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 and Jan DeSirey.
Another Banned Books Week has come and gone. Pardon us for not cheering. Librarians congratulate themselves for defending one more challenge to a Judy Blume book, yet at the same time they practice self-censorship almost daily. Librarians as censors? You bet. Though it's usually called selection, public librarians in the U.S. have a history of keeping certain materials from libraries. Once it was dime novels and other "immoral" books. (For more, read "Guardians of the public morals: professional identity and the American Library Association" in Alison Parker's Purifying America.) Later it was Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, and other series books. In the 60s, comics and popular music recordings were not to be found, while visual erotica is still all but forbidden (books from Taschen, for example). The image of librarians as "gatekeepers," while accurate, is discouraging. Too often librarians seek so strenuously to control and limit information it seems as though they're afraid of something. Is it fear of freedom, the unknown, losing control, sexuality? Fear of defending library collections from community members disturbed by some of it? Two years ago the MSRRT News editors visited an Atlanta Public Library branch which promised Web access. This "access" amounted to a canned list of about twenty links provided by the library's catalog vendor; the command to go to the web site of the searcher's choice had been disabled. In essence, this opened the door a crack, allowing "access" but making it incredibly arduous. Recently an ad appeared for MARCit, a "tool for cataloging the Internet" which includes provision for catalogers to rate web pages (on a scale of 1 to 5). Are catalogers now going to start rating books as well? Increasingly a sort of hysteria exists which harps on children's "safety" and the Internet, and on "children viewing inappropriate things on computers." In the 50's Fredric Wertham's anti-comics tome Seduction of the innocent frightened parents and led to Senate hearings and increased control over what was published. Today the Web is the new comic book, and librarians keep behaving as though freedom is a dirty word.
Beyond the Valley of the Mega-Publishers
Why are independent media crucial to diverse library collections? What are some alternatives to heavily hyped bestsellers, and where can you find out more about them? How did one library go about adding zines and small press materials to their collection? These and related questions were addressed at MSRRT's "Beyond the Valley of the Mega-Publishers: Collecting Alternatives," a program held at the annual MLA conference in Rochester on October 8. Its message: collection building can be fun--and tasty!--for those willing to get out from behind their desks. Alternative Library Literature co-editor Jim Danky, zine advocate Cathy Camper, and newsletter editor Chris Dodge urged librarians to forsake their Publishers Weekly and Library Journal reviews for a few hours and go treasure hunting in their own communities. Danky displayed about twenty local publications he'd picked up in Rochester on a two block walk between parking ramp and convention center. While some were available in the library's foyer, he chided librarians for not taking these sorts of community publications seriously and making back issues available. In Minneapolis, the 2600 block of Nicollet Avenue alone is a source of Latin American music (Mena's), punk music and zines (Extreme Noise), and Middle Eastern tapes (Sindbad's). Camper reported on how Minneapolis Public Library staff has shopped at Dreamhaven Books, a store specializing in science fiction, mysteries, comics, and zines. While they might otherwise be a problem to catalog, MPL treats zines as one-shots and puts them out in a marked bin. (On at least one occasion, a zine editor has added his or her own publication!) Finally, Minnesota library collections have gaps in their holdings of books (see sidebar). Only one library in the state appears to own the Tijuana bibles: art and wit in America's forbidden funnies, 1930s-1950s (Simon & Schuster, 1997). No OCLC library has Not for rent: conversations with creative activists in the U.K. (2nd ed., Evil Twin Publications, 1996) or The zine yearbook (J. Angel, 1997; Become the Media, 1998). Erotica publisher Masquerade (Uncensored fantasies, The romance of lust, et al) has nearly 800 titles in print, but less than 200 in the WorldCat, most of those held by a small number of libraries. (It ought to be noted that Masquerade publishes such established authors as Pat Califia, John Preston, Anais Nin, and Lars Eighner.) Finally, just two OCLC libraries in the world are listed as owning the revised and expanded second edition of Practical LSD manufacture (Loompanics, 1997): the Drug Enforcement Administration Library and the Library of Congress. Are librarians timid about selecting controversial books on sex, drugs, and politics?
MSRRT sponsored a second session at MLA, a talk by Rocky Ralebipi on the topic of "Rural Library and Information services in South Africa." We'll report details next issue. Formerly Director of Library and Audiovisual Services at the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, Ralebipi is now chair of the Department of Information Studies at the University of the North in Pietersburg, South Africa.
