MSRRT Newsletter's alternative news, views, and resource listings were sent via snail mail to members of the Minnesota Library Association Social Responsibilities Round Table (MSRRT). Others subscribed by making a donation ($15 suggested) payable to MLA/MSRRT. Editors: Chris Dodge/Jan DeSirey.
Some words and phrases are so overused that hearing or reading them short circuits the critical thinking process. Obfuscating political arguments, they are also abused by profiteers who name products after concepts like freedom. Take "anarchism," "reform," "family values," "weapons of mass destruction" and "censorship," to name a few. These terms are typically glossed over quickly by readers or produce in listeners a dull reaction, for or against, with no shades of gray, based upon previous conceptions. The word "alternative" itself has been appropriated. Marketers tout "alternative rock" which is now thoroughly mainstream, while the word "zine" appears on publications issued by companies hawking records and skateboarding gear. It is worth the effort to pay attention and ferret out this rhetoric, to question the meaning of shape-shifting terms. It is equally important to employ words more precisely ourselves, with genuine thought and care. These things articulated, just what does the phrase "alternative media" mean? Alternative to what?
Alternative means real choice is involved: options, diversity. How much choice is there between Time and Newsweek? With nearly identical weekly covers (Diana vs. Diana, Monica vs. Monica, ad nauseum), they might as well be called Tweedledum and Tweedledee. Beholden to corporate parents and advertisers, editorial content is not paramount. Their chief purpose is selling products and making money. Controversy is good to the extent that it is profitable. The same can be said about validity, coherence, and meaning. Mass media assuages even as it panders. Alternative periodicals are different, whether nonprofit or explicitly anticapitalist. They are unlikely to place a dead president's son's wife on their covers, unless in parody. Their impetus springs from passions and obsessions, the desire to champion causes and educate, the opportunity to propagandize or even antagonize.
"Public" radio and television are part of the mainstream. To call them noncommercial is a farce since the influence of underwriters like Mobil and Archer Daniels Midland is obvious. Why did NPR pull radio commentaries by Mumia Abu-Jamal at the last minute in 1994? How come PBS turned down an award-winning video citing "pro-labor bias" recently, but had no problem airing an apologetic for the nuclear industry? Truly alternative media are independent, sometimes even radical and countercultural.
It's nothing new that violence and sex (within limits) are used to sell books and newspapers. Glossy "zines" which pimp themselves similarly--Popsmear comes to mind--are eminently mainstream in this sense. Some topics are still taboo, however. Books explicitly making a connection between U.S. economic policy and civil wars worldwide will not be published by Warner any time soon. Nor will Simon & Schuster issue handbooks on cultivating marijuana, guides to safer anal sex, profiles of North American political prisoners, manuals for union organizers, or works documenting Indian sovereignty struggles. Alternative publishers issue all this and more.
The mainstream press is unidirectionally consumer-oriented, rarely participatory. How often have you seen a contact address or phone number given in an article from a daily paper? There the bow to democracy is a letters-to-the-editor column (from which a select few entries are chosen and then edited to death) and perhaps a reader's ombud. Contrarily, non-mainstream media promote not simply dialogue but a veritable do-it-yourself ethic. Many alternative magazines run letters unedited and some print all they receive.
Finally, the mass media are just that: massive. Mainstream publishers issue millions of copies of their titles, many of which are returned from bookstores, remaindered, and trashed. Increasingly, corporate conglomerates such as Time's parent Time-Warner have swallowed up formerly independent publishers. Books are only a small part of their overall empire which includes retail stores, film and television production, and professional sports teams. Once autonomous companies like Scribner, Viking, Pantheon, Prentice Hall, Dutton, and Crown are now divisions within larger entities. Former small publishers like Mysterious Press live on in name only as imprints within these divisions. The world's third largest media and entertainment conglomerate Bertelsmann, which already owns Bantam Doubleday Dell (itself an empire) has announced its purchase of Random House. (If you are keeping score, Random House includes such imprints as Knopf, Crown, Pantheon, Villard, and Ballantine.) Stop! Alternative presses are small in scale, if not downright minuscule. Just ask zine editors and pamphleteers whose print runs of hundreds of copies are all they can handle.
In his book A kind and just parent: the children of juvenile court (Beacon, 1997), William Ayers offers a good example of what alternative media counter. "Recently I spent some time with my active ninety-two-year-old father-in-law in a retirement community," Ayers writes. "One of his daily routines is watching the five o'clock news, and so we watched and commented together, day after day. There was, of course, sports (a gamble), stocks (speculation), and weather (out of control). But mostly what we saw was that the five o'clock news tells a single story over and over on what seems like a continuous feed. The story is this: you have a chance of falling victim to a random act of violence, wreckage or mayhem, or, conversely, (and this is a much smaller story), you might win the lottery. We counted up the stories: one evening a murder, a huge warehouse fire, a bank robbery with hostages; the next evening two murders, a gas explosion and a rape. And on and on. Nothing that we saw on the news was the result of human effort or agency or sustained hard work or commitment or thoughtful analysis or efficacy; everything was accident, fate, fortune. The message conveyed by all this speaks to something deep in the modern predicament: the sensation of incapacity and alienation, the awful feeling of impotence, the suspicion that a desolate, frightening landscape lies just outside, the impression that nothing you do matters or means anything or could possibly make a palpable difference." For those who haven't bought this message, alternative media offers options, avenues of hope, and opportunities for change.
