Untide Press
Untide Press was a World War II-era literary press that used inexpensive, hand-set letterpress books and magazines to bring poetry to a wider public.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Untide Press was a small literary and printing operation established in 1943 at Camp Angel, a Civilian Public Service camp in Waldport, Oregon. The camp housed conscientious objectors who performed unpaid work considered to have national importance as an alternative to military service during the Second World War. Camp Angel was unusual within the Civilian Public Service system because it operated a Fine Arts Program, creating an environment in which writers, printers, artists, actors, editors, and craftspeople could collaborate. The press was founded by writer William Everson, architect and printer Kemper Nomland, actor Kermit Sheets, printer and painter Larry Siemons, and editor and librarian William Eshelman. Its name deliberately challenged the camp's official magazine, Tide Press. The founders sought to make poetry publicly accessible in formats that were inexpensive without being visually careless. Every work was set by hand, and the press became known for combining literary ambition with inventive typography, design, and letterpress production. Untide Press published the irregular magazine Illiterati as well as a number of small poetry books. Its contributors included William Everson, Glen Coffield, Jacob Sloan, George Woodcock, John Walker, and Kenneth Patchen. The press's work gained a reputation for high-quality writing and distinctive presentation despite its limited resources and irregular schedule. Its publications reflected the wider culture of Camp Angel, where artistic activity became an important form of community life for conscientious objectors. The press's final book produced in Waldport was Kenneth Patchen's An Astonished Eye Looks Out Of the Air, printed by letterpress in 1945 as the war was ending. Untide Press did not become a conventional commercial publisher, and its active production was closely tied to the camp and wartime circumstances. Nevertheless, its participants and associates later contributed to the San Francisco literary renaissance, giving the press a lasting place in the history of American small-press publishing, poetry, and book design. The surviving publications and archival records are now important documentation of wartime alternative service, experimental printing, and the development of postwar literary networks.
History
Untide Press emerged from Camp Angel, a Civilian Public Service camp in Waldport, Oregon, in 1943. Civilian Public Service camps provided conscientious objectors with an alternative to military service during the Second World War. Instead of serving in the armed forces, residents performed unpaid work regarded as being of national importance. Camp Angel distinguished itself from other camps through its Fine Arts Program, which supported an unusually concentrated community of writers, printers, artists, actors, and designers. The press was founded by William Everson, Kemper Nomland, Kermit Sheets, Larry Siemons, and William Eshelman. Their choice of the name Untide Press was a pointed response to Tide Press, the camp's official magazine. The new press was conceived as a way to put poetry before a general audience in publications that were inexpensive yet aesthetically considered. This combination of accessibility and design became central to its identity. Untide's production methods were labor-intensive. Its publications were set by hand and printed using letterpress techniques. The press issued the magazine Illiterati on an irregular basis and produced a series of small poetry books. Although it operated with limited equipment, labor, and distribution, it developed a reputation for strong writing and innovative visual presentation. The list of writers associated with its publications included Everson, Glen Coffield, Jacob Sloan, George Woodcock, John Walker, and Kenneth Patchen. The press also functioned as a creative network. Its activity connected literary work with printing, painting, architecture, performance, editing, and librarianship, reflecting the mixed artistic character of Camp Angel. William Everson later described the completion of an Untide book as one of the most significant achievements of the participants' Civilian Public Service experience. The publications therefore had both an artistic purpose and a communal one: they demonstrated what could be made by a group working outside the mainstream publishing system and under wartime constraints. The last book produced at Waldport was Kenneth Patchen's An Astonished Eye Looks Out Of the Air. Printed by letterpress in 1945, it appeared as the war was drawing to a close. Untide Press's active publishing history was closely bound to Camp Angel and did not develop into a long-running commercial enterprise. Even so, the people associated with the press later helped form part of the San Francisco literary renaissance. Untide's surviving books, magazine issues, and records consequently remain relevant to the history of American poetry, fine printing, small presses, conscientious objection, and postwar literary culture.
- 1945
Final Waldport book is printed
[1]Kenneth Patchen's An Astonished Eye Looks Out Of the Air becomes the last book produced at Untide Press in Waldport.
- 1943
Untide Press is founded at Camp Angel
[1]William Everson, Kemper Nomland, Kermit Sheets, Larry Siemons, and William Eshelman establish the press at the Civilian Public Service camp in Waldport, Oregon.
- 1943
The press begins hand-set publishing
[1]Untide begins producing poetry books and the irregular magazine Illiterati through hand composition and letterpress printing.
Products and positioning
An independent literary press focused on making poetry broadly available through inexpensive but carefully designed hand-set and letterpress publications.
Literary magazine
Illiterati
Illiterati was Untide Press's irregular magazine. It provided a venue for poetry and other literary work connected with the Camp Angel community and reflected the press's preference for hand-set typography and carefully considered presentation. Its publication schedule was intermittent rather than commercial or standardized.
Poetry books · 1943
Small poetry books
Untide Press issued a number of small poetry books intended to make serious writing available in inexpensive formats. The books were produced by hand and became known for combining literary quality with inventive design despite the press's wartime setting and limited resources.
Poetry book · 1945
An Astonished Eye Looks Out Of the Air
Written by Kenneth Patchen, this letterpress publication was the final book produced by Untide Press at Waldport. Its 1945 appearance, as the war was ending, marks the closing point of the press's documented production at Camp Angel.
Recent events
- 1945
Untide Press prints Kenneth Patchen's An Astonished Eye Looks Out Of the Air[1]
Product launch
The book was the last publication produced by the press at Waldport and was printed by letterpress as the Second World War was ending.
- 1943
Untide Press is established at Camp Angel[1]
Other
A group of conscientious-objector artists and literary workers founded Untide Press at the Civilian Public Service camp in Waldport, Oregon, with the aim of publishing poetry in affordable, attractively designed formats.
Untide Press publishes Illiterati and small poetry books[1]
Product launch
The press issued the irregular magazine Illiterati and several small poetry books, all produced through hand composition and valued for their literary quality and experimental design.
Sources3 sources
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