Reading is activism - Writing is activism - Publishing is activism.
We at CALYX are activists, and we believe in the power of the written word. For 30 years we have provided a forum for over 3500 women’s voices by publishing writing and art that would not be published by commercial presses. Being a non-profit organization means CALYX is able to prioritize literary value and diversity. But the face of the publishing world has changed, and superstores and Internet booksellers are dominating bookselling. They have forced many independent stores into closing, and a very important link between a reader and books—especially the unusual, complex, literary titles published by small presses—is being lost.
Independent booksellers have always provided connections between a community of readers and unknown authors—not only is this relationship at risk, but diversity and independent thought are threatened as well. We urge you to support your independent bookstores and independent publishers. In the eloquent words of Barbara Kingsolver, without independents, we’d lose “color and diversity, poetry, the outside chance, the underdog’s story, the heretical questions.” If you crave “honest reading,” fight for independents.
As a non-profit organization with a 501 (C) 3 status, CALYX is currently supported in part by grants from the Autzen Foundation, the Jackson Foundation, the Oregon Arts Commission, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency; the Oregon Cultural Trust, investing in Oregon’s arts, humanities, and heritage; the Mr. & Mrs. Edmund Hayes Senior Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation, the Spirit Mountain Community Fund, the Rose E. Tucker Charitable Trust, and the U.S. Bancorp Foundation, as well as the generous support of over 300 individual donors.