Congratulations to Sandy Berman, winner of the 1997 Golden Phallus Award for "body- and sex-positive contributions to society." Presented by Factor Press and Celebrate the Self: The Magazine of Solo Sex, the award recognizes Sandy's "lifetime commitment to promoting the availability of unpopular, ignored, and even condemned literature...on all aspects of sexuality." Previous winners of the award are Ann Landers, Joycelyn Elders, and Brenda Loew.
MSRRT steerers recently elected to two-year terms: Michele McGraw (2nd term) and Karen Hogan. They join Sandy Berman, Art Stoeberl, & Jim Langmo.
Kudos to MSRRT friend Chris Atton who has been named the 1998 winner of the Jackie Eubanks Award, presented by the Alternatives in Print Task Force of the American Library Association's Social Responsibilities Round Table. The award honors outstanding advocacy in promoting alternative materials in libraries. Now a lecturer at Napier University in Edinburgh (Department of Print Media, Publishing and Communication) Atton was acclaimed for his book, Alternative literature: a practical guide for librarians (Gower, 1996), information sharing, and articles dealing with issues ranging from media politics and anarchism on the Internet, to class bias in libraries. Read the ALA press release.
AMERICAN INDIAN MOVEMENT (extensive site with many documents)
HMONG RESOURCES (with language lessons, music samples, essays, stories, current event info, photo archives, journals, links to other Hmong related sites)
LIBROS SIN FRONTERAS (distributor of Latin American books and tapes)
MAIL ART projects, calls, links
MAKING FACE, MAKING SOUL ("A Chicana Feminist Homepage")
SECULAR WEB (freethought links)
WOMEN'S ISSUES IN 3RD WORLD COUNTRIES (includes book list, organizational links, monthly synopsis of articles)
The indelible Alison Bechdel: confessions, comix, and miscellaneous Dykes to Watch Out For. By Alison Bechdel. Firebrand Books, 1998. 223p. Witness the growth of an artist. From a childhood spent drawing bearded men, boxers, and "bad guys," Alison Bechdel now has appreciative--even fanatical--readers worldwide. Her serial comic strip depicts the life of a group of lesbian friends, but is anything but parochial. Something in it strikes a chord widely, reaching women, men, children, adults, straight, and lesbigay people. This anthology collects childhood drawings, Bechdel's autobiographical and commissioned work from such sources as Gay Comics and Ms., and most of her strips from "Dykes to Watch Out For" calendars (1990-1997). Many feature the artist's interesting commentary, adding greatly to our understanding. Bechdel talks about how she has introduced change in her characters ("through small, glacially-paced transitions"), notes things she would do differently, and criticizes herself to a point just short of self-deprecation. Openly discussing concessions she's made (such as bowdlerization done for the Washington Blade; ouch!), Bechdel wears her heart on her sleeve. This book would be of tremendous value to a budding cartoonist. Also notable is a "Dykes" timeline which follows several of the characters--and Madwimmin Books--from 1987 to the present. It effectively demonstrates the historical value of Bechdel's work, from the details packed into each strip. Have we mentioned that "Dykes to Watch Out For" is hilarious? Whether mirroring true-to-life foibles, parody, or just plain silliness, it exposes truths and celebrates human ambivalence by building and affirming instead of cutting. We're not talking namby-pamby, though: check out the wild "comics jam" Bechdel created with Diane DiMasa, Jen Camper, Howard Cruse, Ivan Velez, and Ruppert Kinnard. Yow! (Let's just say it's not for young children.) Selected comments from fan mail round out the collection. Funny and heartening, they also indicate demands for "Dykes" to become even more representative and show how Bechdel occasionally accepts readers' suggestions. (141 The Commons, Ithaca, NY 14850, $16.95, paper, 1-56341-096-6).