Based on OCLC's extensive (if not inclusive) WorldCat database, no Minnesota libraries at all hold these titles:
Librarians, according to stereotype, are stodgy shushing women with their hair in a bun. While this image is decried within the profession, many librarians direct their own prejudices toward catalogers. This class of person, the popular wisdom goes, has marginal social skills and obsesses neurotically upon matters of "bibliographic petit point." Unfortunately, there is an element of truth in this generalization. The professed concern is largely for cataloging correctlyrather than usefully, and for following proscribed rules (or interpreting them "accurately") rather than considering catalog searchers. Two principles by which subject catalogers steer are specificity and standard terminology. At times, however, these principles are applied dysfunctionally. As a case in point, look at the Library of Congress record for George B. Schaller's Wildlife of the Tibetan steppe. If you'd expect a user to be able to find this work by searching for WILDLIFE--TIBET, you are sadly mistaken. LC's subject headings assigned are: UNGULATA--CHINA--CHANG TANG PLATEAU and MAMMALS--CHINA--CHANG TANG PLATEAU. More insidious access problems exist at a higher level. Dozens of books and government documents have appeared in recent years on the topics of GATT, NAFTA, MAI, and other treaties and international agreements. Systematically these have not been assigned specific access points by name of treaty. One veteran cataloger at LC reports that about twenty years ago treaties were moved from the subject file to the names file "on the grounds that they were in fact uniform titles of named documents." From that point, descriptive catalogers were supposed to establish names of treaties which would then be used as subject headings by the subject catalogers. The latter were supposed to return books to the descriptive catalogers when this hadn't been done, and remind them to do it. "Unfortunately nobody is appointed to remind the subject catalogers to remind the descriptive catalogers," another LC cataloger notes. "It has probably been overlooked more times than it has been done...[and] has become a rather large can of worms." The Head of LC's Cataloging Policy and Support Office has not responded to queries about this issue.
BODY POLITIC (sexual politics, queer and otherwise)
CULTURE JAMMING (graphics, tracts, and manifestos)
FREEDOM ("Anarchist fortnightly")
LAST GASP ("Mind candy for the masses")
NATIONAL CENTER FOR LESBIAN RIGHTS
NOISE POLLUTION CLEARINGHOUSE (including airport noise issues)
PROTEST.NET ("Protests, meetings and conferences")
RESIST, INC. (grants to activist groups)
VEGETARIAN RESOURCE GROUP (vegan cookbooks, etc.)
Soccer in sun and shadow. By Eduardo Galeano. Translated by Mark Fried. Verso, 1998. 228p. This is the real thing: writing with passion and intelligence, unlike the pabulum that usually passes as sports journalism in the US. In homage to the "great pagan mass" that is international soccer, Uruguayan author Galeano presents historical anecdotes that read as delicious prose poetry. Its focus is World Cup play and Latin American futbol, with side journeys into the lives of ghetto kids who grew up to be Maradona and Romario, as well asa look at soccer politics and corruption. There are tales of superstitions and memories of fantastic plays, soccer equivalents of the time Dr. J hung in the air forever and the day Babe Ruth called his shot. In fact, some are so wonderful they demand reading aloud. One player relives a game-winning kick from the aisles of a supermarket built directly on the site of a razed stadium. ("Sanfilippo points to a stack of mayonnaise jars and screams: 'He put it right here!'") Galeano also describes famous firsts (e.g., first corner kick to score on the fly) and comical episodes, one about a penalty kicker who dropped his shorts before scoring. He skewers professional soccer's owners and governors, and doesn't shy away from the sport's tragedies. A Kiev team playing Germany during WWII was instructed not to win, but its players were unable to "resist the temptation of dignity." Result: mass execution. A celebration of soccer's lights and "denunciation of its shadows," this is a timeless work about love and spectacle, beauty and torment. Excerpts from the book are posted at the Verso web site (via the Spring 1998 catalog), but for full tactile and visual appreciation it must be held and gently riffled. Then the tiny illustrations on the top corners of its pages come alive. (180 Varick St., New York, NY 10014-4606, 212-807-9680, FAX: 212-807-9152; $22, cloth, 1-85984-848-6; http://www.versobooks.com).
