John Calder, a Scot, is 74. Under the imprint of his London publishing company, Calder Publications, he published many controversial authors in Britain for the first time, including Samuel Beckett, Henry Miller, William Burroughs, Marguerite Duras, Heinrich B÷ll and American authors whose work was not published in the US during the McCarthy witch-hunt. He created scandals by bringing free speech and innovative theatre to the Edinburgh Festival, and ran for political office. His campaigns for liberal reforms were more successful than his political career as were his attacks on censorship. He was prosecuted for literature he published and political books. He is a poet, journalist and critic. His most recent book is The Philosophy of Samuel Beckett (Calder Publications).
Today's extract is from his new memoir, Pursuit: the Uncensored Memoirs of John Calder, published this week by Calder Publications at £24.99 in the UK.