Feminism Friday: A Little CALYX History

The Fall CALYX Glitterati is celebrating Frida Kahlo’s art and Dia de los muertos (October 21^st, Corvallis Arts Center), and as I was looking through old files searching for extra copies of the artist Frida Kahlo’s color plates that we published in the International Anthology I was digging through dusty files in the back room. This resulted in an impromptu lesson to staff and interns on the history of publication layout. I actually don’t remember the exact date we switched to laying out publications completely on the computer. But as I pulled out the complicated cover layouts—hand done in the days before art was handled from computer images—the layers of plastic and instructions for each layer of color were a surprise for the younger staff and interns—particularly the mathematical computations that had to be done for each piece of art. Most surprising was recognizing my handwriting on some of the covers, having forgotten I often had to lay out covers myself.

Kelsey (Assistant Director) and Meghan (intern) with Women and Aging publication layout

Life is so much easier with computerized cover design. As we finalized the cover art and design for the new book Crow Mercies (by Penelope Schott), Cheryl McLean (of Imprint Service who does our production and design) sent 4 variations on 3 different pieces of art for our final consideration. Our Senior Editor watched Cheryl do the magical design and said some of the variations took place in minutes. What a difference from the days we did all those mathematical computations, cut out the red gelatin borders, and wrote instructions to the printer on each page of the layout.

Different alternatives for the cover of Crow Mercies

~Margarita Donnelly, Director

Feminism Friday: Reflections on Interning at a Feminist Press, Part II

Opening the Mail at CALYX: A Love Post

Throughout my recent internship at CALYX, I fell in love with opening the mail. Who would have predicted it? I’m perfectly familiar with the process—I rip envelopes open at my house every day. And my internship at CALYX included plenty of tasks that were much more intellectually stimulating.  But there was something extremely satisfying about opening the mail at CALYX. If this sounds suspicious, please let me explain.

First, there was the morning walk to the post office—I loved the chance to walk one sunshine-y block at the start of my day, travel mug of coffee in my hand, tote bag with the mail keys over my shoulder. The men in the barbershop were always smiling, and the Grass Roots Bookstore workers frequently gave me a wave. It’s always nice to spend time in downtown Corvallis.

Back at the office, I’d settle into my work. I would unfold the little letter-opener with a snap, like a jack-knife, into my palm. I would spin the pieces of the “RECEIVED” stamp into place for the day’s date. I would open the big purple pad of ink like a treasure chest. Then, I got to work—pressing those satisfying purple stamps onto every envelope, every cover letter, every happy check from every happy CALYX reader.

Okay, okay, okay. So, even though I’m being serious when I say that I loved these things, here’s the real truth: what I loved most about opening the mail at CALYX was the letters themselves. As the opener of letters, I became the bearer of good news: I opened letters from foundations saying we’d received grants, from supporters sending donations, and from readers sending subscriptions. There were books to review, journals to peruse, and poems upon poems upon glorious poems. All of those words (all of that creativity and passion and love!) passing through my fingers, under my stamp, and into the hands of the incredible women of CALYX.

Opening mail will never be the same.

-Liz Wyckoff

Feminism Friday: Reflections on Interning at a Feminist Press

It is hard to narrow down my experience with CALYX in just one short paragraph, so I’ve been trying to think of a few key elements that made my internship memorable. Maybe it was being surrounded by women who have dedicated their lives to literature and art by women, the fact that everyone there is a great inspiration with intriguing stories, the charm of being involved with something wonderful and important, or maybe I was lucky to get along with my fellow interns. I can’t really put a number on any of these things. I can say that this internship fulfilled my questions: yes, I do want to be involved in the publishing world, and yes, it is an amazingly lengthy and complicated process to publish. I have always enjoyed being involved with the development of a story or a poem—reading, editing, workshopping—almost as much as I love writing itself. At CALYX, this was my favorite part. I had the opportunity to participate with the copy-editing meeting and I’ll never forget the tricks Beverly showed us with editing. It’s nice to be in an environment where discussing the use of a comma or dash is exciting work, and I hope to continue it. This internship has given me great insight as a writer, someone who wishes to be in the publishing world and as an avid lover of literature. Seeing all the manuscripts going through CALYX, watching them be processed and handled by so many people, sending out rejects and holds to wonderful writers, gave me such a different view and respect for the publishing world. I love this business because it is not about money, but the love of something wonderful. Along with experience, this internship has given me a better sense of direction. I’ll never forget my time with CALYX or the lovely women I had the opportunity of learning from. You are all an inspiration to me, and I hope I’m able to put as much love into my work as you all do.

Your adoring intern,

Jan Colley

Feminism Friday: “Feminist Press: You Mean, Like, Books for Girls?”

As an editor of CALYX Press, a 34 year-old feminist publisher of art and literature that has published the likes of Barbara Kingsolver and Jane Hirshfield, it’s necessary to sometimes explain to curious parties what it means to be a feminist publisher.

I know what it means to be a feminist.  To me, it means a freedom of choice.  It’s not about women or men necessarily; it’s about the freedom that we deserve as human beings to choose what kind of lives we make for ourselves.  To some, this means the choice to have children, marry a partner, and be a stay at home mom.  For others, it means traveling the world or owning a motorcycle.  For me, it means living in Oregon apart from my family and devoting my life to books and writing because that’s what I love—I’m grateful that I had the ability to make that decision for myself.

