Welcome to part 2 of Benjamin J. Heal and Fu Ya-Chu’s visit with Jim Pennington in London…
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Jim, a lifelong Londoner who sometimes longs for North Africa, has dedicated his entire professional life to the world of printing and publishing. His extensive career began with training at London’s North-Western Polytechnic and the London College of Printing. He’s held diverse roles, including print room and production manager for the British Safety Council (1971–75) and the anti-poverty charity War on Want (1975–79), before moving to the Lithosphere Printing Co-operative (1979–1991), among other positions.
In parallel with his professional career, Jim also ran Aloes Books, the influential small press he established with poets Allen Fisher and Dique Miller. Aloes Books became known for publishing key works by celebrated authors such as Kathy Acker, Thomas Pynchon, and William Burroughs, among many others. In 2014, Jim returned to small press publishing, focusing particularly on mimeo-stencil production techniques, a testament to his enduring passion for the craft.
In this chat, we’ll explore Jim’s mysterious suitcase, L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology in East Grinstead, Ya-Chu’s miraculous iPhone, Claude Pelieu and Pam Plymell, the publication of Burroughs’ Ali’s Smile, BBC interviews of underground figures in the 1960s, and consider interesting fringe figures on the underground literary scene, such as Benedictine monk and part-time artist/poet Dom Sylvester Houédard.
The Count Arthur Strong TV episode mentioned is “The Lucky Streak”
