December 21, 2001
Contact: Louise Donahue (831) 459-5312; ldonahue@cats.ucsc.edu

UCSC publishes oral history of feminist publisher Sandra Kay Martz

For Immediate Release

SANTA CRUZ, CA. -- The University Library's Regional History Project has published Sandra Kay Martz's oral history, documenting her founding of Papier-Mache Press in 1984.

When I am an Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple, which Martz edited and published, sold over 1.6 million copies. The pioneering collection was among the first to focus on women and aging, challenging stereotypes and confronting the invisibility of this population. Another of Martz's anthologies, I am Becoming the Woman I've Wanted, was the winner of the 1995 American Book Award.

Assistant Editor Irene Reti interviewed Martz, a notable second-wave feminist publisher, who over 20 years published books addressing important feminist social issues. The volume was co-edited by Reti and Randall Jarrell. The oral history volume is the second of a trio of oral histories documenting the University Library's collection of three feminist press archives, part of the California Feminist Presses Project. The project's mission is to preserve the output and history of these presses. Two other volumes document the University Library's archives of Shameless Hussy Press and Herbooks.

Papier-Mache Press had published over 60 titles by 1998, but despite Martz's remarkable success, by 1999 Papier-Mache had succumbed to bankruptcy. Martz enumerates the factors leading to the press's financial demise and discusses its initial growth, her collegial relationships with other feminist publishers, the role of feminist literary culture, and the economics of American publishing during the last two decades. She gives an astute analysis of the future of feminist and independent publishing and how they have been affected by the decline of independent bookstores and the rise of national chain bookstores. The volume also includes Martz's biography, her evolution as a publisher, and an appendix listing the titles in her archive. Copies of the manuscript are on deposit in the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley and in Special Collections at UCSC's University Library.

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Images are available from Louise Donahue at (831) 459-5312 or ldonahue@cats.ucsc.edu

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