As we have observed in repeated posts over the past 15 months, much of what gets published nowadays should be an embarrassment to the companies doing the publishing--way too many books nowadays are poorly edited (or not edited at all!), poorly printed (virtually no margins, hard-to-read type, no whitespace to relieve the eyes) and poorly bound (don't even think of opening the book wide enough to actually read it!).
The exceptions to this trend are few and far between. Fine press publishers still fight the good fight. As does the occasional specialist publisher like The Folio Society. But among commercial publishers, this task seems to have fallen to the few remaining independent publishers. One such publisher, which this year is celebrating its 40th anniversary (a difficult enough achievement in itself), is David R. Godine.
Reading Godine's "mission statement" makes one realize just how far most commercial publishers have strayed:
Our aim is to identify the best work and to produce it in the best way possible. All of our hardcover and softcover books are printed on acid-free paper. Many hardcovers are still bound in full cloth. The list is deliberately eclectic and features works that many other publishers can't or won't support, books that won't necessarily become bestsellers but that still deserve publication. In a world of spin-offs and commercial "product," Godine's list stands apart by offering original fiction and non-fiction of the highest rank, rediscovered masterworks, translations of outstanding world literature, poetry, art, photography, and beautifully designed books for children.
Founded in 1970, Godine rarely publishes more than thirty titles in any given year. The firm started publishing high-quality books for children in 1980. It recently launched separate imprints for high-quality photography books (Imago Mundi) and high-quality literature in translation (Verba Mundi). Perhaps equally important, the firm maintains a very active reprint program--one reason, perhaps, why John Martin's famed Black Sparrow Press entrusted its backlist to Godine.
One could do much, much worse than collect titles from this distinguished publisher....
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