First person, first peoples: Native American college graduates tell their life stories. Edited by Andrew Garrod and Colleen Larimore. Cornell University Press, 1997. Although Dartmouth College was established in 1769 to educate American Indians and 'others,' in two centuries the school graduated only nineteen Indians. To remedy this record, Dartmouth founded the Native American Program (NAP) in 1970 and Native American Studies (NAS) program in 1972, which flourished under its first Chair, Michael Dorris. By 1996, Dartmouth had some 300 Native American alumni and 138 current students. Yet, Dartmouth's relationship to Indians is still contradictory, as seen in its maintenance of an Indian mascot, a war-whoop yell, and its reverence of murals with derogatory images. According to one alumnus, "Dartmouth College, since its founding, has alternately used, courted, tossed aside, enticed, mocked, ignored, and, occasionally, educated Native Americans." Garrod, Associate Professor and academic advisor for entering Native American students at Dartmouth, and Larimore, former director of NAP, present this complex and challenging educational experience through the life history narratives of thirteen American Indian Dartmouth graduates. While the autobiographies are organized into three themes ("When Worlds Collide"; "Planted in the Ground"; and "Coming Full Circle"), the voices of these cultural emissaries all speak about the barriers, difficulties, and triumphs they faced with their distinction in being lucky and brave enough to attend the Ivy League school. Each student came up against value systems encouraging individual achievement instead, and sometimes at the expense of, cultural cohesion. Each encountered racism, not only from the non-Native community but also from other Native students who defined their right to belong in terms of a blood quantum standard or tribal expectations. All came to describe themselves in new ways, by the academic major of English or Anthropology, and--armed with rebellion, stubbornness, and bibliomania--they fought isolation and survived. In these personal testimonies Lori Arviso Alvord, Davina Begaye Two Bears, Arvo Quoetone Mikkanen, and others illustrate the twin benefits of learning: self growth and community return. With a wonderfully reflective preface by Louise Erdrich, this book belongs in the collections of all involved in Indian higher education and should be read by Native high school students and their career and college counselors. (512 E. State St., Ithaca, NY 14851-0250, 607-277-2338, FAX: 607-277-2374; $15.95, paper, 0-8014-8414-6). --Loriene Roy, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Library and Information Science
Censored 1997: the news that didn't make the news--the year's top 25 censored news stories. By Peter Phillips & Project Censored. In troduction by Jim Hightower. Cartoons by Tom Tomorrow. Seven Stories Press, 1997. 382p. Besides shedding light on the year's under-reported news stories, commenting on its excessive "junk food" coverage, and following up on 1995 stories ("Censored dij` vu"), the latest Project Censored report contains Mark Crispin Miller's "Free the media," an important analysis of the current state of media monopoly adapted from an article in The Nation. New essays on censorship within democratic societies and crackdowns on the news media's ability to cover prison issues augment this edition, as does the American Library Association's 1996 chronology of eroding access to government information. Selection librarians should consult the chapter reviewing new books related to intellectual freedom, while extensive appendices listing media sources (both mainstream and alternative) make this a useful reference tool. The inclusion of a detailed index cements the verdict: highly recommended. (632 Broadway, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10012, 212-995-0908, FAX: 212-995-0720, sevenstories@earthlink.net; $16.95, paper, 1-888363-41-X).
Putting out: the essential publishing resource for lesbian and gay writers. Edited by Edisol W. Dotson. 4th ed. Cleis Press, 1997. 132p. A useful guide for anyone interested in publishing, this handbook contains annotated entries for over a hundred presses, 150 magazines, and sixty newspapers and newsletters. While the emphasis is on gay and lesbian presses, listings include small, university, and corporate publishers with a record of issuing lesbian- and gay-themed materials. Web addresses are given where known, helpfully, and there are both subject and alphabetical indexes. Entries for theaters and literary agents appear almost as an afterthought, with only about a dozen of each. As lagniappe, five brief essays describe personal experiences with self-publishing and Web publishing, and offer advice on selling to magazines and how to publicize once you've been published. (P.O. Box 14684, San Francisco, CA 94114; $14.95, paper, 1-57344-033-7).
Making punk a threat again: Profane Existence: the best cuts, 1989-1993. Profane Existence, 1997. 138p. This anthology culled from the tabloid magazine of "news, reviews, and interviews...relating to the anarchist and anarcho-punk movement" is a welter of anger and rebellion. Its writings swing from those about collective building and from men concerned with the importance of women-only spaces to name-calling and the dubious politics of a "firearms primer for anarchists and punks." Partly theoretical ("Why the masses ain't asses" attacks radical elitism, for example), this is also a how-to book (with manifestos on self-motivation and self-education) and snapshot of an era (containing reactions to the Persian Gulf War and the Los Angeles uprising). On another level it is local history featuring conversations with Anti-Racist Action activists and material about the Minneapolis-based Emma Center infoshop and "White Student Union" protests at the University of Minnesota. Finally, Making punk a threat again includes commentary on zines and "the music industry's attempt to make punk a trend," not to mention some literally ass-kicking graphics. This provocative collection ought not to be ignored by libraries. (P.O. Box 8722, Minneapolis, MN 55408, $10, paper, 0-9662035-0-X).
Dirty Boulevard. By Tony Fitzpatrick. Text by Lou Reed & Mickey Cartin. Hard Press, 1998. unpaged. Unpleasant and compelling, Tony Fitzpatrick's drawings crawl with insectoid drug dealers, junkies, prostitutes, and their children. A hooded figure looms throughout, while skulls lurk, buildings grow faces, and human torsos sprout clock faces and animal heads. All are blank-eyed, desperate; the claustrophobic and nightmarish city they inhabit threatens at every corner. Composed with graphite on lined paper, these dark drawings appear to be the work of a troubled prisoner. What sallow tones appear are sickly yellow, grimy teal, and--less often--alarming red, mirroring dysfunctional traffic signals alight at once. Recommended for art libraries, and wherever there is an interest in tattoos, outsider art, and drug culture, Dirty Boulevard is far more disturbing than Dangerous drawings (Juno Books, 1997). The frontispiece and endplate four-color etchings seethe with energy and a spot of hope. (Box 184, West Stockbridge, MA 01266, 413-232-4690, FAX: 413-232-4675; $19.95, 0-9638433-6-2; http://www.hardpress.com).
