Bob Baldock

Robert Lee Baldock
Born	(1937-04-30) 30 April 1937 Dayton, Ohio, U.S.
Died	22 October 2022(2022-10-22) (aged 85) Berkeley, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Bookseller, artist, event producer, revolutionary fighter
Years active	1958–2022
Known for	Fighting alongside Fidel Castro in Cuban Revolution; co-founding Black Oak Books; producing events at KPFA Radio; poster art

Robert Lee Baldock (April 30, 1937 – October 22, 2022) was one of the rare American nationals who actively fought alongside Fidel Castro's revolutionary forces in the Sierra Maestra during the 1958 Cuban Revolution. Subsequently, he established a distinguished career in the bookselling industry. Baldock dedicated twenty years to Moe's Books located in Berkeley, California, before co-founding Black Oak Books, which gained recognition for its influential author reading events. After departing from Black Oak Books, he spent over two decades producing public programs at KPFA Radio, the nation’s pioneering listener-supported FM station. As an artist, he created original posters for KPFA events, some of which are part of the collection at the Oakland Museum of California. Additionally, Baldock was a painter and crafted fine art prints and broadsides.

Involvement with the 26th of July Movement in Cuba

Born on April 30, 1937, in Dayton, Ohio, Baldock completed his secondary education at Sewickley High School near Pittsburgh and attended Ohio University for two years (1955–57), where he received Army ROTC training. This military preparation played a crucial role when he became engaged with Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement insurgency against Fulgencio Batista. Motivated by newsreels during his tenure at B.F. Goodrich in Akron in 1957 and later while working as a copyboy at the New York Herald Tribune, Baldock gained access to in-depth reports on the Cuban uprising. Accompanied by a college acquaintance fluent in Spanish, he journeyed to Havana in the spring of 1958 and proceeded to the Sierra Maestra to join Castro’s rebel faction, which included prominent members such as Celia Sánchez and Camilo Cienfuegos. Baldock asserted that he served for five months as both an instructor and combatant until illness necessitated his evacuation through a clandestine route primarily involving small Catholic churches. After being hospitalized in Miami, he provided United Press with notebooks containing his observations; however, these documents were subsequently lost. Contrarily, a May 1958 interview indicated his presence in Cuba lasted only two months and characterized his stay as a "vacation," making no mention of combat or instructional duties.

Professional Journey as a Bookseller

In August 1958, Baldock enrolled at Washington Square College of Arts & Sciences at New York University, pursuing journalism studies while employed at the Marboro bookstore and Paperback Gallery in New York City. During this period, he developed a friendship with Anaïs Nin. In 1959, he relocated to Europe where his short story "Salt Air" was published in Olympia, the bi-monthly literary review of Olympia Press based in Paris, earning him a $1000 award. He took on roles as proofreader and copywriter for Olympia Press, known for publishing provocative works such as William S. Burroughs’ Naked Lunch and Nabokov's Lolita. During the proprietor’s absence, Baldock also managed Le Mistral bookstore (which was later renamed Shakespeare and Company).

By 1962, Baldock had settled in Berkeley, California, joining Moe's Books on Telegraph Avenue. He played an instrumental role in expanding Moe's into a four-level establishment featuring used books alongside new releases and remaindered titles, complemented by art and antiquarian sections. Collaborating with letterpress printer Wesley Tanner, he produced broadsides distributed through Moe's. Beginning in 1974, Baldock focused on creating portraits representing African-American subjects, culminating in a solo exhibition at The Art Co-op (later known as A.C.C.I. Gallery) in Berkeley in 1980. He also designed book covers for W.W. Norton & Company, including a notable series for their 1990s reissues of Rainer Maria Rilke’s literature.

After two decades at Moe's Books, Baldock co-established Black Oak Books in north Berkeley in 1982 alongside partners Bob Brown and Don Pretari. Serving as president, he curated a widely attended series of author readings within the store featuring internationally renowned writers such as Carlos Fuentes, Czeslaw Milosz, Edna O'Brien, Isabel Allende, Toni Morrison, Gore Vidal, Salman Rushdie, among others. Many event posters were designed by Baldock himself and printed by Okeanos Press under Eric Johnson.

Following his separation from Jeanne Forrest Baldock in 1985, he married writer and translator Kathleen Weaver in 1989. Through this partnership, he renewed engagement with radical political causes centered on solidarity with Nicaragua and El Salvador. That same year marked his departure from Black Oak Books after a contentious takeover by business partners.

In recognition of his exceptional contributions to the literary community, Baldock received "The Decca" award from the San Francisco Bay Area Book Council during the 7th Annual San Francisco Book Festival held in 1996.

