"Do It Yourself"
An Insight into the San Francisco Self Publishing Industry
Since the mid-20th Century, San Francisco has been the Mecca for politically-charged and groundbreaking literary works. It boasts perhaps one of the most influential bookstores and publishing houses in American Literature history - the City Lights Bookstore. City Lights rose to acclaim in the mid-1950s after its founder, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, published 'Howl And Other Poems', an explicitly-charged collection of poems by Ginsberg. Since then artists, activists, liberalists have flocked towards this sprawling port, interweaving with large immigrant populations of Chinese, Latin American, Mexican and Vietnamese (to name a few). This fusion has developed into a creatively diverse melting pot of artistic, cultural and political expression with self publishing at its heart.
Nowadays it appears that the self publishing industry is still thriving. Independent bookstores, boutiques, cafés and galleries line the streets, offering the latest picks of zines, pamphlets and artist books; any shape, size and price. Needles and Pens
'We have created a place where like-minded people from the community can display and sell their own home-made goods, home-published zines and art work, stocking predominately recycled, silk screened, cut-up, re-sewn, photocopied, hand-made, and hand-published works of art'.
N+P also have a small gallery at the rear of the shop where monthly exhibitions showcase these DIY works. Alongside this, Golden Gate Park hosts one of the largest zine fairs in the USA. Now in its ninth year, the festival boasted its biggest yet with stalls selling out two months in advance. Annually over hundred small press and DIY creators sell, trade and share their work with over two thousand attendees. And later this month, the small press movement comes to the forefront when renowned arts space Southern Exposure present a two-day summit entitled 'Art Publishing Now', focussed on the role of self publishing in the San Francisco Bay Area; perhaps a much-needed and overdue overview of the movement.
It is difficult for an outsider to witness counterculture so prevalent in 'normal' living; I can only fathom that this assortment of belief and action is a by-product of San Francisco's diverse and turbulent political past, with circulation of printed ideas being its main catalyst for social change. Naturally this is mirrored and enforced in the galleries, with the do it yourself ethos firmly rooted within established organisations like The Lab, The Luggage Store and Galeria De La Raza, all of whom are not for profit. Yet there is a new generation of creatives, independent retailers, who are interweaving commerce with creativity, eager to push the boundaries of how art is displayed and in what format we consume it. These soletraders create galleries in their shops, cafés and restaurants, showcasing local artistic endeavour alongside its latest product. One such unit is No, a clothing boutique which publishes and supports local
Of course the city has its problems; it is broke, the cost of living is high, homelessness and street crime are rife, and in certain areas one can live in a rose tinted eco-friendly bubble, detached from the harsh realities of the city. Despite this, there is an energy here which makes people want to fight for their cause, a proactive past which is so entrenched in its thriving art scene. After all, if you want to get something done, do it yourself.
Thanks to Liz Wood, Leah Edwina Martin and Jen Snyder from YesYesYes for their input.
Websites of interest: www.ohnonotno.com www.needles-pens.com www.thelab.org www.galeriadelaraza.org www.citylights.com www.luggagestoregallery.org www.unpiano.com www.soex.org www.artpublishingnow.org