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In Memory of Dave Christy 1953-2010I got word this morning via Leah Angstman, publisher of Propaganda Press, that Dave Christy, publisher of Alpha Beat Press and the monthly broadside Cokefishing in Alpha Beat Soup, has passed away. I was very saddened and shocked by the news since it seemed to just happen out of the blue.
I never met Dave Christy personally but over the years we corresponded from time to time. Dave was the first small press editor to ever publish my work. For that, I would always be eternally grateful; eternally grateful because at the time I had literally just begun to take to writing seriously and his acceptance and encouragement of what I had done helped my confidence at a time when I didn’t have much confidence in myself, much less what I was writing at the time. When I received my first chapbook, “Standing on Lorimer Street Awaiting Crucifixion” in the mail, I have to say that I was thrilled. Dave was a lover of poetry and great literature and what he published reflected that love. He published many writers who would have normally languished in obscurity. He gave them a chance to be read and although it was mostly through the small press world, many of these poets were read and enjoyed by many, myself being one of them. The monthly broadside he and his wife Ana Christy---an accomplished poet in her own rite---was always a great sampling of how many great writers there were out there that the mainstream didn’t seem to want to know about. There was a small press revolution taking place and Dave, Ana and Alpha Beat Press seemed to be at the heart of it. He inspired many other poets to start their own presses and soon a network of small press zines and journals began to appear. I also started one for a little while and Dave was encouraging and instrumental in helping me getting off the ground by putting the word out. Soon, I was in contact with many amazing writers and artists and naturally, a new door opened which allowed me to meet people who would not only inspire me but push me further along a new path in my life, one which changed my life for the better. One of the poets he introduced me to via his press was Laura Joy Lustig. Laura submitted work to my burgeoning journal and we soon became fast and close friends. She inspired me, encouraged me and also offered her honest feedback of my writing and together, for a time, we would exchange what we were doing, offering each other criticisms and praise, etc. Meeting Laura took me further along that road, which eventually lead to me writing and completing my first novel, which has recently gotten some attention via reviews and interviews. The point is that “meeting” Dave lead to one thing, which lead to another, which lead to another; and I have to say that if I didn’t come across Dave Christy by reading his listing in the 1996 Poet’s Market and submit my work to him, many things which have happened to me over the past 14 years or so may not have happened at all. His encouragement and him taking the chance to publish this unknown writer from Queens, New York, opened many doors for me and for that, I will always be grateful to him. Dave probably didn’t know this. I never really told him any of this. For a time I had lost contact with him being that I drifted somewhat from the small press scene and was mostly busy with music but eventually I found him again and then again on Facebook; and it was on that site that I heard the terrible news of his passing. Needless to say it was a shock. To me, Dave was a pioneer in the small press world. He opened his doors (and sometimes quite literally) to many writers and poets from around the country. That small press from New Hope, PA produced many excellent chapbooks over the years and introduced me and many others to the wealth of talent there is out there across America, talent that the so-called “experts” miss, mainly because many of them are clueless. The fact that he and his press inspired so many others to launch their own presses is a testament to his love for the word and his love for poetry and that’s what it always seemed to be. A labor of love. I wish now that I would have told him how grateful I was to him and how that seemingly small little chapbook he put out for me 14 years ago lead to so many wonderful things in my life. I guess I was kind of embarrassed to say this sort of thing, which only goes to show that one must say what they feel or else missing the chance altogether. We may not have corresponded with each other all that often, nor had I ever had the chance of meeting him in person, but I will never forget him for giving me the chance to be read when no one else was willing to give me that chance. I will always be grateful to him for that chance. He will be sorely missed and it’s not likely there will be another like him in the small press world. Godspeed, Dave. And thank you for everything. Leave Comment:Posts 1 - 20 of 484
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