Robert Hawley

Robert Hawley was a student of English and writing in 1956.

Robert Lorin Hawley was a noted antiquarian bookseller, specialist in Western Americana, and cofounder of the Oyez Press. He served in the U.S. Army Enlisted Reserve Corps from 1949 to 1952, achieving the rank of Master Sergeant. By 1957, he was working as an antiquarian bookseller at the Holmes Book Company in Oakland, California.

In 1964, Hawley and Stevens van Strum founded Oyez Press by soliciting works from noteworthy poets, particularly Beat Generation poets in the San Francisco Bay Area. Oyez published works by David Meltzer, William Everson, Gary Snyder, Charles Olson, Michael McClure, and others. Its award-winning poetry editions were well regarded for the simplicity and elegance of their designs, and at its height in the late 1960s, Oyez was publishing about ten books a year.

In 1978, Hawley opened his own bookstore specializing in Western Americana, the Ross Valley Book Company, in Albany, California. Hawley’s store became a focal point for Bay Area poets, historians, small press publishers, authors, and collectors of Western Americana. The store was especially known for its informal Saturday afternoon gatherings (“bull sessions”) of like-minded bibliophiles.

After retiring, Hawley continued to conduct appraisals and consult with librarians, collectors, and historians.

Shared from Robert's obituary