Capra Press is an independent publishing house that was founded in
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Co ...
, in 1969. The press relocated to
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
, California in 2011.
History
Noel Young (1922–2002), a former commercial printer, founded the press in 1969 with a volume of poetry, ''Journey'', by
Gordon Grant.
Previous to the founding of Capra Press, Young had been producing volumes under the imprint of Noel Young Editions and Capricorn Press. Many of the Capra-published books from the 1970s through the 1980s were designed by Frank Allen Goad (1938–2019). Before his death in 2002, at the age of 79, Young published over three hundred titles with the Capra imprint, including books by such writers as
Anaïs Nin,
Henry Miller
Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, social criticism, philosophical ref ...
,
Raymond Carver
Raymond Clevie Carver Jr. (May 25, 1938 – August 2, 1988) was an American short story writer and poet. He contributed to the revitalization of the American short story during the 1980s.
Early life
Carver was born in Clatskanie, Oregon, a mil ...
,
Lawrence Durrell
Lawrence George Durrell (; 27 February 1912 – 7 November 1990) was an expatriate British novelist, poet, dramatist, and travel writer. He was the eldest brother of naturalist and writer Gerald Durrell.
Born in India to British colonial p ...
, and
Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the '' Earthsea'' fantasy series. She was ...
.
In the last years of operation, as Young's health failed, David Dahl took over editorial duties at Capra. The press was sold to antiquarian book dealer Robert Bason in 2001.
In March 2011, Capra was purchased by Hilary Young Brodey (Noel Young's oldest daughter), her husband Phil Brodey, and their friends John and Diana Harrington.
References
External links
Official website
Publishing companies of the United States
Companies based in Santa Barbara County, California
Companies based in San Francisco
Publishing companies established in 1969
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