History of ZERO Press

They first published an English-language quarterly "Review of Literature & Art" called ZERO. The first issue (SPRING 1949) contained new writings by Richard WRIGHT, Wallace FOWLIE, Kenneth PATCHEN, William Carlos WILLIAMS, James BALDWIN, and other known and unknown authors. Subsequent issues of ZERO were released from Tangier (Morocco), Mexico City, New York, and Philadelphia.

The ZERO logo head design was drawn by John B.L. GOODWIN in Santa Fe, New Mexico in the summer of 1948 (in crayon). Goodwin, a highly regarded painter, also contributed examples of his poetry for publication in ZERO. In addition, he was responsible for putting the ZERO editors in touch with writers such as Paul BOWLES, Christopher ISHERWOOD and Jean COCTEAU, as well as the Surrealist painter Max ERNST and the Brazilian artist MATTA -- all of whom subsequently contributed to this publication.

After the second issue (FALL 1949) Asa Benveniste moved to London, where he established Trigram Press. G. P. Solo- mos continued to publish the little maga- zine ZERO from various cities in his travels, as well as several books and a ZERO ANTHOLOGY from New York City in 1956.
(Photo: A. Benveniste & T. Hoetis in Tangier 1950.)

Later issues of ZERO contained writings by Jean-Paul SARTRE, Samuel BECKETT, Gore VIDAL, Otto FRIE- DRICH, Wallace STEVENS, Otto
FRIEDRICH, Wallace STEVENS, Ivy COMPTON-BURNETT, Witter BYNNER and others.

The last issue of ZERO Review was issued from Philadelphia in 1980. It contained extensive coverage of the group of naturalist revolutionaries known as MOVE -- championed by the author Mumia ABU-JAMAL (currently on death row in Pennsylvania).

Collateral publications issued by G. P. Solomos under the imprint PROUDSTAGE BOOKS and FILMBANK PUBLICATIONS were published from London in the 1960s.

Both of these imprints, together with the ZERO PRESS archives, are presently being prepared for re-issue and distribution from London in 2000 -- to be available electronically on the NET or in soft-cover print editions for libraries and collectors.