In Memoriam :: Sandy Taylor
NewPages was saddened to hear the news that Alexander “Sandy” Taylor of Curbstone Press passed away Thursday evening, December 20, 2007, after suffering a major stroke. Sandy was a dear friend and long-time supporter and advisor to NewPages. We will miss him dearly. Our heartfelt support and strength to his family, friends, and literary colleagues.
The Summer of 2006, Jessica Powers interviewed Sandy for NewPages. Read the interview here.
From Cune Magazine:
Curbstone Press is a place where the writers of many cultures meet, united by a common concern to produce literature that deals with social realities and that promotes a respect for human rights, civil liberties, human dignity, and multicultural understanding. Curbstone seeks out the highest aesthetic expression of the dedication to human rights: poetry, stories, novels, testimonials, photography. Editorial integrity is combined with painstaking craft in the creation of books, books of passion and purpose.
Co-directors Alexander Taylor and Judy Doyle began the press when James Scully returned from Chile with a poetry manuscript. Taylor says, “We were fairly certain that a commercial house would not do the book, both because of its attack on the Pinochet regime and because it was not of standard length. We published it because we felt the poetry was stunning and because we felt it was necessary for the public to know what was really going on in Chile.” Both Alexander and Judy have their roots in the Civil Rights Movement, the Anti-War Movement, and the Solidarity with Central America Movement, and a long interest in publishing. These two drives came together when they formed their publishing company.
Curbstone has become know as a preeminent source of translations of work by Latin American and Central American authors; however, one of their recent releases is a novel by Marnie Mueller about the injustice inflicted on Japanese Americans by their forced relocation during World War II, and it is a perfect example of their mission. Publishers Weekly called it “An engrossing character study.” Alexander Taylor says, “It’s a story where no one person is either right or wrong, and it forces us to examine our own consciences.”