Pioneering feminist literary publisher Calyx Press will be celebrating its 50th anniversary on March 14, with a literary symposium and gala at the Corvallis Museum.
The symposium — titled Radical Resilience: A Feminist Literary Symposium — will begin at 9 a.m. and run till 2:30 p.m. and will feature readings from “poets, writers, and artists who have published with (Calyx) over the years,” according to the event’s webpage.
In conjunction with the anniversary and symposium, the Corvallis Museum opened a new exhibit about Calyx in the Mary C. Verhoeven Gallery on Feb. 28, which will run through March 2027.
According to Benton County Museums Curator of Exhibits Natascha Adams, the exhibit features documents and artifacts from Calyx as well as art and literature from every single issue of the Calyx literary journal.
In addition, there are iPads at the exhibit where guests can peruse over 700 pieces of never-before-used original art sent to Calyx, as well as a complete list of everyone who has ever been involved with the publication, from editors to artists to interns.
Admission for the exhibit and the symposium is $5, payable at the door.
Founded on March 11, 1976 by Margarita Donnelly, Barbara Baldwin, Beth McLagan and Meredith Jenkins, Calyx Press has been the home of “intersectional perspectives and the lived experiences of women and nonbinary artists through anthologies, books, and its biannual literary journal,” according to the event’s webpage.
Among the works published by Calyx is “The Forbidden Stitch,” the first anthology of writings from Asian American women in the United States. Calyx Chair of the Board of Directors Beth Russell said the anthology won The American Book Award in 1990.
Another book published by Calyx that has garnered acclaim is Jean Hegland’s 1996 novel “Into the Forest,” which has been published in 11 different languages and has inspired two films — one in English and one in French. The English-language version starred Elliot Page (who was then going by Ellen) and Evan Rachel Wood.
“We still get royalties from it,” Russell said.
Over the years, Calyx has published works from thousands of writers and artists. According to the company’s herstory page, these include: Julia Alvarez, Ellen Bass, Chitra Divakaruni, Molly Gloss, Linda Hogan, Natalie Goldberg, Barbara Kingsolver, Colleen McElroy, Sharon Olds and Eleanor Wilner.
Calyx was also the first American publisher to publish translations of Nobel Laureate Wislawa Symborska, as well as being the first to publish color art reproductions of Frida Kahlo’s work in the United States.
After the symposium, there will be “Funding 50 More Years: A CALYX Glitterati Gala” which will run from 6 to 10 p.m. at the museum.
The tickets for the gala cost $75 for the general public and $50 for Calyx volunteers. The ticket price will include admission to the gala and symposium and one raffle ticket. Tickets are available online or at the Grassroots bookstore.
The gala will feature wine, cheese, a raffle and a silent auction which includes such items as a limited-edition, signed letterpress of a poem written in honor of Calyx in 1989 by famed Oregon writer Ursula K. LeGuin.
Russell said the Corvallis community “really came together” to help out Calyx with their event, with several local companies donating everything from wine to discount cards for the raffle.
According to Russell, the goal for the gala is to raise $10,000. Hitting that number will mean Calyx would hit its goal of $65,000, which Russell said will allow the small publishing company to get back on track financially and start paying its staff part-time again.
If they hit their $75,000 goal, Russell said they will start talking about accepting book manuscripts again. Aside from its literary journals, Calyx has not published a book since 2020.
“We have a strong community,” Russell said. “And funding makes this all happen. It’s more important than ever right now to listen to women’s voices.”
