The idea of S&F can be traced to a lecture that Fred Moten delivered at Threewalls in Chicago a few years ago. We became excited about the possibility of founding a press solely devoted to experimental lectures. Lectures as spatial and communal interventions, an improvised lecture, performance as lecture, lecture as book, the artist as lecture—the possibilities across disciplines and media seemed endless. We sought to connect the printed word to the ephemeral, to highlight a sense of discourse in formation, of ideas and aesthetic leanings taking shape in a conversation (but taking place in a book). In this spirit, S&F’s aesthetic couples the pamphlet with the art book. We also decided that each series should include three books/lectures. And when we recently expanded our focus to publish poetry, we retained the triad, the idea of series, and the commitment to experimental work. In the future, we hope to publish full-length poetry collections and to become an imprint for artist books and translations.
The greatest challenge for the press has been monetary. When we did manage to secure funding, we naively believed that sales of the initial series would fund the next. This was an unrealistic expectation, though it may be possible one day. It took us about two years to produce our present editions.
Some time ago, Matvei Yankelevich wrote a brilliant account chronicling the predicament of small press publishing as much as arguing for its possibilities as a political and creative practice. The ongoing struggle takes place in each reading, each encounter in which books are exchanged, discussed, and produced. It relies upon the myriad alliances brokered between groups or practitioners with access to different kinds of institutional support. S&F, for instance, has collaborated with Atlas Projectos, a publishing collective working from Lisbon and Berlin. Without this collaboration, we couldn’t have made our books. Likewise, as a visual artist and a poet respectively, the collaboration between us, siblings, has brought different skills to the press. We also draw sustenance from friends, lovers, companions, and environments. So much of ourselves has gone into the press.
The signature logo of S&F was adapted from a tiny, fabulous animal represented in a medieval illuminated manuscript, a kind of snail-bird. The absurd figure looks at us playfully askance and the tall slender legs appear to wade in invisible water. It floats and alternately sinks with unfounded confidence. It embodies the spirit of S&F.
Sputnik & Fizzle is run by Rita Sobral Campos and Isabel Sobral Campos.
