The Art of the PublisherThe Art of the Publisher
An interior look at Roberto Calasso's work as a publisher and his reflections on the art of book publishing
In this illuminating volume, Roberto Calasso reflects on more than half a century of distinguished literary publishing at Adelphi Edizioni in Milan. "Part merchant, part circus impresario, the publisher has always been considered with a certain mistrust, like a clever huckster," Calasso writes, and yet "publisher" may also be one of the most prestigious titles around.
Recalling the beginnings of Adelphi in the 1960s, Calasso touches on the house's defining qualities and its strategy of publishing a wide range of authors of high literary quality. Stepping back, he then considers the publishing industry as a whole, bringing his signature erudition and grasp of literary history to bear on various aspects of the enterprise. From the vital importance of jackets, design, and cover flaps to the consequences of universal digitization, Calasso offers a penetrating study of the industry and an essential survey of twentieth-century literature.
A daring defense of an industry in flux and an ode to publishers who devote themselves to "good books," The Art of the Publisher makes an insider’s case for publishing as a singular artistic form. An essential collection for writers, readers, and editors, it is a tribute to the age-old art of making books.
"An interior look at Roberto Calasso's work as a publisher and his reflections on the art of book publishing In this fascinating memoir, the author and publisher Roberto Calasso meditates on the art of book publishing. Recalling the beginnings of Adelphi in the 1960s, he touches on the Italian house's defining qualities, including the considerations involved in designing the successful Biblioteca series and the strategy for publishing a wide range of authors of high literary quality, as well as the historic critical edition of the works of Nietzsche. With his signature erudition and polemical flair, Calasso transcends Adelphi to look at the publishing industry as a whole, from the essential importance of graphics, jackets, and cover flaps to the consequences of universal digitization. And he outlines what he describes as the "most hazardous and ambitious" profile of what a publishing house can be: a book comprising many books, a form in which "all the books published by a certain publisher could be seen as links in a single chain"--a conception akin to that of other twentieth-century publishers, from Giulio Einaudi to Roger Straus, of whom the book offers brief portraits. An essential book for writers, readers, and editors, The Art of the Publisher isa tribute to the elusive yet profoundly relevant art of making books"--
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- New York : Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2015.
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