Adolf Wvlfli: draftsman, writer, poet, composer. Edited by Elka Spoerri. Cornell University Press, 1997. 252p. This volume offers in-depth analysis of Adolf Wvlfli's works (which included drawing, writing and musical compositions) as well as an historical overview of how the art and medical worlds have received the artwork of mentally ill persons. Incarcerated in the Waldau mental asylum for 35 years, from the time he was 31, Wvlfli (1864-1930) was lucky enough to come under the attentive care of psychiatrist Walter Morgenthaler, who encouraged Wvlfli's art. Morgenthaler wrote a book about Wvlfli that recognized him as an artist (an unheard of thing in the 1920's) and helped him to gather, sell and exhibit his work. Wvlfli's art influenced artist Jean Dubuffet, who recognized it as "art brut", and surrealist Andre Breton, as well as poet Rainier Marie Rilke, who noticed similarities between artists' impulse to create order and the compusive ordering of the insane. Viewing Wvlfli's elaborate drawings, his minutely detailed musical compositions and his gigantic lists of numbers, one can't help but see his struggles with madness through his intense desire to organize. No sane person could try this hard. Spoerri's detailed comments and interpretation of repetitive motives in Wvlfli's work may be appreciated by scholars of outsider art or those interested in the relationship of art to psychiatry. These attempts to dissect and interpret Wvlfli's creations are never as moving, however, as simply viewing the artwork. The excellent reproductions in this volume thankfully allow readers to do that. Daniel Bowmann adds an insightful essay about how the reception of Wvlfli's work changed from 1921 through the 1990's. John Maizels' recently published Raw creation: outsider art and beyond (Phaidon Press, 1996) is probably a better choice for libraries which own little to begin with on the topic. (It covers Wvlfli, plus many other artists, and is written in a less scholarly voice). Still, Spoerri's volume is an important addition to art library collections where outsider art is in demand and where its influence on the modern art world is studied. (512 E. State St., Ithaca, NY 14851-0250, 607-277-2338, ext. 256, FAX: 607-277-2374; $39.95, cloth, 0-8014-3403-3). --Cathy Camper
Perspectives on Anarchist Theory is a handy newsletter put out by the nonprofit Institute for Anarchist Studies. The 12-page Spring 1998 issue (v.2 #1) includes an interview with author Janet Biehl ("Radical cities and social revolution"), brief profiles of the Institute for Social Ecology and the Biblioteca Popular 'José Ingenieros' in Buenos Aires, a "recommended reading" column, and news notes about anarchist bookstores, collections, events, videos, and the like. There's also an obit for anarchist editor and journalist Abe Bluestein and info about IAS grants awarded. (P.O. Box 7050, Albany, NY 12225, 518-465-3062, ias@empireone.net; $5; $10 institutional).
The Volunteer, quarterly journal of the nonprofit Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (VALB), makes history come alive. Illustrated with black-and-white photos, the 24-page Fall 1997 issue (v.19 #3) contains articles about the Spanish Civil War poster exhibition "Shouts from the Wall," an abridged memoir by Robert Colodny, and the text of an address about international brigades in the Spanish Civil War, as well as related book reviews and obituaries. Also: an insightful article about Basque nationalism and terrorism. (799 Broadway, Room 227, New York, NY 10003, 212-674-5552; ).
Sidney Suppey's Quarterly & Confused Pet Monthly, a zine begun by Candi Strecker in 1979, appears neither four nor twelve times annually despite the title. Covering cultural oddity and bibliographic wonderment, it's the project of a freelance writer with an MLS, published something like 8 times in the past thirteen years. The 24-page twenty-fourth issue (v.6 #2), dated November 22, 1997, contains an amusing report of Candi's summer vacation visit back to Ohio, going into detail about midwestern cuisine, yard decoration ("The theory and practice of lawn goose dressing") and shopping at Quality Farm & Fleet. There's also a list of "aunt names" (women's names from the 1920s and 30s), found poetry from America Online passwords, quotations (e.g., "Most Raymond Chandleresque sentence in the works of Beatrix Potter"), and--as with previous editions we've seen--a handful of zine reviews. (Box 515, Brisbane, CA 94005, strecker@sirius.com; $2).
Metro Briefs, published by Metronet, is a newsletter guiding readers to "what's new on the Twin Cities library/information scene." Each edition is loaded with relevant and timely news briefs, event listings, and web site descriptions. The 8-page February/March 1998 issue (v.8 #5) contains items about literacy programs, a Victorian poetry slam, Internet classes, a children's literature conference, Black History Month events, the Kerlan Awards, National Library Legislation Day, and the Minnesota Center for the Book Arts. (2324 University Ave. W., Suite 116, St. Paul, MN 55114, 612-646-0475, FAX: 612-646-0657).
