Monday, February 8, 2010

Dave Christy: Small Press Giant



News arrived this morning of the passing of Dave Christy, co-publisher with his wife Ana, of Alpha Beat Press. Doug Holder announced it this morning on his blog. From the Alpha Beat website:

Alpha Beat Press has been publishing Beat Generation, post-Beat Independent and other modern writings since 1986. Alpha Beat Press had its beginnings in a Montreal flat with the idea of keeping the aesthetics and sensibilities of the Beat generation alive. Our first magazine, Alpha Beat Soup was unique, being the only small press magazine publishing original and current Beat writings. In our new magazine Bouillabaisse and in our other poetry publications we have continued in that tradition, publishing a wide variety of writers and styles, from Bukowski to the lesser known poets. Alpha Beat Press is certainly the best of the small press!

To call Dave an icon of the real "small press" is no exaggeration. Working in the style and spirit of the Beats and mimeo revolution of the 60's, Dave and Ana have published some of the most important New Beat and Beat poets of the last 30 years. I have been in contact with Ana and Dave almost since the inception of Lilliput Review in 1989 and we have swapped small publications for all these years.

This is truly saddening news. Ana, you are in my thoughts.




the death bell
tolls at the temple...
winter seclusion
Issa
translated by David G. Lanoue



Don

9 comments:

Bart said...

Sad news.

Charles Gramlich said...

Sorry to hear that. A big loss for sure.

androla said...

yes, sad news...

Issa's Untidy Hut said...

Emailed Doug Holder this morning, still haven't heard anything else anywhere about Dave ...

Doug Holder said...

I heard from the folks at alternating current press a very reliable source of information Doug Holder

Issa's Untidy Hut said...

Thanks, Doug - I wasn't questioning the veracity of the info, just so little of it ...

Doug Holder said...

No problem at all just clearing things up...here is the message I got from leah angstman who runs a wonderful small press in Cambridge, Mass:


Fellow fellow poet,

It is with great sadness that I'm informing you, if you've not yet heard, that Dave Christy, editor of the long-running Cokefishing in Alpha Beat Soup broadside, has passed away. I do not know any of the details of his death, but I want to pass the word along to those in the small press community who may have been friends with him. Please let those people know whom I cannot reach (and I apologize if you are receiving this but did not know Dave Christy; I'm only trying to let everyone know, so please kindly disregard this email if you did not know him).

Together for the revolution,
leah

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Issa's Untidy Hut said...

Thanks very much, Doug ... I appreciate you sending this along

llori stein said...

i wish my textbot would be able to comprehend the blog pages.. i just found out earlier today via gkhb. shame.. i just talked to him recently about his health and all.. wouldn't it figure.. i wish i heard sooner.. but this is more than enough.