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A polyphonic celebration of a preeminent California publisher, featuring over 35 pieces drawn from across Heyday's distinguished history.
"Confluence is a big part of California, and Heyday has been the glorious secret center of confluence for many years, the place where art and literature and Native lore and environmental history all converge." —Rebecca Solnit
Since its founding in 1974, Heyday—an independent nonprofit based in Berkeley—has published more than 500 books that have shaped California's deepest, most abiding sense of itself. Heyday now gathers three dozen highlights drawn from half a century of distinguished publishing, featuring writing by the likes of Deborah A. Miranda, Gary Snyder, Jane Smiley, Linda Ronstadt, John Muir Laws, Obi Kaufmann, and founder Malcolm Margolin. Taken together, these pieces embody Heyday's guiding ethos: to celebrate the natural wonders of the Golden State, to explore California's vibrant arts and history, to amplify the voices of the West's Indigenous peoples, and to foster civic engagement and social justice. Edited by Emmerich Anklam, and featuring an introduction by publisher Steve Wasserman and general manager Gayle Wattawa, Heyday at Fifty serves as a testament to Heyday's preeminent place in California letters.
"Heyday marks its golden anniversary with the release of Heyday at Fifty, an anthology featuring excerpts from Heyday's deep backlist, with work from luminaries such as Rebecca Solnit, Jane Smiley, and Gary Snyder." —Publishers Weekly
"One of the Bay Area's longest-running and still thriving publishers, Heyday was founded in 1974 and has published more than 500 books that celebrate California’s distinctive spirit. Now, the editors and staff have gathered highlights featuring writing from authors Gary Snyder, Jane Smiley, Linda Ronstadt, Obi Kaufmann, founder Malcolm Margolin, and more. These writings explore the state's natural wonders, the historic arts scene, and give voice to the West's indigenous communities." —7x7
"Confluence is a big part of California, and Heyday has been the glorious secret center of confluence for many years, the place where art and literature and Native lore and environmental history all converge." —Rebecca Solnit, author of Orwell's Roses and Recollections of My Nonexistence
"Many of the books Heyday publishes prompt us to think more deeply about how we relate to the natural world, the intersections to social justice, and the history of land—recognizing that the history of land is inseparable from the history of our society." —Rosanna Xia, author of California Against the Sea
"Heyday is the dynamic cultural storehouse of contemporary California indigenous literature. We need a press like Heyday in every geographical section of the Americas!" —Joy Harjo, author of Poet Warrior and Weaving Sundown in a Scarlet Light
"Heyday exemplifies why small presses matter to American culture because the books it published, the conversations they fostered, changed the broader culture—not just in California but across North America." —Dana Gioia, poet and former Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts
"One of America's most important independent publishers—I've been buying their beautifully designed, thought provoking, irresistible publications for years." —Susan D. Anderson, history curator and program manager at the California African American Museum
Emmerich Anklam is managing editor at Heyday, and he has been on the Heyday staff since 2015.
Gayle Wattawa, general manager and editorial director at Heyday, has been a Heyday staff member since 2004.
Steve Wasserman has been publisher of Heyday since 2016.
Steve Wasserman and Gayle Wattawa - Introduction
HONORING NATURE
- Malcolm Margolin - "Briones" from East Bay Out
- Rebecca Solnit - "Bluebelly Lizard, or Western Fence Lizard" from A California Bestiary
- Gary Snyder - "Heart of the Sierra Sesshin: Piute Pass to Bishop Pass" from The High Sierra of California
- David Mas Masumoto - "Spring Plowing" from Letters to the Valley
- Jack Gedney - "I Can Hear When They Call" from The Private Lives of Public Birds
- Kate Marianchild - "Poison Oak" from Secrets of the Oak Woodlands
- Charles Hood - "Fifty Dreams for Forty Monkeys" from A Salad Only the Devil Would Eat
- John Muir Laws - "Intentional Curiosity" from The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling
- Obi Kaufmann - "Justice and Nature" from The Coasts of California
FIGHTING INJUSTICE
- Patricia Wakida - Preface from Only What We Could Carry
- Laura Atkins and Stan Yogi - "Uncovering Lies, 1982" from Fred Korematsu Speaks Up
- Arisa White and Laura Atkins - "Building Community" from Biddy Mason Speaks Up
- Gary Noy - "Shadow and Light: Mifflin Wistar Gibbs and Defiance of Discrimination" from Gold Rush Stories
- Elaine Elison and Stan Yogi - "Three Years Before Stonewall" from Wherever There's a Fight
- Tony Platt - "Moment of Truth" from Grave Matters
- Linda Ronstadt and Lawrence Downes - "La Frontera" from Feels Like Home
- Dorsey Nunn and Lee Romney - "Mao's Little Red Book" from What Kind of Bird Can't Fly
- Rosanna Xia - "The People's Coast" from California Against the Sea
CELEBRATING NATIVE CALIFORNIA CULTURAL RENEWAL
- Deborah A. Miranda - "Learning How to Fish: A Language Homecoming Journal" from Bad Indians
- L. Frank and Kim Hogeland - "History and Culture - Central Valley and Western Sierra Nevada" from First Families
- Malcolm Margolin - "The Acorn Harvest" from The Ohlone Way
- Kathleen Rose Smith - "Bread" from Enough for All
- Gordon Lee Johnson - "Roundup as in Days of Old" from Bird Songs Don't Lie
- Leanne Hinton - "Song: Overcoming the Language Barrier" from Flutes of Fire
- Ursula Pike - "En la Noche - In the Evening" from An Indian Among Los Indígenas
- Sara Calvosa Olson - "Blackberry Brined Smoked Salmon" from Chími Nu'am
- Greg Sarris - "If Oprah Were an Oak Tree" from Becoming Story
MAKING HISTORY
- Susan Straight - Introduction from Inlandia
- Andrew Alden - Preface from Deep Oakland
- Ivy Anderson and Devon Angus - Introduction (abridged) from Alice
- Michael Jaime-Becerra - "Speakeasy Tacos" from LAtitudes
- Andrew Lam - "Letter to a Young Refugee" from Perfume Dreams
- Jane Smiley - Introduction from The Questions That Matter Most
- Dorothy Lazard - "Representation" from What You Don't Know Will Make a Whole New World
- Malcolm Margolin, interviewed by Kim Bancroft - "There Ought to Be a Book, a Beautiful Book" from The Heyday of Malcolm Margolin
- Sylvia Linsteadt - "The Sand Dunes of Old San Francisco" from Lost Worlds of the San Francisco Bay Area
Selected List of Publications
About the Contributors
About Heyday
A Note on Type