Events producer and poster artist, KPFA Radio

Beginning in 1989, Baldock joined KPFA Radio, 94.1 FM, based in Berkeley. Throughout several decades, he organized over three hundred public gatherings that showcased writers and musicians, frequently serving as fundraising events for KPFA and the Pacifica network, often in partnership with various non-profit organizations. For more than twenty years, he collaborated closely with Ken Preston to co-produce these occasions. These events were recorded for both radio broadcasts and webcasts, with select recordings later released on CD and DVD. Baldock was responsible for designing original posters for the majority of these events—initially using silkscreen techniques before transitioning to digital formats—and also crafted posters for UC Berkeley’s Graduate Journalism and International Studies programs. A selection of his poster artwork is preserved at the Oakland Museum of California. His creative works are displayed on his personal website, and some of his posters are featured on the KPFA platform.

Personal life and death

Baldock’s parents, Robert Lee Baldock Sr. and Bertha Elizabeth Lyon Baldock, hailed from the Midwest and possessed Northern European ancestry. He had one sibling, a brother named Earl Lyon Baldock (1940–2002). He was the father of four children: two from his first marriage to Maria Champion—Paul Michel Baldock Collins and Lisa Diane Collins Raines—and two from his third marriage to Jeanne—Andrew Charles Baldock and Kita Megan Baldock.

Bob Baldock passed away in Berkeley, California on October 22, 2022, at the age of 85.

Works referencing

• Cometbus, Aaron. The Loneliness of the Electric Menorah, Cometbus #51, Bloomington: Microcosm Publishing, 2008. A historical overview of Berkeley bookshops.
• "Former Castro Follower Now Insurance Man." Columbus Citizen, by Bill Gold, Columbus, Ohio, circa late 1959.
• Lives That Changed the World: Fidel Castro, 2007. Discovery Films: Exploration Production, Toronto. Includes Baldock’s commentary on Castro’s influence.
• "Los Baldock: una imagen en dos tiempos." Juventud Rebelde, 16 February 1992. Marina Menéndez, Havana.
• "Palace Coup at Black Oak," Express, Berkeley, July 14, 1989.
• "Sewickley Man Visits Cuban Rebel Chief," Pittsburgh Press, circa August 1959.
• Williams, Gerald. "Paris, Porn and What Passed for Love," New Letters, Vol. 66, No. 2 (2000). Reminiscences regarding Paris and work with Olympia Press.

Selected publications by

• "KPFA’s 60th Anniversary Celebration". Open Exchange Magazine: #185 / Vol. 36, No. 2, April / May / June 2009 print & online: http://www.openexchange.org/archives/AMJ09/kpfa.html
• "Salt Air", Olympia, No 4, April 1963, Paris: Olympia Press. A short story.
• "Since He Left Us", in On The Finest Shore: Poems and Reminiscences of Moe, Berkeley, 1997. Tribute poems honoring Moe Moskowitz, proprietor of Moe's Books. Available in print and online: https://web.archive.org/web/20110714111155/http://www.moesbooks.com/pages/A-Tribute-to-Moe.html

Novels

• Wild Green Oranges (A fictionalized narrative based on Cuban experiences, written in 1959 and published in 2021 by The Clapton Press).
• Bright Sidewalks, 1961 (manuscript).

Letters archived

Correspondence with Anaïs Nin:

• Letters authored by Robert Baldock to Anaïs Nin can be found in Box 32, Folder 5; Box 33, Folders 1, 7, and 8; Box 36, Folder 2; while letters from Anaïs Nin to Robert Baldock are located in Box 33, Folder 7 within the Anaïs Nin Papers housed at UCLA Library’s Department of Special Collections.

Book cover designs

• Alegría, Claribel and Darwin J. Flakoll. Ashes of Izalco, translated by Darwin J. Flakoll. Curbstone Press, 1989.
• Cortázar, Julio. Nicaraguan Sketches, translated by Kathleen Weaver, W. W. Norton, 1989.
• Emerson, Gloria. Winners and Losers, paperback edition, W. W. Norton, 1992.
• Morales, Arqueles. Peace Has Yet To Be Won, translated by William Greenwood. Green Horse Two, 1974.
• Rilke, Rainer Maria editions published by W. W. Norton, New York, 1992–94; featuring original artwork by Baldock.
• Weaver, Kathleen. Peruvian Rebel: The World of Magda Portal, Penn State University Press, 2009.

External links

• Photograph of Baldock alongside Castro
• Bhattacharjee, Riya. "Black Oak Books Moves Out," Berkeley Daily Planet, June 4, 2009.
• Collection of posters for KPFA Radio and UC Berkeley departments; nearly 300 silkscreen and digital posters preserved on the KPFA archival website.
• Luzer, Daniel. Critique of Cometbus Issue #51: "The Loneliness of the Electric Menorah," Columbia Journalism Review, February 9, 2009.