Imagine a publishing company that serves Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican traditionalists, as well as other people interested in classical culture and art. It may publish books (new and Public Domain editions), sheet music, hymnals, children's books, art reprints, and so forth. It would do some of the things discussed in previous discussions, in terms of promoting and educating people about Catholic music and current composers, but would not be limited either to music or to only those within the Roman Church or tradition. In fact, it would/should provide offerings for classically-minded non-religious people, such as art books, classical philosophy texts, and potentially recordings of music or audio-books. (This would be done both for business reasons and to promote evangelism, as I think there are or could be strong sympathies between traditional minded religious folk and classical liberal intellectuals).
It would follow a similar business model to Jeffrey Tucker's Laissez-Faire Books, providing free content, subscription options, electronic and print editions, and so on and so forth. The business model and general marketing would be geared to the "young, connected, classicist" set: people like myself, Gavin, and the other "digital natives" you find around here.
Now.... I'm not saying I'm working on this at the moment. But I might be tinkering with some possibilities and some technology solutions. MIGHT!
And, as silly as it sounds, I can't think of a good name for this endeavor.
My first desire was "Sophia Publishing," as that evokes both an orthodox wisdom sensibility and a certain new-wave feminism that appeals to "swing voters" such as myself. Alas, there is already a Sophia Publishing in existence. I shy away from Saint names, as the good ones seem to be in use already (e.g. St. Jerome Press), or evoke a particular sphere of influence (e.g. Cecilia or Gregory for music), although I'm not opposed to any pre-Schism saint suggestions.
So- I come to you, my friends. Any ideas for names?
(Note, as this is very much in the zeitgeist right now, I know many of you are also working on similar or vaguely related projects. Please don't suggest the name you want to use, as I might steal it, and that would be sad for us all.)
Additionally, if you have brilliant conceptual ideas for such an endeavor, please feel free to share them here- although with full knowledge that, while you may be credited, you will likely not be compensated in any way.
(I might send you some free merch, if there is ever any merch to be had).
I think John Paul Publishing would be ideal. Although he is not considered a Saint yet, he will most likely be one day. He is connected with Catholic Church but because there is no Saint designation it does not have to be considered a Catholic only publishing house. He was ecumenical and appreciated all forms of arts and sports.
I heard Patrick Coffin say this one on Catholic Answers Live during his recent interview with Jeffrey Tucker. It's worth repeating in case you missed it: "The Guided Missal". He suggested it as a name for a newsletter and while it may not work in this particular case, it's a classic, and someone should run with it.
Not a pre-schism saint, but I'm not aware of a Hildegard Publications.
I'm sorry for making a joke. I'm trying to make a reference to the press used to press the grapes from the vineyard of the Lord, but it went out wrong.
Sophia Publishing is fine.
You may consider Borromeo Press or Columba Press or Luke Press. You can replace the press with anything related to publishing. These three saints are the patrons of bookbinders.
Alas, the name Sophia would only lead to confusion. There are already a couple of "Sophia" imprints, and one is an active Catholic publisher, Sophia Institute Press.
And it wasn't easy for them either: when scholar John Barger started it, he discovered that there was already a new-age-oriented publisher with the name "Sophia", which caused some confusion among potential readers and supporters.
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