Octagon Press

Octagon Press was a London-based cross-cultural publishing house established in 1960 by the Sufi teacher and author Idries Shah. Shah created the company partly to provide a publishing vehicle for his own writing and partly to establish what he regarded as a broader historical and cultural setting for his ideas. The press became closely associated with his interpretation and presentation of Sufism, but its catalogue extended well beyond explicitly religious works. The company published many of Shah's later books, including influential treatments of Sufi teaching stories, Islamic mystical traditions and the relationship between Eastern and Western cultures. It also issued translations and adaptations of classical works by authors such as Al-Ghazali, Jalal ad-Din Rumi, Saadi of Shiraz, Nuruddin Jami, Hakim Sanai, Mahmud Shabistari and Shah Waliullah of Delhi. These editions helped make selected Persian, Arabic and South Asian texts available to English-language readers in accessible forms. Some classical publications were produced with assistance from the Sufi Trust. Octagon's wider list covered cultural geography, folklore, philosophy, poetry, travel, psychology, literature and the humanities. Its authors and subjects included figures as varied as Richard Burton, Doris Lessing, Robert Ornstein, Khalilullah Khalili, Amina Shah, Sirdar Ikbal Ali Shah, Denise Winn and Tahir Shah. The list therefore combined original contemporary writing, literary works, translations, biographies, psychological studies and books concerning Afghanistan and Central Asia. Afghanistan was a particularly important area of interest. Idries Shah used the press to increase the availability of historical and cultural information about the country, anticipating that public interest would grow in the aftermath of Afghanistan's modern conflicts. Books such as Darkest England and The Natives are Restless explored perceived connections between English and Afghan peoples. The press also published or distributed works by Afghan writers, including Khalilullah Khalili and Amir Habibullah, and titles relating to Afghan history, society and culture. For many years, Octagon Press also sold academic monographs associated with the London Institute for Cultural Research. Those publications were later sold directly by the Institute. The press operated as a United Kingdom limited company under the name Octagon Press Limited, which was registered at Companies House on 10 January 1972. The company's publishing activities were connected with a wider network of cultural, educational and charitable initiatives associated with Idries Shah. Books published by Octagon and related organizations supported efforts to circulate educational material and information about Afghanistan. Shah's Afghan Relief initiative, which operated from 1984 to 2002, worked with organizations including the Institute for the Study of Human Knowledge and its children's imprint Hoopoe Books. These activities were distinct from Octagon's commercial publishing operation but formed part of the same institutional ecosystem. Octagon Press ceased trading in its existing form in 2014. The Idries Shah Foundation subsequently stated that Shah's works would be represented by ISF Publishing and relaunched in new print and electronic editions. Existing Octagon editions were no longer intended to remain available through the former operation. The brand is therefore historically significant as the principal publishing identity through which Idries Shah's books and a substantial body of Sufi and cross-cultural literature reached readers, but it is no longer an active publishing company.

Octagon Press emerged from Idries Shah's effort to create a durable publishing platform for his writing and for a broader programme of cross-cultural communication. Founded in London in 1960, the press was designed to place Shah's ideas about Sufism within a historical, literary and cultural framework rather than present them only as abstract religious instruction. Its catalogue consequently brought together Shah's own books, translations of older Sufi works and publications by authors working across literature, psychology, folklore, travel and cultural studies. A central part of the press's identity was the publication of English-language editions of classical Islamic and Sufi literature. Its list included works associated with Al-Ghazali, Rumi, Saadi, Jami, Sanai, Shabistari and Shah Waliullah of Delhi. These publications ranged from individual translations to collections such as Four Sufi Classics. Octagon also published or distributed texts concerning the wider intellectual and literary history of the Islamic world, helping position Sufi thought as part of a substantial historical tradition rather than a narrowly contemporary subject. Idries Shah's own books formed another major part of the catalogue. His works on Sufi teaching stories, mystical traditions and the relationship between Eastern and Western cultures achieved substantial international circulation and critical attention. The press also published works by members of Shah's family and by writers connected with the cultural subjects he promoted. The catalogue included Doris Lessing's Memoirs of a Survivor, books by psychologist Robert Ornstein, writings by Amina Shah, travel and cultural works by Tahir Shah, and material by authors associated with Afghanistan and Central Asia. Afghanistan became a particularly visible area of the press's activity. Shah believed that historical and cultural information about the country would become increasingly important following its modern political and military upheavals. Octagon issued works by Afghan authors and books concerning Afghan society, history and identity. Among the associated titles were an English and Dari presentation of Khalilullah Khalili's poetry, Amir Habibullah's autobiographical account My Life – from Brigand to King, and Shah's own books Darkest England and The Natives are Restless, which examined claimed affinities between English and Afghan peoples. The publishing house also maintained links with other organizations in Shah's intellectual and charitable network. For many years it sold monographs from the London Institute for Cultural Research, although those publications later moved to direct distribution by the Institute. Some classical titles were supported by the Sufi Trust. Idries Shah's Afghan Relief work, active from 1984 to 2002, operated separately as a charitable initiative but shared an interest in education, Afghan culture and the circulation of useful books. Related educational work was later associated with the Institute for the Study of Human Knowledge and Hoopoe Books. Octagon Press Limited was formally registered as a United Kingdom limited company on 10 January 1972, more than a decade after the publishing imprint had been founded. The company continued as a specialist publisher for several decades, maintaining a catalogue that combined original books, reprints, translations and works for general and specialist readers. In 2014, Octagon announced that it would cease trading in its existing form. The Idries Shah Foundation assumed responsibility for representing Shah's corpus through ISF Publishing, with plans to relaunch the works in new printed and electronic editions. This transition ended Octagon Press as an active trading publisher, although its historical catalogue and its influence on the English-language circulation of Sufi and cross-cultural literature remain associated with the Octagon name.