Intellectual Freedom Action News is published monthly by the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom. The 12-page June 1997 issue contains an update of ALA's case against cybercensorship in New York (ALA v. Pataki), a call to oppose an FCC-created television ratings system, and criticism of privatization ("the brave new world of government-for-profit"), as well as information about related programs scheduled for the ALA annual conference. (50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611, 312-280-4223; $25; 0734-3086).
Busted! is the newsletter of the nonprofit Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. The January 1997 issue contains updates on the Mike Diana/Boiled Angel case and the Oklahoma City obscenity case against Planet Comics (a comic book store closed in 1996) and "A short history of censorship in comics and the CBLDF," as well as a report on CBLDF presence at comics conventions and a list of "legislation pending to restrict your freedom of speech." (P.O. Box 693, Northampton, MA 01061, 1-800-992-2533, FAX: 413-582-9064, cbldf@codexx.com).
Book Happy is a zine by and for people fascinated with used bookstores and old books, especially in the category which might be labeled "biblioddities." The 28-page first issue (Spring/Summer 1997)--with contributions by zine editors Chip Rowe, Al Hoff, Dan Kelly, and John Marr--consists mostly of reviews of (and reproductions from) 70s "Satanic panic" books, vintage child-rearing tomes, survival literature (e.g., Hey, I'm alive), fringe religious tracts, pulp fiction, and bathroom design histories. Also: editor Donna Kossy's "Confessions of a cheap book fiend." (P.O. Box 86663, Portland, OR 97286, dkossy@teleport.com; $3).
Progressive News is published by Progressive Minnesota, a "grassroots-based democratically-run" affiliate of the New Party. The 4-page Summer 1997 issue covers petition campaigns to put two charter amendments on the ballot in Minneapolis, one which would give voters a voice in pro sports financing proposals, another aimed at making city police accountable to local civil rights laws. Also: endorsements and a twelve-point agenda from Progressive Minnesota's second annual convention, held in June. (757 Raymond Ave., #215, St. Paul, MN 55114, 612-641-6199, FAX: 612-642-0060, progmn2@newparty.org).
Mosaic, a new magazine devoted to covering Black literature, is intended for quarterly publication. The 20-page February 1998 premiere issue contains excerpts from Men we cherish: African American women praise the men in their lives and David Haynes' All American dream dolls, an interview with novelist Eric Jerome Dickey, and bestseller lists from four Afrocentric bookstores, as well as an article offering marketing advice to authors. (314 W. 231st St., Suite 470, Bronx, NY 10463, http://www.mosaicbooks.com).
Dateline AAJA is published quarterly by the nonprofit Asian American Journalists Association. The 12-page Summer 1997 issue contains material on the National Review 's refusal to apologize for its cover depicting Bill Clinton with "slit eyes, buck teeth...pigtail and coolie hat," an article about AAJA member Mona Lee Locke whose husband is the first Chinese-American governor in the U.S., and chapter notes, as well as a separately-paged annual report. (1765 Sutter St., Suite 1000, San Francisco, CA 94115, 415-346-2051, FAX: 415-346-6343).
NAJA News is a publication of the Native American Journalists Association. The 16-page February/March 1988 issue (v.14 #1) includes articles about the Native American Writers Archival Project and the talk radio program "Native America Calling," information about the forthcoming NAJA conference (June 14-19 in Tempe), and listings of internships and fellowship opportunities. (1433 E. Franklin Ave., Suite 11, Minneapolis, MN 55404-2101).
Guild Notes is published quarterly by the National Lawyers Guild Foundation. The 32-page Summer 1997 edition (v.21 #2) contains information about the Prison Litigation Reform Act (ostensibly aimed at cutting down on "frivolous" lawsuits), an update on the work of the National Coalition to Protect Political Freedom (formed in response to 1996 "anti-terrorism" legislation, and material on the Strawberry Workers Campaign, as well as commentary by Manning Marable ("The working poor: targeted for destruction"), event information, and a directory of NLG committees, projects and task forces. (126 University Pl., 5th Floor, New York, NY 10003; $20, $50 institutional).
Civil Rights Journal is a publication of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. The text-dominated 68-page Fall 1997 edition (v.2 #1) commemorates the Commission's 40th anniversary with a symposium featuring statements by 28 leaders of civil rights organizations addressing contemporary concerns, followed by 30 short essays on related issues, by such writers and scholars as Joseph Bruchac, Harry Edwards, Nikki Giovanni, Nicolás Kanellos, Bharati Mukherjee, and Howard Zinn. Also: a look back by journalist Wayne Greenhaw ("Turning point: Selma") and relevant book reviews. (624 Ninth Street NW, Washington, DC 20425, 202-376-8128; free).
