Alex Dodd
A SMALL Grahamstown-based book dealer has made one small step for South African book distribution and one giant leap for readers of offbeat, locally obscure literature.
Deep South Distribution (DSD) was started three years ago by Rhodes BA graduate Paul Wessels as a result of his own “frustration with not being able to get this sort of material”, better described by his own umbrella term as “the marginalised area of the printed wor(l)d.
“I’d try to order stuff through bookshops and they’d tell me the presses or the books themselves didn’t exist, so I decided to import directly for myself,” says Wessels, who used to play the springs for hardcore Grahamstown band Vader Jakob. Wessels put a table out at the Grahamstown festival techno happening, World’s End, “and sold a whole lot of Mondo 2000s”.
The 63-page catalogue, described by Wessels as “a big listing of things that have caught my eyes”, is a veritable treasure trove for lovers of counter-cultural comix, journals, fanzines, soft and hard covers. Titles listed include gems like Daughters of Darkness: Lesbian Vampire Stories, Madonnarama: Essays on Sex and Popular Culture and How to Start Your Own Country — “No shit. Covers diplomacy, national defence, sovereignty, raising funds, recruiting settlers and more”.
DSD runs on a personalised mail order system. “I scout around for stuff that would interest people on my mailing list,” says Wessels. The material either falls under the stock title category (although Wessels says it’s not viable for him to keep too many titles in stock) or that of order titles.
Order titles are available on pre-paid order; delay is normally about eight to 12 weeks. DSD recommends registered fastmail for all orders, except magazines and journals.
Asked whether there’s a demand for the offbeat material he stocks, Wessels ponders a moment before he replies: “Yes and no. It’s difficult to get people tuned into interesting writers and areas. The demand is small and marginalised.” He adds: “But then I just got a call from someone very into Bataille … I’m always surprised when I hear from knowledgeable people.”
Does Wessels make any money out of this whacky enterprise? “Money? Well, let’s put it this way: I don’t snort coke or drive a BMW on the profits.”
* Wessels can be reached by letter at PO Box 754, Grahamstown, 6140, faxed on (0461) 312109 or phoned at (0461) 25832. He hopes to be on e-mail by the end of this year.