• 2014

  The press ceases trading in its existing form

  [1]Octagon Pressen.wikipedia.org

  Octagon announces the end of its trading operation, while ISF Publishing takes responsibility for new editions of Idries Shah's books.

• 1988

  The Natives are Restless is published

  [1]Octagon Pressen.wikipedia.org

  A further Idries Shah title addresses perceived affinities between English and Afghan peoples.

• 1987

  Darkest England is published

  [1]Octagon Pressen.wikipedia.org

  Idries Shah publishes a work examining cultural connections between England and Afghanistan, reflecting Octagon's interest in Afghan studies.

• 1984

  Afghan Relief begins

  [1]Octagon Pressen.wikipedia.org

  Idries Shah establishes Afghan Relief, a related charitable initiative providing medical, educational and other assistance to refugees; some associated books are published by Octagon or related organizations.

• 1974

  Octagon publishes Doris Lessing's Memoirs of a Survivor

  [1]Octagon Pressen.wikipedia.org

  The press publishes Doris Lessing's novel Memoirs of a Survivor, expanding its literary list beyond Sufi and cultural titles.

• 1972

  Octagon Press Limited is registered

  [1]Octagon Pressen.wikipedia.org

  The company is registered at Companies House in the United Kingdom on 10 January 1972.

• 1964

  Publication of The Sufis

  [1]Octagon Pressen.wikipedia.org

  Idries Shah's The Sufis becomes one of the best-known works associated with the Octagon publishing programme.

• 1960

  Octagon Press is founded in London

  [1]Octagon Pressen.wikipedia.org

  Idries Shah establishes Octagon Press as a cross-cultural publishing house intended to publish his work and provide historical and cultural context for his ideas.

A specialist, cross-cultural publisher connecting Sufi literature and classical Islamic texts with broader work in the humanities, psychology, literature, travel, folklore and Afghan studies.

• Religious and philosophical publishing · 1960

  Sufi and Islamic mysticism books

  This core category included Idries Shah's own writing on Sufi ideas, teaching stories and intellectual traditions, together with works that introduced readers to the historical development of Sufism. The books were presented for a broad international readership and helped define Octagon Press as a specialist publisher of cross-cultural and Islamic mystical literature.

• Translations

  Classical Sufi translations

  Octagon published English translations and editions of major classical authors, including Al-Ghazali, Rumi, Jami, Saadi, Sanai, Shabistari and Shah Waliullah of Delhi. The list included individual works such as The Alchemy of Happiness, The Bostan, The Gulistan and The Walled Garden of Truth, as well as multi-text collections such as Four Sufi Classics.

• History and cultural studies

  Afghanistan and Central Asia titles

  This group covered Afghan history, literature, travel and cultural identity. It included works by or about figures such as Khalilullah Khalili and Amir Habibullah, as well as Idries Shah's books exploring English and Afghan cultural relationships. The titles reflected the press's stated aim of making information about Afghanistan more available to English-language readers.

• General nonfiction and literary publishing

  Humanities, psychology and literature

  Octagon's broader catalogue included literary works, poetry, folklore, cultural geography, philosophy, travel writing and psychology. Associated authors included Doris Lessing, Robert Ornstein, Denise Winn, Amina Shah and Tahir Shah, demonstrating that the imprint was not limited to religious publishing.

• 2014

  Transfer of Idries Shah's publishing programme to ISF PublishingStrategy

  Background

  Octagon Press announced that it would stop trading in its existing form, while the Idries Shah Foundation prepared to continue representation of Shah's works.

  Action taken

  The Foundation's ISF Publishing became the successor publishing channel for new printed and electronic editions of Idries Shah's corpus, and existing Octagon editions were withdrawn from availability through the former operation.

  Aftermath

  Octagon Press became a defunct historical imprint rather than an active trading publisher.

  Source

1. 1Octagon Pressen.wikipedia.org