Don't explain. By Jewelle Gomez. Firebrand Books, 1998. 168p. Always competent, Jewelle Gomez's writings are magical at their best. These eight short stories and a novella are no exception. "Steps" powerfully describes an encounter between a woman and the stepfather who abused her when she was a child. The title story uses Billie Holiday and food as themes in a waitress's discovery of lesbian community. Another continues the ongoing saga of the benevolent lesbian vampire Gilda (for more, see the Lambda Award-winning The Gilda stories), while several describe erotic lesbian fantasies, one involving a Caribbean hotel housekeeper, another a fervent grad student. At the heart of the collection is a 64-page novella set in the late 21st century, about a trio of friends living in a repressive society: a gay tattoo artist and two lesbian lovers. Unfortunately, a Library of Congress cataloger assigned just two subject headings to Don't explain (AFRO-AMERICAN WOMEN--FICTION and the absurdly broad UNITED STATES--SOCIAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS--FICTION), failing to address the book's lesbian focus. Explain that. (141 The Commons, Ithaca, NY 14850, 607-272-000; $10.95, paper, 1-56341-094-X; http://www.firebrandbooks.com ).
The activist's daughter. By Ellyn Bache. Spinster's Ink, 1997. 256p. Aimed at young adults, this historical romance set in 1963 tackles issues ranging from racism to unplanned pregnancy, sex to religion, sexism to physical disability. Happily, the presentation of so many controversial topics within less than 300 pages seems neither heavy handed nor contrived. Further, the characters are multidimensional and believable. The protagonist is a young woman who tries to agitate her civil rights activist mother by escaping her hometown of Washington, D.C., to attend college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Fortunately the mother is not portrayed as a saint, but as an imperfect parent with problems of her own. It is also satisfying that the daughter does not quickly and miraculously transform from a brat embarrassed by her mother and all forms of activism into a butt-kicking radical. Instead, she goes through quite credible changes which occur slowly during her first semester of college. Even though the plot is fairly predictable, the ending is not sugar sweet and "happily ever after." The characters grow and change, but they still have difficulties when the book ends. Keep this novel in mind for teenagers who like historical fiction. This romance is about more than just finding Mr. Right. (32 E. First St., #330, Duluth, MN 55802-2002, 218-727-3222; $10.95, paper, 1-883523-18-4; http://www.lesbian.org/spinsters-ink ). --Chantel C. Guidry
The Hip Mama survival guide. By Ariel Gore. Hyperion, 1998. 271p. While this may not be the only pregnancy, birth, and child-rearing handbook you need, The Hip Mama survival guide belongs in libraries to serve radical and activist mothers, poor people, and parents disgusted by "family values" rhetoric. The author covers a plethora of topics, including circumcision, breast feeding, immunization, weaning, poverty, support networks, co-parenting, depression, and family breakup. At the end of each chapter is an interview with a rebel mom (or dad), a parent who is raising her kid(s) using non-traditional methods. There are plenty of quotes from moms explaining how they deal with parenting without a partner, while on welfare, with green hair and facial piercings, or while depressed. Sidebars give cool information like "What Poor People Know," "Daily Affirmations for Crazed Moms," "Scary Facts About Family Law," "What Your Fetus Is Up To," and "Music to Divorce By." The book is written in down-to-earth language and is arranged so a frazzled mom can skip from one topic to another with no need to read from cover to cover. It includes an index, an extensive bibliography, and information about subscribing to Hip Mama: the Parenting Zine! It's full of cartoons and funny illustrations, quizzes, and a hilarious "Family Values Flow Chart." Even people without kids should read this book so they can understand what moms and kids are up against and give support where it is desperately needed. (114 Fifth Ave. New York, NY 10011; $12.95, paper, 0-7868-8232-8). --Chantel C. Guidry
The zine yearbook, volume two. Edited by Jen Angel. Become the Media, 1998. 126p. A project of the do-it-ourselves movement, this fresh (and sometimes raw) anthology collects "excerpts from zines published in 1997." Its scope: material from publications which circulate less than 5000 copies of each issue. About a fourth are reproduced as is, while the others have been reformatted (with concomitant typos). The writings range widely from articulate to obtuse, on topics from manifold cooking and screen printing, to punk politics. There's child-rearing advice, criticism of Toys R Us, commentary on marriage and veganism, a shortsighted defense of chain bookstores, interviews with musicians, and an amazing account of self-circumcision. Included are excerpts from Science Geek, Cooties, North Coast Xpress, Lumpen, Fucktooth, Monozine, Crawfish, and Doris. A labor of love, it also contains a list of zine review guides, distributors, and archives. (P.O. Box 590514, San Francisco, CA 94159-0514; $6, paper, 0-9664829-0-5).