The Wall is the newsletter of the Celebration of Life Art Program, "nurturing the foundation of an African American Visual Artists Guild and Registry." The four-page issue seen (v.2 #1) includes material about Juneteenth festival activities in Minneapolis, a profile of the Barbados-born Gwendolyn Knight, and info about free guided tours of an exhibit of artwork by Knight and Jacob Lawrence. (521 S. 7th St., Minneapolis, MN 55415, 612-371-0287, FAX: 612-371-0288).
Anathoth Community Farm News reports on the lives of people who ten years ago established a "rural resistance community" devoted to "sustainable living & radical nonviolence." The 8-page Autumn 1997 edition includes a look back by Barb Kass, as well as a report by Barb Katt and John LaForge on their summer activities (which included several arrests at peace actions), an account by Mike Miles about a trip to Iraq ("Playing God in Baghdad"), and an update on Stop Project ELF. (740 Round Lake Rd., Luck, WI 54853, 715-472-8721, anathoth@win.bright.net).
Cantilevers ("Building bridges for peace") is an international peace and conflict resolution magazine promoting "newer voices," with many contributors "between the ages of 20-35 years." The 40-page issue #4 ("Second Half, 1997") focuses on community development in Southern Africa and contains articles about such topics as land mines, the politics of funding, land tenure reform, women's activism, and preventing "water-related conflict," as well as contact data for grassroots organizations. Also: an interview with William Nhara about the Organisation for African Unity's work toward conflict prevention. Previous issues have focused on the Middle East (#1), Southern Asia (#2) and reconciliation in South Africa. (c/o Erin McCandless, 1660 Hobart St. NW, Washington, DC 20009, 202-986-6463, emccandl@osf1.gmu.edu; $25; http://www.webpro.co.za/clients/i pt).
Groundswell, a monthly newsletter promulgating "anti-authoritarian views," unfortunately contains more frothy rhetoric than substance. The 12-page July 1997 issue (v.3 #2) does features an interview with Tom Wheeler about his blowing the whistle on Contributions Watch (a political donations "watchdog group" funded by Philip Morris) and the August/ September edition includes an article about police brutality in New York City (focusing on the recent Abner Louima case), but both also are laden with bad poetry, dreadfully obtuse prose ("The epistemology of eschatology: a scatological epistle"), and one letter too many from Bob Black. (P.O. Box 174, Prospect Park, PA 19076-1307; $12).
Health Letter is published monthly by the nonprofit Public Citizen Health Research Group, founded in 1971 by Ralph Nader and Sidney Wolfe. The 12-page February 1998 issue (v.14 #2) features an alarming article about the risks of using powdered latex gloves, a hypothetical interview between a job-seeking Hippocrates and the personnel director of a newly established health maintenance organization, and commentary on direct-to-consumer drug advertising ("Direct-to-consumer hucksterism"), as well as a list of product recalls. Also: "grim details" culled from recently published articles about health care and medical insurance. (1600 20th St. NW, Washington, DC 20009, $18; ISSN: 0882-598X).
Thought Bombs is a substantial zine put together by a broad-thinking forty-something union activist tollbooth worker. Careful reading will provide details on everything from Chicago area radical resources to contact data for people with multiple chemical sensitivity. The 64-page issue #5 includes the text of a talk by Ron Daniels ("Confronting racism"), material about IWW hero Slim Brundage, and an account of a lobbying trip to the Illinois state capitol, as well as a long interview with punk zine editor Bob Conrad (Second Guess). Also: "An abolitionist response to slavery and racism" and a letters section in which we find out the editor is married to a librarian. (Anthony Rayson, 27009 S. Egyptian Trail, Monee, IL 60449; $2).
Electric Skizoo is a British zine published by Left Hand Productions. The issue seen (#2) contains a report on resistance against Britain's Criminal Justice Act ("Criminal injustice"), an article about "those wacky American survivalists" ("Apocalypse!!!"), a piece about an anarchist computer bulletin board network, and an interview with one of the organizers of Anticopyright ("flyposter distribution network"), as well as a short history of mail art, zine reviews, and Mick Gill's "A few points to consider whilst living." (c/o AK Press, Box 12766, Edinburgh, Scotland).
Crawfish, a self-described "cranky" zine, contains some mildly amusing items. In the Fall 1997 issue (#9) editor Stephanie Webb pans Utne Reader for selecting Madison, Wisconsin, as "fifth most enlightened town in America" (she left Madison recently for San Francisco), relates boneheaded comments overheard at a major league baseball game, adds droll captions to clip art graphics, and reprints brainless comment card entries made by hikers at the Bridger Wilderness Area. (942 Valencia St., #123, San Francisco, CA 94110, slwebb@excepc.com; $5/4).
Kluttered Visions ("Fringe and cult visual pop culture") is a mini review zine focusing mostly on indie and self-published comics. The 28-page Fall 1997 issue (#8) includes an interview with comics publisher Edd Vick (Aeon publishes Donna Barr's work), a half dozen video reviews, and annotations of about twenty zines, magazines, and pamphlets. Fully half of this edition is taken up by brief comics reviews, each nicely accompanied by a small representative graphic reproduction. A must for serious comics fans. (P.O. Box 71, Mesa, AZ, 85211-0071; $6/4).
