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{{short description|Poetry publishing house in Illinois, United States}}
{{short description|Poetry publishing house in Illinois, United States}}
The '''Press of James A. Decker''' was a poetry publishing house once located in the tiny hamlet of [[Prairie City, Illinois]]. The Decker Press received national attention in the 1940s, when it published work by famous authors like [[Edgar Lee Masters]], [[August Derleth]], Hubert Creekmore, [[William Everson]] (Brother Antoninus), [[David Ignatow]], [[Kenneth Patchen]], [[Kenneth Rexroth]] and [[Louis Zukofsky]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Decker Press - Article by John Hallwas|url=http://www.connectotel.com/patchen/deckjh.html|access-date=2020-10-29|website=www.connectotel.com}}</ref>
The '''Press of James A. Decker''' was a poetry publishing house once located in the tiny hamlet of [[Prairie City, Illinois]]. Created in 1937 by James A. Decker, the press carried the full name of its founder until 1948 when the imprint was shortened to simply The Decker Press.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Ballowe|first=James|title=Little Press on the Prairie|url=https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/little-press-on-the-prairie/Content?oid=890380|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-12-29|website=Chicago Reader|language=en}}</ref> The Decker Press received national attention in the 1940s, when it published work by famous authors like [[Edgar Lee Masters]], [[August Derleth]], Hubert Creekmore, [[William Everson]] (Brother Antoninus), [[David Ignatow]], [[Kenneth Patchen]], [[Kenneth Rexroth]] and [[Louis Zukofsky]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=The Decker Press - Article by John Hallwas|url=http://www.connectotel.com/patchen/deckjh.html|access-date=2020-10-29|website=www.connectotel.com}}</ref> The small press was noted as one of the most prolific publishers of poetry in the country at the time, but the business was plagued by financial issues until the press came to a sudden end in 1950 with a murder-suicide case.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Hallwas|first=John|date=August 2019|title=An Array of Forgotten Voices: The Decker Press|url=|journal=Illinois Heritage magazine|volume=22|pages=10-12|via=}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last=Wharton|first=Will|date=1950|title=Correspondence|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20591409|journal=Poetry|volume=77|issue=1|pages=58–58|issn=0032-2032}}</ref>


== History of the Press ==
⚫
The [http://www.wiu.edu/library/units/archives Archives and Special Collections Unit at Western Illinois University Libraries] is the single-largest holder of materials from the Press of James A. Decker. Archives staff has compiled a complete bibliography of Decker Press books with a listing of which books are currently held there. Other materials include unpublished typescripts about the Decker Press and James Decker, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and historical articles.
James A. Decker, the founder of the Decker Press, was born in Prairie City in 1917.<ref name=":1" /> Decker graduated from Prairie City High School in 1934 and then attended Park College in Missouri from 1934-1935 before returning to Prairie City.<ref name=":2" /> Combining his passion for poetry and his interest in publishing, Decker obtained a small hand press which he set up in the back room of his grandfather’s drug store. With the help of his sister Dorothy, he began printing volumes of poetry.<ref name=":0" />

The press began gaining attention after Decker obtained permission to print two of [[Edgar Lee Masters]]’ collections: ''Illinois Poems'', published in 1941, and ''Along the Illinois'', published in 1942.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> The press began to attract other poets from across the country, but Decker struggled with the funding to finance the work. By 1947, the press was facing financial difficulties, and Decker sold it to a local businessman and lumber dealer, Harry M. Denman.<ref name=":1" /> A few months later, Denman sold the press to Ervin Tax, a writer from Chicago whose work was scheduled to be published by the Decker Press.<ref name=":3" /> Impatient with the delays, Tax travelled to Prairie City to see the press for himself and soon became involved in the financial and administrative oversight. In 1948 Tax purchased the press, changing the name to simply The Decker Press.<ref name=":0" />

Despite Tax’s efforts, the financial difficulties of the press continued, and interpersonal relationships began to unravel. James and Dorothy Decker had continued to work as employees, but in 1949 Tax announced that James Decker had been dismissed after mishandling funds.<ref name=":0" /> Rather than challenging these accusations of embezzlement, Decker left Prairie City, moving his family to Kansas City.<ref name=":1" /> Dorothy remained behind, but her relationship with Tax deteriorated.<ref name=":2" /> In May of 1950, after driving to pick up Tax who was returning from a trip out of town, Dorothy shot him in the head before killing herself.<ref name=":0" /> Their bodies were discovered in the car on the side of the road just outside Prairie City on May 11, 1950.<ref>{{Cite news|last=|first=|date=11 May 1950|title=Couple Found Slain in Car; Woman Blamed|work=Chicago Daily Tribune|url=|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Notable authors ==