A gift of the emperor. By Therese Park. Spinsters Ink. 238p. Throughout history, the stories of men have been heard most immediately, while women's are often darkly hidden. Park's revelatory novel, A gift of the emperor, is an outcry from the ghostly silence surrounding the struggles of 200,000 Asian "comfort women" during World War II. This unflinching narrative is told by a young Korean woman forced to leave her home for Palau. The beauty of the Pacific island cannot hide the terror that descends, vulture-like, into the lives of Soon-ah and the other Korean, Chinese, and Japanese women with her. In various "comfort houses," they are forced to serve as prostitutes for Japanese soldiers, an unwelcome fate that is but another thread spun into a life already familiar with brutality and pain. Soon-ah's mother was raped by a Japanese soldier in broad daylight, her father murdered by Japanese police, and her older brother conscripted into the Japanese army. During the ocean crossing to Palau, Soon-ah and others were repeatedly raped and beaten. Somehow, with fierce, quiet integrity, she combats the despair of an existence wherein violence, cruelty, degradation and loss are unremarkable matters of daily life. Through internal feats of defiant hope, Soon-ah makes her way through a labyrinth of suffering, ultimately finding love, reunion, freedom, and an inviolable sense of personal triumph. Park's spare, resonant prose is ceaselessly honest and emotionally genuine. Lyrical, bittersweet moments shimmer throughout, with courageous affirmations of beauty's ability to endure. A gift of the emperor offers a message that can balm wounds: A lotus has its roots in the mud but arises from it in dazzling beauty. Flowers can bloom in a desert. (32 E. First St., #330, Duluth, MN 55802-2002, 218-727-3222, $10.95, paper, 1-883523-21-4; http://www.lesbian.org/spinsters-ink ). --Rhiannon Keasey-O'Reilly
Libraries in the age of mediocrity. By Earl Lee. McFarland, 1998. 151p. Librarians' choices are increasingly controlled by technocrats and corporate publishers, Earl Lee argues. Though they ought to represent true diversity, libraries are increasingly bland and homogeneous. At their best, these essays make incisive statements about everything from professional envy to self-censorship. An essay on community standards and censorship makes some useful criticisms of Banned Books Week. Often, though, Lee veers off course to harangue about pet peeves. Sometimes this is amusing: the life of C.S. Lewis, he writes, "is the stuff of morbid mental disease, and it should not be encouraged in the young, who ought to be emulating Ozzy Osbourne instead." Lee also raps Library of Congress cataloging shortcomings using freethought materials as a case study. Mostly the book is provocative without being fully fleshed out. Lee's arguments would have been aided by more detail and more examples, as well as attention to such topics as library management fads. It's also marred by some editorial lapses ("like, for example") and an abstruse essay on "the postmodern library." On the positive side, Libraries in the age of mediocrity includes bibliographic entries and a thorough index. Since it raises important questions, it is recommended reading for library school students and librarians alike. (Box 611, Jefferson, NC 28640, 336-246-4460, FAX: 336-246-5018; $25, "sewn softcover," 0-7864-0548-1; http://www.mcfarlandpub.com).
