50 years ago…. 

Jim Mitchell and Denise Kastan were lamenting that there were no spaces dedicated exclusively to small press literature in San Francisco, so they approached Donn Tatum and Steve Lowell, owners of Paperback Traffic in the Castro, about using the back room of their bookstore to sell small press books and magazines. Within a year of operating out of this shop, with Beau Beausoleil's involvement, Small Press Traffic moved into its own storefront on 24th and Vicksburg St, between Church and Sanchez. 

In 1976, Robert Glück started volunteering with SPT. He hosted a reading series and free walk-in writing workshops until 1985. That year, Katharine Harer became director, just before the bookstore moved down the block to 3599 24th St. John Norton managed the bookstore in the early 90s. Angela Neff was director from 1993-1994 with bookstore manager Ron Nachmann. Small Press Traffic held readings, events, and workshops throughout these years.

In January 1995, due to an unexpected increase in rent, Small Press Traffic lost its lease to the storefront. Edith Jenkins, then SPT board president, navigated the move to New College of California, and Dodie Bellamy became director of SPT. In 2000, SPT moved to California College of the Arts. Today, we are lucky to hold our archives at Et al. Gallery in the Mission, and have our events there, at The Lab, ATA, and elsewhere around the city and region.

We’ll be sharing much more about our beginnings, our 50-year trajectory, and the many individuals and groups who have touched our organization over the years. For now, here’s a quick peek at the anniversary programs ahead:

• THE PARTY, an evening of dancing, poetry, food, and celebration to kickoff our 50th anniversary
• A workshop on Bay Area poetry from the 1960s-2020s, led by Sophia Dahlin
• Where Would I Be Without You?, a five-part series running from February to June, imagined and hosted by Gabrielle Civil in conversation with SPT's archive, with Judy Grahn, Tisa Bryant, S*an D. Henry-Smith, and more
• An Evening of Nice: On David Melnick, with Benjamin Friedlander, Gordon Faylor, Jo Giardini and cosponsored by SFSU Poetry Center
• A Tribute to kari edwards, with Julian Brolaski, Noa Fields, Rob Halpern, Bianca Messinger, and cosponsored by Litmus Press
• San Francisco Poets Theater Festival, curated by Maxe Crandall with Elena Gross
• Classics Illustrated, an exhibition of paintings by Francie Shaw at Right Window
• An Evening with Krupskaya, with Noah Ross, Maria Sledmere, Jennifer Soong
• A workshop on Hoa Nguyen's writing, led by Zoe Tuck
• A reading by Renee Gladman, who will present her book To After That (TOAF)
• HOW(ever) and How2: Feminist Lineages, Archives, & Interventions explores the history and future plans of the iconic publishing project founded by Kathleen Fraser

We’re ecstatic to announce that our print collection of books, chapbooks, magazines, and zines are almost ready for public visitation in early 2024. We will also unveil the digital archive on our website, with image reproductions and audio recordings of poetry readings that have taken place in the Bay Area over the past fifty years. Later in the year, we’ll celebrate a special anniversary publication and start sharing clips from our oral history project.

Please support our efforts with a one-time, annual, or monthly donation. 

‍