The Figures Records are comprised of four series: (i) Name and Topical, (ii) Publications, (iii) Business and Financial, and (iv) Oversize Material. At approximately 34 linear feet, the records document the business affairs of a small press, as well as the professional life of its founder, Geoffrey Young. Spanning the years between 1973 and 2000, this material includes correspondence with writers, customers, and businesses, as well as manuscripts, production materials, and financial documents.
The Name and Topical series contains material related to writers and other associates of The Figures and Geoffrey Young. It is arranged by the individual’s name, and is further divided by the nature of the material (i.e. correspondence, clippings and articles, and flyers and announcements), although it is mostly correspondence. While much of this series is strictly business-related, there is a sizable portion that is of a more personal nature, which highlights the close relationships Young maintained with writers and associates.
The Publications series is the most voluminous of the four series, and is comprised of materials related to The Figures publications, which includes mostly manuscripts and production material. Production material includes galleys, proofs, negatives, invoices, and some correspondence. The series is arranged according to the name of the author, and is divided further by the title of the publication.
The Business and Financial series is divided into two subseries: (i) Business correspondence and (ii) Financial documents. Business correspondence is further organized by function, and contains material concerning book orders, submissions, permissions, and review copy requests, as well as awards, grants, and charity work. The financial documents subseries are primarily invoices, but also include quarterly reports. This subseries mainly documents transactions between book distributors, but also includes transactions and other financial information related to suppliers, typesetters, and printers. While this is not a complete financial record of The Figures, this series provides significant insight to the financial activities of a small press.
Oversize Material contains items that have been separated from the rest of the collection due to their larger size. This includes flyers and announcements, broadsides, calendars and production materials related to The Figures publications.
The Figures is a small press that specializes in the printing and publishing of non-commercial literary books. Founded by poet Geoffrey Young, the press developed in Berkeley, California in 1975.
Young moved to Berkeley in 1974 to edit a poetry magazine called Stooge. He decided to cease publication of the magazine in 1975 so that he could begin publishing books. Young found that it was more important to make available larger portions of an individual’s work, and saw books as a more enduring vehicle for bringing attention to poets and writers.
In January of 1975, Young was hired by Don Cushman of the West Coast Print Center, which was sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts. It was here that Young learned about book production, and the NEA’s involvement allowed the production costs to remain low enough for young writers and editors to receive instruction in the art of the book and quality printing. This created an artistic climate conducive to the exchange of ideas; reading groups formed in peoples’ living rooms to study key texts, and readings and performances were held in museums and night clubs.
Young aimed the press at the heart of this new artistic scene, which he described as a “multifarious, polyglot free-for-all.” Later in 1975, he chose the name The Figures, and began to publish books by the men and women involved in this artistic scene with the help of his wife at the time Laura Chester. In 1982, Young relocated to Great Barrington, Massachusetts, where he still resides today. The Figures press remained active until about 2007, and is considered instrumental in the development of the language poetry movement. Today, it is recognized as one of the premier small presses for avant-garde poetry in the United States.
Sources: http://www.geoffreyyoung.com/thefigures/history.html
http://www.themontserratreview.com/interviews/GY_Interview.html