The astonishing story of the Saint of Cabora. By Brianda Domecq. Translated by Kay S. Garcma. Bilingual Press, 1998. I'm usually too much of a realist to lose myself in the magic of magic realism. However, this book's rich language and engaging plot kept me reading. The story revolves around a young woman with incredible powers, the daughter of unmarried parents (a rancher and a native servant girl). As Theresa heals the sick, performs miracles, and participates in revolution, she struggles to understand why she has extraordinary capabilities. The first part of the book commingles chapters about the reluctant saint living in the late 1800's with ones involving a woman investigating the mystery of Theresa's life nearly 100 years later. Since the next two thirds deal exclusively with Theresa, one wonders why the present day detective appears. This question is answered in an eerie epilogue, but the story would be complete without the modern narrative. While Theresa does have some power within her community, she is not a strong woman. In most instances she lets others mold her and behaves in traditionally feminine ways. The most disappointing aspect of the novel was its ending. The last several chapters seemed rushed, as if the author simply wanted to finish her job. Although the story and the language used to tell it are compelling, Theresa's motivation was unclear and her character two-dimensional. All the magic in Mexico wasn't enough for me when I closed the book feeling that I didn't know her. (Hispanic Research Center, Arizona State University, Box 872702, Tempe, AZ 85287-2702; 602-965-3867; $14.00, paper, 0-927534-78-9). --Chantel C. Guidry
Designs for anarchist postage stamps. With sixteen portraits by Clifford Harper. Rebel Press, 1997. unpaged. Includes a foreword by Colin Ward and an afterword by the artist (whose father and two uncles were mail carriers). Clifford Harper's graphics appear widely, if usually unaccredited, in punk and anarchist zines. Two outstanding examples of his work are The education of desire: the anarchist graphics of Clifford Harper (Annares Co-operative, 1984) and Anarchy: a graphic guide (Camden Press, 1987). (84b Whitechapel High St., London, E1, England; U.S. Dist.: Left Bank, 1404 18th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122, 206-322-2868; $10.50, paper, 0-946061-14-9).
The Imp is a publication devoted to in-depth coverage of underground or alternative comics, with each edition focusing on a single cartoonist or topic. The 28-page initial issue examines "The Fallen World of Daniel Clowes," with excerpts from interviews with the creator of Ghost World and Eightball, along with analysis. The 64-page #2 is a fascinating examination of the "hellfire and brimstone" tracts of Jack T. Chick ("the Thomas Pynchon of fundamentalists"). With its physical form carefully parodying that of a tract, "The Holy Book of Chick" includes a dictionary/concordance to the Chick canon, as well as a bibliography. Forthcoming: Chris Ware. (Dan Braeburn, 1454 W. Summerdale 2C, Chicago, IL 60640, 773-784-0745, theimp@xsite.net; #1, $3; #2, $5).
Used To is a new zine produced in September by "disgruntled" library worker John Fail and friend Dan Goldberg. Over half the first issue's 44 pages are dedicated to a fascinating interview with a Minneapolis resident known since 1991 as Joybubbles. In May, Joybubbles visited the University of Pittsburgh Information Sciences Library in a quest to listen to every episode of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Born blind, and formerly a phone phreak known as "The Whistler," Joybubbles now considers himself permanently five years old and has a national support line called "We Won't Grow Up: Supporting the Eternal Child." Perfunctorily, there's also a "1998 tour diary" for Dan's band Pressgang. (620 Summerlea St., #3, Pittsburgh, PA 15232).
Voice of Reason is the quarterly newsletter of Americans for Religious Liberty, a nonprofit dedicated to "preserving...religious, intellectual, and personal freedom in a secular democratic state." The 12-page initial issue of 1998 (v.62 #1) contains reports and commentary on school prayer and voucher initiatives, a profile of Richard John Neuhaus ("Guru of the religious right"), and news briefs about the Boy Scouts of America, James Dobson, the Promise Keepers, and an "unusual...lovefest" between Jerry Falwell and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (P.O. Box 6656, Silver Spring, MD 20916, 301-598-2447; $25 tax-deductible contribution, $10 student/low income).
Crone Chronicle ("A journal of conscious aging") is a magazine by & about wise, self-sufficient, strong older women. The 84-page Autumn 1997 issue (#32), based on the theme "Female/Male," includes writings about relationships, a conversation with transgender crone Amara Angelica (formerly Mondo 2000 editor Wes Thomas), and a conversation with a woman about "her lifelong journey with men" (which includes details of a decade of sexual "swinging"). It ranges from political (e.g., a call to stop the "Cassini" space mission with its plutonium load) to personal, with firsthand accounts of building a house in the woods and living out of a backpack in Mexico. There are book reviews, a song by Peggy Seeger ("What a Life!), an interview with South African activist Sizana Ngubane, and material on experiences with death and dying. Finally, readers contribute tales of childhood epiphanies (due next issue: "Why grey hair is sexy"). Recommended for most libraries. (Box 81, Kelly, WY 83011, 307-733-5409, FAX: 307-733-8639, AKCrone@aol.com; $21; 1068-8684; http://www.cronechronicles.com).
