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John Calder, British Publisher Who Fought Censorship, Dies at 91 John Calder, British Publisher Who Fought Censorship, Dies at 91
(about 20 hours later)
John Calder, an independent British publisher who built a prestigious list of authors like Samuel Beckett and Heinrich Böll and spiritedly defended writers like Henry Miller against censorship, died on Aug. 13 in Edinburgh. He was 91.John Calder, an independent British publisher who built a prestigious list of authors like Samuel Beckett and Heinrich Böll and spiritedly defended writers like Henry Miller against censorship, died on Aug. 13 in Edinburgh. He was 91.
Alessandro Gallenzi, who bought Mr. Calder’s publishing company in 2007 and continues to sell books under his name, confirmed the death.Alessandro Gallenzi, who bought Mr. Calder’s publishing company in 2007 and continues to sell books under his name, confirmed the death.
Mr. Calder’s refined literary palate — sometimes at odds with his admittedly uneven commercial acumen — led him to bring out books by Eugène Ionesco, Marguerite Duras, Alain Robbe-Grillet, Claude Simon, William S. Burroughs and Nathalie Sarraute in Britain. Mr. Calder’s refined literary palate — sometimes at odds with his admittedly uneven commercial acumen — led him to bring out books in Britain by Eugène Ionesco, Marguerite Duras, Alain Robbe-Grillet, Claude Simon, William S. Burroughs and Nathalie Sarraute.
He published the works of nearly 20 winners of the Nobel Prize in Literature, including Beckett, the Irish playwright whose existential tragicomedy, “Waiting for Godot,” transformed contemporary theater. He published the works of nearly 20 recipients of the Nobel Prize in Literature, including Beckett, the Irish playwright whose existential tragicomedy, “Waiting for Godot,” transformed contemporary theater.
After watching a London production of “Godot” in 1955 that overwhelmed him with its power, Mr. Calder set out to buy the rights to publish it in Britain. While awaiting the response from Beckett’s French publisher, he contacted Beckett and set up a dinner in Paris.After watching a London production of “Godot” in 1955 that overwhelmed him with its power, Mr. Calder set out to buy the rights to publish it in Britain. While awaiting the response from Beckett’s French publisher, he contacted Beckett and set up a dinner in Paris.
“We talked about many things, and walked around Montparnasse afterward, drinking beer in a cafe and playing chess,” Mr. Calder wrote in “Pursuit” (2001), his autobiography. “We talked about life, certainly, its pointlessness, the cruelty of man to man, the politics of the time and mostly about the Algerian war, which preoccupied all of France.”“We talked about many things, and walked around Montparnasse afterward, drinking beer in a cafe and playing chess,” Mr. Calder wrote in “Pursuit” (2001), his autobiography. “We talked about life, certainly, its pointlessness, the cruelty of man to man, the politics of the time and mostly about the Algerian war, which preoccupied all of France.”
Mr. Calder did not ultimately acquire the British rights to “Godot” — they went to Faber & Faber — but he published many of Beckett’s novels and poems, and later wrote books about Beckett’s theology and religion. Mr. Calder also became friendly enough with Beckett to feel at ease explaining in an interview with Vice magazine in 2008 that he was not the lonely old philosopher of popular myth. Mr. Calder did not ultimately acquire the British rights to “Godot” — they went to Faber & Faber — but he published many of Beckett’s novels and poems and later wrote books about Beckett’s theology and religion. Mr. Calder also became friendly enough with him to feel at ease explaining in an interview with Vice magazine in 2008 that Beckett was not the lonely old philosopher of popular myth.
“He was very straightforward, very humorous, full of conversation and had a wide range of interests,” Mr. Calder said. “He’d read almost everything and could quote it by the yard. We just had a lot in common. He was also a very easy author in that he’d edit himself so well.”“He was very straightforward, very humorous, full of conversation and had a wide range of interests,” Mr. Calder said. “He’d read almost everything and could quote it by the yard. We just had a lot in common. He was also a very easy author in that he’d edit himself so well.”
Mr. Calder was something of an eccentric who was known for paying royalties slowly, wearing expensive clothes until they were tattered, and attending operas with ravenous devotion.Mr. Calder was something of an eccentric who was known for paying royalties slowly, wearing expensive clothes until they were tattered, and attending operas with ravenous devotion.
Aidan Higgins, an Irish novelist and short-story writer who had been published by Mr. Calder, described him in his book “Blind Man’s Bluff” (2012) as a short gray man who spent recklessly and counted his many past lovers as a cure for insomnia.Aidan Higgins, an Irish novelist and short-story writer who had been published by Mr. Calder, described him in his book “Blind Man’s Bluff” (2012) as a short gray man who spent recklessly and counted his many past lovers as a cure for insomnia.
