.swifty.com/talon/] talonbooks/Very Stone House. By 1967, [http://www.swifty.com/talon/] talonbooks and Very Stone House had become separate imprints. [http://www.swifty.com/talon/]talonbooks has remained one of Vancouver’s and Canada's most important small press publishers.
Cover reproduced by permission of Chris Lowther.
After completing his B.A. at McGill, Seymour Mayne moved to Vancouver for graduate work. While in Montreal, Mayne was involved with two little magazines: Cataract and Catapult. In Vancouver, he was one of the co-founders of Very Stone House. Cover used by permission of Seymour Mayne, Ticklish Ticlicorice © copyright 1969 by the author. Vancouver: Very Stone House, 1969. |