HeartattaCk ("Hardcore for the hardcore") is a quarterly punk rock magazine for which readers may need a magnifying glass (columns seem to be done using 9-point type, while reviews appear to be microscopic 8-point). The 64-page November 1997 issue (#16) contains several perspectives on rape (and specifically date rape), written in response to events that took place at the More Than Music Festival in Columbus, Ohio. Also: eight pages of zine reviews, fifteen pages of record reviews, and letters from readers. Forty percent advertising. (P.O. Box 848, Goleta, CA 93116, 805-964-6111, FAX: 805-964-2310; $1/issue).
Funny Times ("Humor, politics & fun") is a monthly tabloid reprinting cartoons and comic strips from the low-profile Marian Henley ("Maxine") and Keith Knight ("K's Chronicles"), as well as Alison Bechdel, Peter Kuper, Andrew Singer, Nina Paley, Clay Butler, and Nicole Hollander, among others. Now in its 13th year, it features acerbic political satire (Ted Rall, Matt Wuerker, Tom Tomorrow, and Tom Toles) as well as sheer silliness (John Callahan, Charlie Rodrigues, and Dan Piraro). Each issue also contains columns and essays by such humorists as Dave Barry, Lynda Barry, Daniel Pinkwater, and Dr. Science. (P.O. Box 18530, Cleveland Heights, OH 44118, FAX: 216-371-8696; $21; ft@funnytimes.com; http://www.funnytimes.com; ISSN: 1045-0491).
Rubbereality ("Truth stretched by rubber stamps") is a new magazine of rubber stamp art intended for quarterly publication, apparently inspired by Roz Stendahl's defunct Stretch Marks(MSRRT Newsletter, Oct 94). Printed entirely with red ink, each issue includes artist contact data and excerpts from letters, and comes with a free rubber die attached. The self-referential August 1997 premier issue (focusing on art and artists) includes works by such "non-cute" rubber stamp aficionados as Rick Banning, Fast Eyes, Gorey Laurie, and Crazy Camel, while the November edition--an often warped look at the winter holidays--contains pieces by Leavenworth Jackson, eraser carver extraordinaire Julie Hagan Bloch, and A-1 Waste Paper. (Jane Reichhold, AHA Books, Box 1250, Gualala, CA 95445, ahabooks@mcn.org; $12).
Masquerade ("An erotic journal") is an explicit graphics-filled bimonthly magazine devoted to sexual fetish, sadomasochism, bondage, spanking, and related topics. It is also an unparalleled bibliographic reference source for such material--one recent edition included a complete list of publications from the Paris-based Olympia Press between 1953 and 1965, for example. Bound to disturb many, a typical 32- or 40-page issue contains erotic black-and-white photography, short fiction, interviews and intelligently composed reviews of books, zines, and films. The January/February 1998 edition (v.7 #1) contains a conversation with Screw editor Al Goldstein, sex-related news briefs by author (and regular contributor) Pat Califia, and advice columns. Essential for academic sexuality collections. (801 Second Ave., New York, NY 10017, FAX: 212-986-7355, MasqBks@aol.com; $30).
Agrarian Advocate (MSRRT Newsletter, Oct 94), Farmer to Farmer (Feb 95), and the Community Alliance with Family Farmers have new contact data: Box 363, Davis, CA 95617, 530-756-8518, FAX: 530-756-7857.
Bayou La Rose (MSRRT Newsletter, Sep 88) has new contact data: P.O. Box 5464, Tacoma, WA 98415, 206-383-9108.
Border/Lines, the Toronto-based arts and culture magazine (MSRRT Newsletter, Aug 90) has a new address: P.O. Box 459, Station P, Toronto, ON Canada, M5S 5Z9.
Dwan (MSRRT Newsletter, Aug 95) has a new address: Donny Smith, Box 411, Swarthmore, PA 19081, dsmith3@swarthmore.edu
Earth First! (MSRRT Newsletter, Jun 90, May 92) has new contact data: P.O. Box 1415, Eugene, OR 97440, 541-741-9191, FAX: 541-741-9192, earthfirst@igc.apc.org, http://www.envirolink.org/orgs/ef
Zine World (MSRRT Newsletter, Jan/Feb 97) has a new address: 537 Jones St., #2386, San Francisco, CA 94102.
New Day Films recent titles include "Battle for the Minds" (documentary about keeping women down in the Baptist Church) and "Dirty Secrets: Jennifer, Everardo & the CIA in Guatemala." (22-D Hollywood Ave., Hohokus, NJ 07423, phone: 888-367-9154, FAX: 201-652-1973, tmcndy@aol.com, http://www.newday.com).
Alternative Radio offers tapes of David Barsamian's hour-long weekly public affairs program featuring interviews with (and lectures by) Winona LaDuke, Noam Chomsky, Barbara Ehrenreich, and others. (P.O. Box 551, Boulder, CO 80306, 1-800-444-1977).
