Our Mission

Our "mission" is twofold: to bring back into print (and keep in print) at an accessible price point those authors/titles that have had an impact on the cultural, literary, and/or artistic thought of the 20th (and 21st) century and to publish those poets who are still contributing today in a meaningful way to the same. Certainly a "broad based" statement to make but there is much that should be in print that for one reason or another is not. Even with a cadre of small publishers trying to address this situation, there are plenty of good titles languishing in the out-of-print netherworld or showing up only in the outrageously priced and poorly made print on demand format. We emphasize modern poetry, and literature in translation (especially in the poetry, short story, and novella form) that many larger publishers will not publish anymore or have let lapse out-of-print and will not reprint because of the perceived limited market or return on the investment. We feel, as readers and as booksellers of some 20 years, that good books should transcend such corporate thoughts, and that good books will find a market only if you allow them the time to do so. Where we have felt the translation to be poor but the title important we have, in conjunction with the copyright holders, undertaken all new translations. The translators who are helping in this endeavor are among the leading and most poetically adept authorities in their field. In the new publishing world of the 21st century, time for a title is now measured in months instead of years. Our titles will be measured by their availability over the years.

Click here to return to the main Black Widow Press site.