* [[Hubert Creekmore]]: ''Personal Sun'' (1940)
* [[August Derleth]]: ''Rind of Earth'' (1942); ''Selected Poems'' (1944); ''The Edge of Night'' (1945)
* [[William Everson]]: ''The Masculine Dead''  (1942)
* [[David Ignatow]]: ''Poems'' (1948)
* [[Edgar Lee Masters]]: ''Illinois Poems'' (1941); ''Along the Illinois'' (1942)
* [[Kenneth Patchen]]: ''To Say If You Love Someone'' (1947)
* [[Kenneth Rexroth]]: ''The Art of Worldly Wisdom'' (1949)
* [[Winfield Townley Scott]]: ''Wind the Clock'' (1941)
* [[Louis Zukofsky]]: ''55 Poems'' (1941); ''Anew'' (1946)

== Legacy ==
⚫
The [http://www.wiu.edu/library/units/archives Archives and Special Collections Unit at Western Illinois University Libraries] is the single-largest holder of materials from the Press of James A. Decker. Archives staff has compiled a complete bibliography of Decker Press books with a listing of which books are currently held there. Other materials include unpublished typescripts about the Decker Press and James Decker, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and historical articles.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Archives - Decker Press Collection - Western Illinois University|url=http://www.wiu.edu/libraries/archives/deckerPressCollection.php|access-date=2020-12-29|website=www.wiu.edu}}</ref>


[[Category:Book publishing companies based in Illinois]]
[[Category:Book publishing companies based in Illinois]]

Revision as of 00:11, 30 December 2020

The Press of James A. Decker was a poetry publishing house once located in the tiny hamlet of Prairie City, Illinois. Created in 1937 by James A. Decker, the press carried the full name of its founder until 1948 when the imprint was shortened to simply The Decker Press.[1] The Decker Press received national attention in the 1940s, when it published work by famous authors like Edgar Lee Masters, August Derleth, Hubert Creekmore, William Everson (Brother Antoninus), David Ignatow, Kenneth Patchen, Kenneth Rexroth and Louis Zukofsky.[2] The small press was noted as one of the most prolific publishers of poetry in the country at the time, but the business was plagued by financial issues until the press came to a sudden end in 1950 with a murder-suicide case.[1][3][4]

History of the Press

James A. Decker, the founder of the Decker Press, was born in Prairie City in 1917.[2] Decker graduated from Prairie City High School in 1934 and then attended Park College in Missouri from 1934-1935 before returning to Prairie City.[3] Combining his passion for poetry and his interest in publishing, Decker obtained a small hand press which he set up in the back room of his grandfather’s drug store. With the help of his sister Dorothy, he began printing volumes of poetry.[1]

The press began gaining attention after Decker obtained permission to print two of Edgar Lee Masters’ collections: Illinois Poems, published in 1941, and Along the Illinois, published in 1942.[1][3] The press began to attract other poets from across the country, but Decker struggled with the funding to finance the work. By 1947, the press was facing financial difficulties, and Decker sold it to a local businessman and lumber dealer, Harry M. Denman.[2] A few months later, Denman sold the press to Ervin Tax, a writer from Chicago whose work was scheduled to be published by the Decker Press.[4] Impatient with the delays, Tax travelled to Prairie City to see the press for himself and soon became involved in the financial and administrative oversight. In 1948 Tax purchased the press, changing the name to simply The Decker Press.[1]

Despite Tax’s efforts, the financial difficulties of the press continued, and interpersonal relationships began to unravel. James and Dorothy Decker had continued to work as employees, but in 1949 Tax announced that James Decker had been dismissed after mishandling funds.[1] Rather than challenging these accusations of embezzlement, Decker left Prairie City, moving his family to Kansas City.[2] Dorothy remained behind, but her relationship with Tax deteriorated.[3] In May of 1950, after driving to pick up Tax who was returning from a trip out of town, Dorothy shot him in the head before killing herself.[1] Their bodies were discovered in the car on the side of the road just outside Prairie City on May 11, 1950.[5]

Notable authors

Legacy

The Archives and Special Collections Unit at Western Illinois University Libraries is the single-largest holder of materials from the Press of James A. Decker. Archives staff has compiled a complete bibliography of Decker Press books with a listing of which books are currently held there. Other materials include unpublished typescripts about the Decker Press and James Decker, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and historical articles.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Ballowe, James. "Little Press on the Prairie". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2020-12-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ a b c d "The Decker Press - Article by John Hallwas". www.connectotel.com. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  3. ^ a b c d Hallwas, John (August 2019). "An Array of Forgotten Voices: The Decker Press". Illinois Heritage magazine. 22: 10–12.
  4. ^ a b Wharton, Will (1950). "Correspondence". Poetry. 77 (1): 58–58. ISSN 0032-2032.
  5. ^ "Couple Found Slain in Car; Woman Blamed". Chicago Daily Tribune. 11 May 1950.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ "Archives - Decker Press Collection - Western Illinois University". www.wiu.edu. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
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