HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Momentum Press was founded by poet William Mohr in 1973 when he served as poetry editor for BACHY, another Los Angeles poetry magazine, in 1972-1973. Established in association with the Century City Educational Arts Project, a non-profit group based in Los Angeles, Momentum Press published eight issues of MOMENTUM magazine between 1974-1978 and, between 1975-1988, books by numerous writers living in or associated with Los Angeles, including Kate Braverman, Leland Hickman, Michael Kincaid, Harry Northrup, Alicia Ostriker, and Holly Prado. Additionally, Momentum published two seminal anthologies edited by Mohr, THE STREETS INSIDE: TEN LOS ANGELES POETS (1975) and POETRY LOVES POETRY: AN ANTHOLOGY OF LOS ANGELES POETS (1985).
When Momentum Press ceased publication for financial reasons in 1988, Mohr produced and hosted PUT YOUR EARS ON, a television poetry and performance events series recorded at the Century City Educational Arts Project studios. The series included readings and/or performances by Will Alexander, Leland Hickman, James Krusoe, Phoebe MacAdams, Harry Northrup, and Holly Prado, among others.
From the guide to the Momentum Press Archive, 1976-1995, (Mandeville Special Collections Library, UCSD)
