Tobago-born writer, activist and founder of the London-based publishing venture Karia PressBuzz Johnson, who has died aged 62 from an arterial haemorrhage, was the founder of Karia Press, one of the small but dedicated band of African-Caribbean publishing initiatives in the UK that have had an impact remarkably disproportionate to their modest size and limited resources. With little more than his own energies and innate political instincts, Johnson ran his company almost single-handedly; yet since its beginnings in London in the early 1980s, Karia consistently punched above its weight, producing more than 50 titles relevant to the struggles of peoples of the Caribbean, Africa, the African diaspora and developing nations in general, often by new writers who went on to greater success.The roll-call of authors published under the Karia imprint in the categories of fiction, poetry, language studies, biography and history remains impressive and includes Ernest Marke, Merle Collins, Elean Thomas, Richard Hart, Brother Resistance, Sekai Nzenza, Eintou Pearl Springer, Marika Sherwood and Anthony Gifford.The educationist Chris Searle, a Karia author and friend, marvelled at Johnson's ability to publish so many important books "under his own steam with no money" and noted that he helped to support some important careers by backing work "that other publishers would not touch".Although not a man to covet the limelight, Johnson also made an invaluable contribution as an author... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2014-03-05 00:00:00 UTC ]