But, he added, Mr. Calder was a “peerless publisher.”But, he added, Mr. Calder was a “peerless publisher.”
Mr. Calder wanted to be known as a publisher who would fight to protect his authors from censorship.Mr. Calder wanted to be known as a publisher who would fight to protect his authors from censorship.
In 1963, a few years after Penguin Books was acquitted of obscenity for publishing “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” in Britain, Mr. Calder acquired the rights to Mr. Miller’s “Tropic of Cancer” — effectively daring the authorities to prosecute him under the British Obscene Publications Act of 1959. “Tropic of Cancer” had long been banned in Britain when Mr. Calder made a deal with the book’s American publisher, Grove Press. In 1963, a few years after Penguin Books was acquitted of obscenity for publishing D. H. Lawrence’s “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” in Britain, Mr. Calder acquired the rights to Miller’s “Tropic of Cancer” — effectively daring the authorities to prosecute him under the British Obscene Publications Act of 1959. “Tropic of Cancer” had long been banned in Britain when Mr. Calder made a deal with the book’s American publisher, Grove Press.
Mr. Calder wrote the government administrator who oversaw publications under the obscenity act to tell him of his plans to publish “Tropic” and the list of luminaries — Graham Greene and Bertrand Russell among them — he had persuaded to defend it in court if there were a prosecution. He wrote the government administrator who oversaw publications under the obscenity act to tell him of his plans to publish “Tropic” and of the list of luminaries — Graham Greene and Bertrand Russell among them — he had persuaded to defend it in court if there were a prosecution.
But when Mr. Calder learned by letter that the government would not intervene, he did not share it widely; cheekily, he hoped curious readers, aware of a possible court fight, would buy copies in droves. He was right. In May 1963, even after he knew he was free to publish the book, he vowed to reporters that he would keep fighting the government.But when Mr. Calder learned by letter that the government would not intervene, he did not share it widely; cheekily, he hoped curious readers, aware of a possible court fight, would buy copies in droves. He was right. In May 1963, even after he knew he was free to publish the book, he vowed to reporters that he would keep fighting the government.
The book sold well and the lack of legal action allowed him to continue filling reorders. The book sold well, and the lack of legal action allowed him to continue filling reorders.
“To have a copy of it in one’s hand,” he wrote triumphantly in his memoir, “was both a signal that one belonged to what soon came to be called ‘swinging London’ and an act of solidarity with the new underground culture that was opposing the old traditions.”“To have a copy of it in one’s hand,” he wrote triumphantly in his memoir, “was both a signal that one belonged to what soon came to be called ‘swinging London’ and an act of solidarity with the new underground culture that was opposing the old traditions.”
But in a case brought in 1967 by the British government against Calder & Boyars — Mr. Calder and Marion Boyars had gone into a publishing partnership several years earlier — a jury at the Old Bailey found that “Last Exit to Brooklyn,” a novel by the American author Hubert Selby Jr. that depicted violence, drug addiction and homosexuality, was obscene.But in a case brought in 1967 by the British government against Calder & Boyars — Mr. Calder and Marion Boyars had gone into a publishing partnership several years earlier — a jury at the Old Bailey found that “Last Exit to Brooklyn,” a novel by the American author Hubert Selby Jr. that depicted violence, drug addiction and homosexuality, was obscene.
“It is very disappointing,” Mr. Calder said after the verdict. “It certainly will be greeted with dismay in all publishing circles and by its writers.”“It is very disappointing,” Mr. Calder said after the verdict. “It certainly will be greeted with dismay in all publishing circles and by its writers.”
To argue the appeal, Mr. Calder hired John Mortimer, the barrister and writer who created Horace Rumpole, a popular lawyer character in novels and TV shows. Mr. Mortimer, he believed, would know how to argue the literary merit of Mr. Selby’s book.To argue the appeal, Mr. Calder hired John Mortimer, the barrister and writer who created Horace Rumpole, a popular lawyer character in novels and TV shows. Mr. Mortimer, he believed, would know how to argue the literary merit of Mr. Selby’s book.
Mr. Mortimer prevailed, and the court lifted the obscenity ruling.Mr. Mortimer prevailed, and the court lifted the obscenity ruling.
John Mackenzie Calder was born on Jan. 25, 1927, in Montreal. His father, James, was part of a Scottish family with timber, brewing and liquor businesses, and his mother, Lucienne (Wilson) Calder, was raised by a French Canadian family with banking and distillery wealth.John Mackenzie Calder was born on Jan. 25, 1927, in Montreal. His father, James, was part of a Scottish family with timber, brewing and liquor businesses, and his mother, Lucienne (Wilson) Calder, was raised by a French Canadian family with banking and distillery wealth.
Living largely in England until being evacuated to Canada during World War II, the shy young Mr. Calder read voraciously.Living largely in England until being evacuated to Canada during World War II, the shy young Mr. Calder read voraciously.