Dirigible ("Journal of language art") is a delightfully packaged (4x7") little magazine. Highlights of the 40-page issue #12 were the editorial note ("Dirigible is a quarterly journal that enjoys the frivolous, the fastidious, the insidious, language, particularity, sweep, gesture, these cruets, your necklace...") and a short prose piece by Mark Johnston recalling "Harold and Maude."Mostly it consists of abstruse poetry, but a hopeful note reports that "No. 13 will feature work by...Daniil Kharms." (101 Cottage St., New Haven, CT 06511, dirigible@javanet.com; $7).
Red Pepper is monthly British magazine of international news, politics and cultural criticism. The September 1998 edition (#52) reports on "how asylum seekers are treated as criminals," while other issues this year have included post-World Cup commentary on the commercialization of soccer, analysis of "the domination of the...media by global megalomaniacs," Christopher Hitchens writing about "corruption...at the heart of the American state" ("Clinton's sticky wicket"), and an interview with Noam Chomsky. Especially enlightening for its look at America from abroad, a recent cover story examined "Gulag USA"--the burgeoning prison industry. There has also been material lately on the Irish peace agreement, new student protests, the grassroots fight against the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI), and the "resistance culture" of hip hop. (1B Waterlow Rd., London, N19 5NJ, England; $56 individuals, $89 institutional; http://www.redpepper.org.uk)
Batteries Not Included is an insiders' sex industry newsletter produced monthly by Richard Freeman who reviews for Video Xcitement and Adult Cinema Review. Its format is plain: twelve pages, no graphics. The May 1998 edition (v.5 #5) included thoughtful responses to a letter from a video shop proprietor who was "shocked and surprised" to find a gay sex scene in a "straight" movie, as well as a lesbian feminist's commentary on gay male erotica. The July issue contains David Steinberg's commentary on how sex scandals have helped open up the national dialogue about sexuality, and video reviews, one panned heavily for its unprotected anal sex scenes. August includes an interview with photographer Jock Sturges, as well as an economic analysis of the porn film industry. Each issue contains conversations with sex workers, generally intelligent letters from readers, and a filmography covering the careers of such performers as Seka and Richard Pacheco. ("Sex scene...in a cold swimming pool. I was the actor turning blue with a soft dick.") Former Bikini Kill editor Lisa Falour has an ongoing column devoted to stories about "porn people I've known." (130 W. Limestone St., Yellow Springs, OH 45387, bni@aol.com; $3/issue, $4 outside U.S.).
iF Magazine claims as a model "the independent tradition of George Seldes's In Fact and I.F. Stone." This "investigative" publication of the Media Consortium has covered "the Clinton scandals," Sun Myung Moon's influence, "contra drug stories," and the role of "dirty tricks" in contemporary American politics, while also reaching back to look at the 1980 "October Surprise" and cover-ups in U.S. history. The 36-page July/August 1998 edition (v.2 #4) includes material on U.S.-Indonesia relations, "anti-Castro terrorism," the "conspiracy to bring down President Clinton," and American Spectator magazine's role in channeling money from Pittsburgh billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife to conservative think tanks. Also: "The lesson from KAL-007." (Suite 102-231, 2200 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22201, 703-920-1802; $25/6; http://www.consortiumnews.com).
Squall ("Necessity breeds ingenuity") is a radical British magazine which theoretically appears four times a year. The most recent issue (#15, Summer 1997) is a 60-page package of articles about resistance to airport development, labor activism, the McLibel trial, "heroin abuse in former mining towns," police surveillance, and education of "Traveller" children. Action-oriented and pronouncedly humorous, it also contains reviews, letters, and networking data for such grassroots British groups as Advisory Service for Squatters and the Hunt Saboteurs Association. Past issues have covered similar concerns: housing struggles, protests, local politics, police violence, raves and festivals, street theater, and ploughshares actions. Annual publication seems a more realistic expectation. (Box 8959, London, N19 5HW, UK; http://www.squall.co.uk).
Total Liberty ("A journal of non-aligned Anarchism") is a new publication intended to address both theoretical and practical concerns. The 12-page initial issue (1997) includes an article by Bill Whitehead about the impact of anarchism on the British socialist movement of the late 19th century and an account of "the effect the Organisation of Revolutionary had upon the Anarchist Federation of Britain," along with a call for an Anarchist Media Group, criticism of British charities OXFAM and Save the Children, and a review of Anarchy and the end of history. (Box EMAB, 88 Abbey St., Derby, DE22 3SQ, England).
