Simone Fattal, the post-apollo press (1982–2012), 2019

Simone Fattal founded the post-apollo press in 1982, specializing in poetry, experimental writing and translation. Post-apollo has published major American, European, and middle-eastern poets and prose writers including Barbara Guest, Lyn Hejinian, Leslie Scalapino, Robert Grenier, Etel Adnan, Marguerite Duras, Jalal Toufic, Tom Raworth, and many others. 

Unpublished and unseen working documents from the post-apollo press history present a rare insight into the history of this important publishing project by Simone Fattal, a project little known of in our region, but that has published important works of experimental poetry, prose, and translation and become an essential part of the bay area literary scene. Culled from the artist own collection as well as her deposited materials at the Bancroft Library in Berkley, the post-apollo press records is a unique feminist press collection that holds a rich collection of experimental Arab and international poetry and prose. A significant collection of writings and artworks by poet and artist Etel Adnan were first published by the post-apollo press. 

In this meeting, Simone Fattal talks about the richness of her experience in independent publishing as well as about the expansion of the field and its experimentation.

Simone Fattal was born in Damascus and grew up in Lebanon. She studied philosophy at the Ecole des Lettres of Beirut and then at the Sorbonne in Paris. In 1969 she returned to Beirut and started painting. She participated in numerous shows during the ten years when life in Lebanon was still possible. In 1980, fleeing the civil war, she settled in California and founded the post-apollo press, a publishing house dedicated to innovative and experimental literary work. in 1988, she returned to artistic practice by doing ceramic sculptures after enrolling at the art institute of San Francisco. Since 2006, she has produced works in Hans Spinner’s prestigious workshop in Grasse, France. In 2013, she released a movie, Autoportrait, which has been shown worldwide in many film festivals.