Malcolm Margolin founded Berkeley's Heyday Books in 1974 and developed it into a prominent outlet for Native Californian writing and cultural publication. He died at age 84 from complications of Parkinson's disease at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley, surrounded by family. Margolin had lived in a skilled nursing wing at Piedmont Gardens in Oakland since spring 2023. Colleagues emphasized his commitment to celebrating beauty, indigenous traditions, social justice, storytelling, and curiosity. Photographer Richard Nagler called him a collaborator and muse and described his death as a terrible loss. Margolin remained a fixture at cultural events and embodied the ethos of his generation.
It is with surpassing grief that we mark the end of this extraordinary man, but we are summoned to continue the legacy he has left us a profound commitment to celebrating the beauty and joy to be found in this broken world, a deep and abiding respect for California's indigenous traditions that he did so much to learn from and explore, a passionate engagement with the issues of social justice he sought to bring to light and, where possible, to heal and repair.
A mighty redwood of a man has fallen. He was a collaborator and a muse, said Berkeley-based photographer Richard Nagler, whose two photography books were published by Margolin. We will never be able to replace a man of such dimensions. He represented and nurtured the best in all of us. His death is a terrible loss for Berkeley, the Bay Area, and the world.
#malcolm-margolin #heyday-books #native-californian-writing #independent-publishing #parkinsons-disease
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