Naturally ("Nude recreation") is a glossy quarterly magazine. International in scope, much of its focus is on travel, with regular coverage of naturist resorts, nudist camps, and beaches worldwide. Perhaps more interesting to curious outsiders are articles about philosophical issues. The 60-page Winter 1997/98 issue (#25), contains a piece on the use of nudes to illustrate classical music recording packages, an essay on the benefits of social nudism (citing some interesting research), and a look at bare bodies in the works of Mark Twain. As in friendly competitor Nude and Natural (MSRRT News, September 91), there are also nudity-related news briefs and reviews. Illustrated with color photos, Naturally comes across as wholesome and unselfconscious. It is refreshing to see such diverse body types (and ages) represented. Promoting positive body image and appreciation for freedom and the beauty of the human form, Naturally counters the artifice and consumer orientation of so-called "men's magazines." (Box 317, Newfoundland, NJ 07435; 973-697-0780, FAX: 973-697-8313, naturally@nac.net; http://www.tiac.net/users/nat; $21.95/4; ISSN: 1076-3295).
Direct Action is a magazine published by the anarcho-syndicalist Solidarity Federation, the British section of the International Workers Association. The Federation's goal: "a society based on workers' self-management, solidarity, mutual aid and libertarian communism." The 36-page Autumn 1997 edition (#4) includes an article on workplace health and safety ("Does work make you sick?"), a report on global economics, thoughts on temp worker organizing (with questions and answers about temp workers' rights), and news about strikes worldwide, as well as extensive reviews, material about the arrest of former Black Panther Lorenzo Komboa Ervin in Australia, and commentary on a move to change the age of consent in the UK. (P.O. Box 1095, Sheffield, S2 4YR, England; http://www.gn.apc.org/SolFed).
The Portland Free Press has sought for years to expose the truth about government corruption and cover-ups, CIA misdeeds, and drug policy failures. Its motto is a line from George Seldes: "Tell the truth and run." The 32-page March/April 1998 issue features tributes to longtime editor Ace Hayes who died in February, including comments from the editors of Lobster ("Ace was more conspiratorially minded than I") and Steamshovel Press, as well as William Blum's "A day in the life of a free country," a litany of repression around the U.S.A., from drug searches on intercity busses to police use of pepper spray. Also: commentary on U.S. foreign policy and "The two faces of Ernesto Zedillo." Comparable to North Coast Xpress (MSRRT Newsletter, May/June 97), and similarly more than a regional publication, PFP is worth attention. (P.O. Box 1327, Tualatin, OR 07062, 503-625-7692, pfp@teleport.com; $15, $23 in Canada; http://www.radio4all.org/pfp).
Circles is a bimonthly which debuted in 1996 as a magazine for the Colorado lesbian community, then "went national" after six issues (and began renumbering). The 50-page June 1998 edition (v.1 #2) contains an interview with comedian Kate Clinton, an in-depth article about partnering with female-to-male transsexuals, and commentary on Internet filtering ("Thoughts from a housewife and mother from cyburbia"), as well as profiles of blind skier Nancy Stevens and women's a cappella group Sound Circle. Also: an article about the San Francisco-based National Center for Lesbian Rights. (1705 14th St., #326, Boulder, CO 80302, 303-245-8815, FAX: 303-245-8816; $24.95; http://www.circlesmagazine.com).
Human Rights Watch/Middle East publications shed light on such dire topics as disappearances, government executions, and police torture, as well as censorship and general miscarriages of justice throughout the Middle East and North Africa. In straightforward--if dry--prose, they report on election-related violence and repression of ethnic nationalities, documenting with quotations from direct observers ("I heard a whoosh and felt air pressure") as well as footnotes. These reports and papers, issued on nearly a monthly basis, range in size from a few pages to over seventy. Longer titles appear as trade paperbacks, such as Routine abuse, routine denial: civil rights and the political crisis in Bahrain (1997). Other 1997 reports covered Palestinian human rights (e.g., a draft law in Israel to stop Palestinian tort claims), civilian victims of Israeli military operations in Lebanon, and increased press restrictions in Jordan. Titles are available on a subscription basis ($85/year) or individually ($3-7 for short reports, $10 or $15 for books). (485 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10017-6104, 212-972-8400, FAX: 212-972-0905, hrwnyc@hrw.org, http://www.hrw.org; ISSN: 1080-6199).
