David R. Godine, Publisher
Encyclopedia
David R. Godine, Publisher is an American book publishing company, founded in 1970 in Boston, Massachusetts by David R. Godine
. Many of the early titles were fine letterpress editions, using a 40" Kelly-3 flatbed reciprocating letterpress with three form rollers. The company has since grown to become a well-regarded, small, general trade publisher. The press now publishes between twenty and thirty titles annually, with an eclectic list that ranges from literary fiction in translation to illustrated books on gardening. Acquisitions are driven by the tastes and passions of David R. Godine, the founder and still-active president. Several of those earliest editions are now considered collector's items, including Arthur Freeman's Assays of Bias, Andrew Marvell
's Garden (printed on a Vandercook press #20), and Thoreau's Civil Disobedience and A Plea for Captain John Brown.
Both the press and its authors have won prestigious awards over the years, including the W.A. Dwiggins Award in 1984, the Boston Globe Literary Press Award in 1987, and the first New England Booksellers Annual Award in 1989. In 2008, J.M.G. Le Clézio, the author of The Prospector (Godine, 1993), was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, and Godine plans to publish Le Clézio's acclaimed novel Desert
in the Spring of 2009.
In 2002, John Martin, in a gentleman's agreement with David R. Godine, sold the rights, remaining stock, and back list of titles for Black Sparrow Press to David R. Godine, Publisher — this did not include Black Sparrow's most popular authors, however: Charles Bukowski
, John Fante
, Wyndham Lewis
, and Paul Bowles
. Since that time, the editors at Godine have added authors Eddie Chuculate
, Kenneth Burke
, Daniel Fuchs
, and Linda Bamber to the Black Sparrow imprint, brought several titles by Charles Reznikoff
back into print, and continued to publish and republish existing Black Sparrow authors, such as Wanda Coleman
and Lyn Lifshin
.
David R. Godine
David R. Godine is the founder and president of David R. Godine, Inc., a small publishing house located in Boston, Massachusetts. The company is independent and its list tends to reflect the individual tastes of its president....
. Many of the early titles were fine letterpress editions, using a 40" Kelly-3 flatbed reciprocating letterpress with three form rollers. The company has since grown to become a well-regarded, small, general trade publisher. The press now publishes between twenty and thirty titles annually, with an eclectic list that ranges from literary fiction in translation to illustrated books on gardening. Acquisitions are driven by the tastes and passions of David R. Godine, the founder and still-active president. Several of those earliest editions are now considered collector's items, including Arthur Freeman's Assays of Bias, Andrew Marvell
Andrew Marvell
Andrew Marvell was an English metaphysical poet, Parliamentarian, and the son of a Church of England clergyman . As a metaphysical poet, he is associated with John Donne and George Herbert...
's Garden (printed on a Vandercook press #20), and Thoreau's Civil Disobedience and A Plea for Captain John Brown.
Both the press and its authors have won prestigious awards over the years, including the W.A. Dwiggins Award in 1984, the Boston Globe Literary Press Award in 1987, and the first New England Booksellers Annual Award in 1989. In 2008, J.M.G. Le Clézio, the author of The Prospector (Godine, 1993), was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, and Godine plans to publish Le Clézio's acclaimed novel Desert
Desert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
in the Spring of 2009.
In 2002, John Martin, in a gentleman's agreement with David R. Godine, sold the rights, remaining stock, and back list of titles for Black Sparrow Press to David R. Godine, Publisher — this did not include Black Sparrow's most popular authors, however: Charles Bukowski
Charles Bukowski
Henry Charles Bukowski was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural and economic ambience of his home city of Los Angeles...
, John Fante
John Fante
John Fante was an American novelist, short story writer and screenwriter of Italian descent. He is perhaps best known for his work, Ask the Dust, a semi-autobiograpical novel about life in and around Los Angeles, California, which was the third in a series of four novels, published between 1938...
, Wyndham Lewis
Wyndham Lewis
Percy Wyndham Lewis was an English painter and author . He was a co-founder of the Vorticist movement in art, and edited the literary magazine of the Vorticists, BLAST...
, and Paul Bowles
Paul Bowles
Paul Frederic Bowles was an American expatriate composer, author, and translator.Following a cultured middle-class upbringing in New York City, during which he displayed a talent for music and writing, Bowles pursued his education at the University of Virginia before making various trips to Paris...
. Since that time, the editors at Godine have added authors Eddie Chuculate
Eddie Chuculate
Eddie Chuculate is an American fiction writer of Muscogee and Cherokee descent. His first book, Cheyenne Madonna, was published in July 2010 by Black Sparrow Books, an imprint of David R. Godine, Publisher, in Boston. Chuculate won a PEN/O...
, Kenneth Burke
Kenneth Burke
Kenneth Duva Burke was a major American literary theorist and philosopher. Burke's primary interests were in rhetoric and aesthetics.-Personal history:...
, Daniel Fuchs
Daniel Fuchs
Daniel Fuchs was an American screenwriter, fiction writer, and essayist.-Biography:Daniel Fuchs was born in the Lower East Side, Manhattan, but his family migrated to Williamsburg, Brooklyn while Fuchs was an infant...
, and Linda Bamber to the Black Sparrow imprint, brought several titles by Charles Reznikoff
Charles Reznikoff
Charles Reznikoff was the poet for whom the term Objectivist was first coined. When asked by Harriet Munroe to provide an introduction to what became known as the Objectivist issue of Poetry, Louis Zukofsky provided his essay Sincerity and Objectification: With Special Reference to the Work of...
back into print, and continued to publish and republish existing Black Sparrow authors, such as Wanda Coleman
Wanda Coleman
Wanda Coleman is an American poet. She is known as "the L.A. Blueswoman," and "the unofficial poet laureate of Los Angeles."-Biography:...
and Lyn Lifshin
Lyn Lifshin
-Life:Born in Barre, VT, she was raised in Middlebury, VT. She earned a bachelor's degree in English from Syracuse University and a master's degree in English from the University of Vermont...
.