Better Books
Encyclopedia
Better Books was an independent bookstore
. It was founded by Tony Godwin
and was located at 94 Charing Cross Road
, London
.
who took over the premises at 94 Charing Cross Road
, London, in 1946.
In 1964, Tony Godwin
visited San Francisco and the City Lights Bookstore
. He met Lawrence Ferlinghetti
and suggested a work exchange, whereby Ferlinghetti would send "one of his Beats over in exchange for an English salesman who needed some education". City Lights store manager, Dick McBride
, moved to the United Kingdom
for six months to help "bohemianize" Better Books.
Better Books had a string of influential managers including Bill Butler, Bob Cobbing
and Barry Miles
, who set about ordering a large quantity of books from City Lights and Grove Press.
Better Books was more than a mere bookshop. Once described as a ‘mini Arts Lab
’ it served as stage, cinema and gallery. Its cross-disciplinary approach welcomed new art forms like assemblage, performance art, and radical poetry. Together with other alternative galleries such as 26 Kingly Street and Miles' Indica Bookshop, Better Books was one of the hot spots of the London underground scene.
It was home to the Better Books Writers Nights and in March 1965 it housed the sTigma Environmental Exhibition, inspired by Alex Trocchi
's Sigma, A Tactical Blueprint and featuring a contribution by Jeff Nuttall
.
Allen Ginsberg
arrived at Better Books in May 1965, and offered to read anywhere for free. Ginsberg's first reading at Better Books was described by Jeff Nuttall
as "the first healing wind on a very parched collective mind" and in Peace News
, Tom McGrath
wrote "This could well turn out to have been a very significant moment in the history of England - or at least in the history of English Poetry".
Shortly after the reading at Better Books, plans were hatched for the International Poetry Incarnation
.
Independent bookstore
An independent bookstore is a retail bookstore which is independently owned.-Literary and countercultural history:Author events at independent bookstores sometimes take the role of literary salons. The bookstores themselves, "have historically supported and cultivated the work of independent...
. It was founded by Tony Godwin
Tony Godwin
Anthony James Wylie "Tony" Godwin was a British publisher of the 1960s/1970s. His contribution to the publishing industry is recognized in the form of the Tony Godwin Memorial Trust....
and was located at 94 Charing Cross Road
Charing Cross Road
Charing Cross Road is a street in central London running immediately north of St Martin-in-the-Fields to St Giles Circus and then becomes Tottenham Court Road...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
History
It was founded by British publisher Tony GodwinTony Godwin
Anthony James Wylie "Tony" Godwin was a British publisher of the 1960s/1970s. His contribution to the publishing industry is recognized in the form of the Tony Godwin Memorial Trust....
who took over the premises at 94 Charing Cross Road
Charing Cross Road
Charing Cross Road is a street in central London running immediately north of St Martin-in-the-Fields to St Giles Circus and then becomes Tottenham Court Road...
, London, in 1946.
In 1964, Tony Godwin
Tony Godwin
Anthony James Wylie "Tony" Godwin was a British publisher of the 1960s/1970s. His contribution to the publishing industry is recognized in the form of the Tony Godwin Memorial Trust....
visited San Francisco and the City Lights Bookstore
City Lights Bookstore
City Lights is an independent bookstore-publisher combination that specializes in world literature, the arts, and progressive politics. It also houses the nonprofit City Lights Foundation, which publishes selected titles related to San Francisco culture. It was founded in 1953 by poet Lawrence...
. He met Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Lawrence Ferlinghetti is an American poet, painter, liberal activist, and the co-founder of City Lights Booksellers & Publishers...
and suggested a work exchange, whereby Ferlinghetti would send "one of his Beats over in exchange for an English salesman who needed some education". City Lights store manager, Dick McBride
Dick McBride (poet)
Richard William McBride is an American beat poet, playwright and novelist. He worked at City Lights Booksellers & Publishers from 1954-1969.-Life:...
, moved to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
for six months to help "bohemianize" Better Books.
Better Books had a string of influential managers including Bill Butler, Bob Cobbing
Bob Cobbing
Bob Cobbing was a British sound, visual, concrete and performance poet who was a central figure in the British Poetry Revival.-Early life:...
and Barry Miles
Barry Miles
Barry Miles is an English author known for his participation in and writing on the subject of the 1960s London underground. He has written numerous books and his work has also regularly appeared in left-wing papers such as The Guardian...
, who set about ordering a large quantity of books from City Lights and Grove Press.
Better Books was more than a mere bookshop. Once described as a ‘mini Arts Lab
Arts Lab
The Arts Lab was an alternative arts centre, founded in 1967 by Jim Haynes at 182 Drury Lane. Although only active for two years, it was influential in inspiring many similar centres in the UK and continental Europe, including the expanded I.C.A...
’ it served as stage, cinema and gallery. Its cross-disciplinary approach welcomed new art forms like assemblage, performance art, and radical poetry. Together with other alternative galleries such as 26 Kingly Street and Miles' Indica Bookshop, Better Books was one of the hot spots of the London underground scene.
It was home to the Better Books Writers Nights and in March 1965 it housed the sTigma Environmental Exhibition, inspired by Alex Trocchi
Alexander Trocchi
Alexander Whitelaw Robertson Trocchi was a Scottish novelist.-Early career:Trocchi was born in Glasgow to a Scottish mother and Italian father. After working as a seaman on the Murmansk convoys, he attended University of Glasgow. On graduation he obtained a traveling grant that enabled him to...
's Sigma, A Tactical Blueprint and featuring a contribution by Jeff Nuttall
Jeff Nuttall
Jeff Nuttall was an English poet, publisher, actor, painter, sculptor, jazz trumpeter, anarchist sympathiser and social commentator who was a key part of the British 1960s counter-culture. He was the brother of literary critic A. D. Nuttall.-Life and work:Jeff Nuttall was born in Clitheroe,...
.
Allen Ginsberg
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
arrived at Better Books in May 1965, and offered to read anywhere for free. Ginsberg's first reading at Better Books was described by Jeff Nuttall
Jeff Nuttall
Jeff Nuttall was an English poet, publisher, actor, painter, sculptor, jazz trumpeter, anarchist sympathiser and social commentator who was a key part of the British 1960s counter-culture. He was the brother of literary critic A. D. Nuttall.-Life and work:Jeff Nuttall was born in Clitheroe,...
as "the first healing wind on a very parched collective mind" and in Peace News
Peace News
Peace News is a pacifist magazine first published on 6 June 1936 to serve the peace movement in the United Kingdom. From later in 1936 to April 1961 it was the official paper of the Peace Pledge Union , and from 1990 to 2004 was co-published with War Resisters' International.-History:Peace News was...
, Tom McGrath
Tom McGrath (playwright)
This article is about the Scottish playwright. For other people named Tom McGrath, see Thomas McGrath.Tom McGrath was a Scottish playwright and jazz pianist....
wrote "This could well turn out to have been a very significant moment in the history of England - or at least in the history of English Poetry".
Shortly after the reading at Better Books, plans were hatched for the International Poetry Incarnation
International Poetry Incarnation
The International Poetry Incarnation was an event at the Royal Albert Hall in Londonon June 11, 1965.In May, 1965, Allen Ginsberg arrived at Better Books, London, and offered to read anywhere for free....
.