| Status | Defunct (2001) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1985 (1985) |
| Founder | Makeda Silvera and Stephanie Martin |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Headquarters location | Toronto |
| Publication types | Books |
| Nonfiction topics | Feminism |
Sister Vision Press was a Canadiansmall press publisher that operated from 1985 to 2001, and was the first press in Canada whose mission was to publish writing by and forwomen of colour.
In 1985, writerMakeda Silvera and her partner, visual artist Stephanie Martin,[1] co-founded Sister Vision Press[2] with Martin as the production manager and Silvera as themanaging editor.[3]
Silvera had struggled to have her bookSilenced: Caribbean Domestic Workers Talk With Makeda Silvera published by both mainstream and alternative publishers, such as Women's Press (Toronto), on the basis that the language was inaccessible and too difficult to understand, and that there was no market for such a book.[3] (The book was eventually published byWilliams-Wallace Publishers in 1986, and Sister Vision Press obtained the rights in 1989.[3])
This rejection fueled Silvera and Martin's commitment to starting their own press "for Black women and women of colour, one that addressed working-class issues and concerns, that addressed sexuality and language with an emphasis onCreole."[3][4] Obstacles included having little to no funding, a lack of public support and awareness for a publishing company for women of colour, and hesitation from the black literary community to stand behind a black lesbian couple. Some of their inspirations wereMarie Joseph Angelique, a Montreal slave who spearheaded the first rebellion against slavery in Canada, andMary Ann Shadd, the first Canadian female editor and publisher ofThe Provincial Freeman, "one of Canada's earliest Black newspapers" in the 1850s.[4] Silvera and Martin's goals through the Sister Vision Press were to bring awareness about the links "between women and colour in Canada and in the Caribbean and Third World women the world over".[4]
Sister Vision Press focused on works that included oral histories of "ordinary women often omitted from traditional history and contemporary writing",[4] books for children and young adults, and lastly works of theory and research that "oppose the negation of women of colour's voices in Canadian feminist theory and movements".[4]
Much of their success was in publishing anthologies likePiece of My Heart: A Lesbian of Colour Anthology, which was a finalist in theAmerican Library AssociationGay and Lesbian Book Award for 1992.[5]Memories Have Tongue, a 1992 book byAfua Cooper, was one of the finalists in the 1992Casa de las Americas literary award.[citation needed]
After its establishment, Sister Vision Press collaborated with feminist women's organizations in the Caribbean, Britain, Southern Africa, India and North America. One of these partnerships was with CAFRA (Caribbean Association for Feminist Research and Action) of Trinidad and Tobago and it resulted in the publishing ofCreation Fire: A CAFRA Anthology of Caribbean Women Poets (1990), edited byRamabai Espinet.[6] Silvera also sought out other writers, noting "A lot of writers that we encountered just didn't have the confidence to put out their work or to see their names in print. As the managing editor, I took on the role of mentoring many writers, particularly first-timers, through community centres, through word of mouth, and by offering workshops."[7]