So how does that freedom translate into publishing? Well, for one, the women of CALYX have always had freedom of editorial choice.  All of our editorial decisions are made collectively—that means that every submission that comes into the office is read by at least two women.  Twenty-five percent of all submissions are then discussed by 6 women and voted on—we sometimes hold stories and poems to read again later.  That means that we practice equality and fairness in our decision-making.

Freedom of choice is also big around the office in how we run our non-profit.  We work collectively to get jobs done, from our Director down to our wonderful student interns—everyone is encouraged to share their ideas about how to get the word out about different projects.   You should have seen us Wednesday crowded into the backroom, every staff member sticking stamps onto envelopes because that’s what we needed to get done and we all wanted to help.

We also choose to publish exceptional work by women that is representative of that freedom to be ourselves.  Some of the poetry and prose that goes into the journal has nothing to do with women or personal identity.  One story going into the new Summer Journal Vol. 26:2, for example, has a homeless man as the main protagonist (you’ll be excited when Lego Bionic Moses comes into the story).  On the other hand, some poems in Vol. 26:2 deeply personal and intimately explain experiences from women’s perspectives: what it’s like to give birth, look for a job as a woman, learn to Kayak for the first time.  The editors of CALYX choose work that we feel is well-written, interesting to read, and represents some important part of the diverse and dynamic experience of women.  There’s no one perspective that embodies everything that it means to be a woman (or a feminist, for that matter), so representing as many different viewpoints as we can is a good place to start.

What do you think about this? How does a business, a person, or a piece of writing be “feminist”?

-Rebecca Olson, Associate Editor

Feminism Friday: Learn from the Past, Don’t Leave it Behind

For Feminism Friday, there is an issue that has been on my mind, and that I will begin to discuss here. If you have thoughts to share, comment. In honor of Feminism Friday, I’d like to start a dialog about the idea of “outdated” feminism.

Why do so many feel it necessary to separate themselves from first, second, and even third wave feminism? It is as if a stigma has been created that many feel they must “shake off” or “move past” in order to accomplish the feminist ideals of today. While I can see a little of where this comes from, my experience leads me to find fault with this logic.

As one of the new staff members of CALYX, I find it more and more necessary to learn and listen to the women on staff who have been through it all. Traveled all over the world? Check. Became the first press to publish Frida Kahlo in color in the United States. Yeup. Raised families while striving to change the way we see art and literature by women one journal/book at a time working? Oh yes. Dined with a movie star and his wife? Definitely. (If only you could hear Margarita, our director, tell that story.) Published over 3,5oo female artists and authors in an effort to equalize the disparities between men and women? Double check.

As I explore the rich history of the 34 year old press I am honored to be a part of, I can’t help but wonder why some folks (mind you, this isn’t saying everyone feels this way) don’t take more advantage of learning from the feminists of the past. Is fear of fanny packs and shoulders pads 80s feminism really stopping us from learning from feminist women? (Not necessarily just employing rhetorical devices here. Go ahead and answer.) Maybe the goal of those who equate a negative stigma to this portion of feminist history is to simply show our goals have evolved.  However, to me, it is only after embracing the lessons from the past that feminism can move forward. After all, the past waves of feminism laid the groundwork for the goals and ideals of feminism today. If we can’t learn from the past, how can we legitimately look toward a better future?

The struggle for equality is not over. Many of you might remember last year, when controversy over this list led to outrage from women and men people everywhere? Small presses like CALYX continually work to change this. We publish art and literature by women that other larger presses may not consider because our purpose is to celebrate women’s voices. CALYX is a press that will always value its history, even while working toward making the future a place where women’s art and literature is on as many darn top ten lists as possible valued as highly as it should be.

Thanks for reading these thoughts, even as they are just in the fledgling stages.

-Kelsey Connell, Assistant Director

Feminism Friday: Staying True to Values in a Scary World

We’ve taken note that some of the awesome feminist blogs out there have been taking part in Feminism Friday, originated by Thinking Girl. We’ve decided to try to take part as often as we can and would encourage other feminist-minded bloggers to do the same! The folks at Feminism 101 encourage you to “let loose” any opinionated essays you may have regarding feminism and tag it with Feminism Friday to help the search engines!

It’s a scary world out there. In the past few days, there has been disturbing legislation passed in Arizona stripping away the rights of people of color, a potential car bombing in NYC, the 40th anniversary of the Kent State shooting, and a disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.  It’s hard to say how to stay positive in the face of so many different kinds of horrors, especially when our country faces so many threats–to the environment, to equality, to our safety, to our rights, to our minds and bodies.

CALYX is a publication dedicated to the idea that reading, writing, and publishing are acts of social justice. We would like to take the opportunity to remind our readers, writers, and ourselves, that activism isn’t limited to getting on a bus to hold up a sign in DC–opportunities for defending important causes are all around us.  Continue to read, continue to write, continue to listen and question, and above all–continue to stand up for what you believe in to the best of your ability.  We’re all in this together, feminist or not, and we have a duty to continue to fight for justice and equality in this country.

-Rebecca Olson, Assistant Editor*

(*These ideas are a personal statement and do not necessarily embody CALYX Press)