“I don’t know where he got it — certainly not from our parents,” his sister, Elizabeth Calder Laptev, told The Guardian in a profile of her older brother in 2002. “It must have been some kind of genetic aberration. He was always inventive and he would write little plays and he would get us to act in them. And everybody had to go with his direction.” “I don’t know where he got it — certainly not from our parents,” his sister, Elizabeth Calder Laptev, told The Guardian in a profile of her older brother in 2002. “It must have been some kind of genetic aberration. He was always inventive, and he would write little plays and he would get us to act in them. And everybody had to go with his direction.”
After graduating from the University of Zurich, where he studied economics, he worked at a family timber yard but eventually moved into publishing full time in the early 1950s. At first, he put out opera annuals and a British film magazine. He gradually found his métier with publishing books critical of Senator Joseph R. McCarthy, the anti-Communist Republican from Wisconsin, and “The Question” (1958), the journalist Henri Alleg’s indictment of torture employed by French troops during the Algerian War. After graduating from the University of Zurich, where he studied economics, Mr. Calder worked at a family timber yard before moving into publishing full time in the early 1950s. At first, he put out opera annuals and a British film magazine.
He followed that quickly with “The Gangrene,” a slim book containing several accounts of torture by the French in Algeria that Mr. Calder augmented in his edition with reports of torture by British officials in Kenya. He said the British government threatened to try him for treason if he published the book. He found his métier with publishing books critical of Senator Joseph R. McCarthy, the anti-Communist Republican from Wisconsin, and with “The Question” (1958), the journalist Henri Alleg’s indictment of torture employed by French troops during the Algerian War.
He followed that with “The Gangrene,” a slim book, published earlier in France and then banned, in which several Algerian intellectuals provided accounts of torture by the French in Algeria; in his edition, Mr. Calder added reports of torture by British officials in Kenya. He said the British government had threatened to try him for treason if he published the book.
“Rather serious,” he told Vice in the 2008 interview. “But once a book is out, that’s it; it’s out. They ended up dropping the case.”“Rather serious,” he told Vice in the 2008 interview. “But once a book is out, that’s it; it’s out. They ended up dropping the case.”
There was turbulence in Mr. Calder’s personal life as well. When he and his first wife, Christya Myling, had their daughter, Jamie, in 1954, they deceived his family into believing that she had given birth to a boy in order to receive money promised if he produced a male heir. But when their subterfuge was discovered, his paternal grandfather disinherited him. There was turbulence in Mr. Calder’s personal life as well. When he and his first wife, Christya Myling, had a daughter, Jamie, in 1954, they deceived his family into believing that Ms. Myling had given birth to a boy so that they could collect the family money they had been promised if he produced a male heir. When their subterfuge was discovered, his paternal grandfather disinherited him.
In addition to his daughter and sister, Mr. Calder is survived by his wife, Sheila Colvin; another daughter, Anastasia Calder; his brother, James; four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. His marriages to Ms. Myling and Bettina Jonic ended in divorce. His daughter, Jamie Calder, survives him, along with his wife, Sheila Colvin; another daughter, Anastasia Calder; his brother, James; his sister, Ms. Laptev; four grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. His marriages to Ms. Myling and Bettina Jonic ended in divorce.
Mr. Calder and Ms. Boyars’s partnership broke up bitterly in the mid-1970s as his heyday as a cultural force was waning. He was dismayed that conglomerates were acquiring publishing houses and resented what he called the dumbing down of international culture.Mr. Calder and Ms. Boyars’s partnership broke up bitterly in the mid-1970s as his heyday as a cultural force was waning. He was dismayed that conglomerates were acquiring publishing houses and resented what he called the dumbing down of international culture.
Despite the ebbing of his power as a publisher, he continued to indulge his love of literature by opening a bookshop in London in 2001, and staging readings there. At one of them, which The Guardian described in 2002, he celebrated his publication of “The Writings of Jean Arp,” the French-German artist and poet at the center of the Dada movement. Despite the ebbing of his power as a publisher, he continued to indulge his love of literature by opening a bookshop in London in 2001 and staging readings there. At one, which The Guardian described in 2002, he celebrated his publication of “The Writings of Jean Arp,” the French-German artist and poet at the center of the Dada movement.
“We are here to talk about art, about Dadaism and surrealism,” he told the small group of attendees. With a slap at modern artists motivated by publicity, money and fame, he said that “artists at the beginning of the 20th century were trying to divorce art from the whole commercial world. Everything was rather different then.” “We are here to talk about art, about Dadaism and surrealism,” he was quoted as telling a small group of attendees. With a slap at modern artists motivated by publicity, money and fame, he said that “artists at the beginning of the 20th century were trying to divorce art from the whole commercial world.”
“Everything was rather different then,” he added.