New from Apex Press: Washington's new poor law: welfare reform & the jobs illusion and Nurtured by knowledge: learning to do participatory action-research. (777 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017, 1-800-316-2739).
African Books Collective new titles include Making a difference: feminist publishing in the South and Nigerians as outsiders: military dictatorship and Nigeria's destiny. (c/o The Jam Factory, 27 Park End St., Oxford, OX1 1HU, UK, abc@dial.pipex.com).
American Association of University Women new and recent titles (1998) include Gender and race on the campus and in the school: Beyond Affirmative Action Symposium proceedings and Girls can! Community coalitions resource manual. (1111 16th St. NW, Washington, DC 20036, 1-800-225-9998, ext. 424; http://www.aauw.org).
La Caille Nous Publishing, begun in 1995, specializes in literary works by new writers "on topics that are relevant to African people." Four titles are in print so far, including Guichard Cadet's Lonewolf's cry, with Haitian literature forthcoming. (Box 1004, Riverdale, MD 20738; http://www.lcnpub.com).
Northeastern University Press new titles include Women's voices, women's lives: documents in early American history, Nation and race: the developing Euro-American racist subculture, and Combating corporate crime: local prosecutors at work. (360 Huntington Ave., 416 CP, Boston, MA 02115).
New and recent titles from Feral House include Stuart Goldman's Snitch: confessions of a tabloid spy and Barry Chamish's Who killed Itzhak Rabin? (2532 Lincoln Blvd., #359, Venice, CA 90291; http://www.feralhouse.com).
NBM Publishing Company specializes in graphic novels. Recent titles include Vittorio Giardino's A Jew in communist Prague and Rick Geary's The Borden tragedy. (185 Madison Ave., Suite 1504, New York, NY 10016, FAX: 212-545-1227).
New titles from Shambhala (Autumn 1997) include Bill Alexander's Cool water (a "nonreligious approach to addictions recovery") and Healing emotions: conversations with the Dalai Lama on mindfulness, emotions, and health. (Horticultural Hall, 300 Massachusetts Ave., Boston, MA 02115-4544, http://www.shambhala.com).
Rego Irish Records & Tapes distributes CDs and cassettes by the likes of the Wolfe Tones, as well as videos and language learning materials. (64 New Hyde Park Rd., Garden City, NY 11530, 1-800-854-3746, kellsmus@pipeline.com, http://www.regorecords.com).
TUC Radio distributes Michael Parenti's series of tapes on such topics as democracy, militarism, media bias, and corporate welfare. (Box 410009, San Francisco, CA 94141, 415-861-6962, FAX: 415-861-4583, tucradio@igc.apc.org).
Mind Books distributes titles on "mind-expanding plants and compounds," with titles whose emphases range from public policy and law to pharmocology and neuroscience. (321 Main St. #543, Sebastapol, CA 95472, http://www.promind.com).
Venom Press, publishers of the litmag Curare, has issued such books as David Huberman's sickest stories ever, Thaddeus Rutkowski's Sex-fiend monologues, and Huggy-Bear Ferris' Sad songs in empty theaters. (20 Clinton St., 1G, New York, NY 10002).
20 years of censored news. By Carl Jensen and Project Censored. Introduction by Michael Parenti. Cartoons by Tom Tomorrow. Seven Stories Press, 1997. 352p. Synopses and updates on 200 under-reported news stories, 1976-1995, with detailed index. (632 Broadway, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10012, 212-995-0908, FAX: 212-995-0720, sevenstories@earthlink.net; $24.95, cloth, 1-888363-51-7).
Dragon ladies: Asian American feminists breathe fire. Edited by Sonia Shah. Preface by Yuri Kochiyama. Foreword by Karin Aguilar-San Juan. South End Press, 1997. 241p. (116 Saint Botolph St., Boston, MA 02115; $17, paper, 0-89608-575-9).
The Spanish anarchists: the heroic years, 1868-1936. By Murray Bookchin. New ed. AK Press, 1998. 316p. (P.O. Box 40682, San Francisco, CA 94140; $25, cloth, 1-873176-01-5).
1936: the Spanish revolution (1 book, two 3-inch compact discs). AK Press, 1997. Music by the Ex, bilingual (Spanish/English) text, and black-and-white photos from the CNT photo-archives at the International Institute for Social History in Amsterdam ("pictures made by the [Spanish anarchist trade unions] themselves"). Originally released in 1986 as a book with two 7" singles. (P.O. Box 40682, San Francisco, CA 94140, 415-864-0892, FAX: 415-864-0893, akpress@org.org, http://www.akpress.org; $25, cloth, 1-873176-01-5).
I have arrived before my words: autobiographical writings of homeless women. By Deborah Pugh and Jeanie Tietjen. Charles River Press, 1997. 208p. Containing two parts analysis by the editors, one part actual narrative by five women "who are or have been homeless," this book would have been better with that ratio reversed. (427 Old Town Ct., Alexandria, VA 22314-3544, 703-519-9197, FAX: 703-519-9163, $14, paper, 0-9647124-2-3).