Hmong Times is a new Twin Cities tabloid which comes out twice a month. Bilingual, it focuses on local news. Recent issues have covered grassroots demonstrations against racist radio commentary ("KQRS Morning Show ridicules Hmong culture and traditions") and subsequent responses. (Businesses have now pulled advertising from the program.) The 16-page October 1 issue (v.1 #6) contains an article about the murder of a 13-year-old Hmong girl in Brooklyn Park, while previous editions included a profile of Eau Claire second term city council member Joe Bee Xiong, an article by Yang Dao ("The Hmong Americans: potential and possibilities") and color photos of Hmong festivals, as well as info about a forthcoming new edition of Hmong-American residence and business directory. (383 University Ave., St. Paul, MN 55103, 612-224-9395, FAX: 612-228-9049, $30 for 24 issues; http://www.hmongtimes.com).
Push is a new Twin Cities arts publication reminiscent of now defunct GiG (MSRRT Newsletter, May/ June 97) both in format and content. The second issue contains a profile of the House of Balls (Allen Christian's studio of sculptures incorporating bowling balls), articles about Penumbra Theater and photographer/filmmaker Sean Smuda, a short critical essay about St. Paul's new Wabasha Street Bridge, and an interview with Karen Sontag-Sattel who is in the process of creating a sculpture of Meridel LeSueur out of sandstone. Also: reviews, previews of "the Minnesota dance scene," and an account of traveling to Chicago to attend a screening of Terry Gilliam's new film and a press conference with the director. (1568 Hague Ave., Suite 1, St. Paul, MN 55104, 612-603-1557, push@excite.com).
Freedom of Expression is a zine which has taken the form of miniature posters, a 4-ounce glass jar, "Inflammatory Disney Factoid" matchbooks, a 7" disc (packaged with a booklet about "record collector scum"), and a fan. Issue #1 combines editor Kembrew McLeod's collages with bizarre writings "from a school notebook found in an abandoned apartment," while issue #9 focuses on "The wit and wisdom of LL Cool J" ("divided into three sections: ego-rhymes, sex rhymes, and weird-ass rhymes"). Published "roughly four times a year." (108 N. Main St., #1, Sunderland, MA 01375; individual issues from $1-$4).
The East Village Inky is a new zine "in which the mother of a baby struggles to reclaim some semblance of her once creative life by handwriting a highly digressive guide to New York City's East Village during the baby's naptimes." Edited and illustrated by Ayun Halliday, it's an entertaining look at cheap shopping, haircuts, ethnic dining, and Ayun's life in general. The first issue includes a review of the Russian Turkish Baths on Tenth Street, "true-life features about my...apartment ("all 340 square feet of it!"), and a paean to Tompkins Square Park, as well as reviews of everything from a British comic book to radio program "This American Life." For fans of Nancy's Magazine and Hip Mama, or folks who live in (or occasionally visit) Lower Manhattan. (Ayun Halliday, 406 E. 9th St., #7, New York, NY 10009, inky@erols.com; $8/4; http://www.neofuturists.org/ny/ah/ah.htm).
Oyster Boy Review is an above average litzine (a.k.a. "little magazine"), both in form and content. The 56-page May/August 1998 edition (#9) lends hope to those in despair about contemporary fiction and poetry writing. Roughly adhering to a theme ("The attraction of repellent things"), it includes wonderfully weird poems by Paul Dilsaver (including a spin-off on the 23rd Psalm), a perverse chapter from Ken Wainio's Starfuck: a cyber novel, a realistically scary short story by Charlotte Morgan, and a revenge tale by Lucinda Ebersole ("Vermont: Home of Lousy Sex"), as well as two poems by Andrea Selch which effectively use the image of a honeydew. Also: reviews of books, CDs, and the works of Graywolf Press. While full text is available on the web site, it's just not the same as portable paper. (1038 Hanna St., Carrboro, NC 27510; $12/3; http://sunsite.unc.edu/ob; ISSN: 1085-2727).
Everyone's Backyard (MSRRT Mar 91, Sep 88) has new contact data: Box 6806, Falls Church, VA 22046-6806, cchw@essential.org; http://www.essential.org/cchw
Lifelines (MSRRT Newsletter Dec 89 and May 92) and the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty have new contact data: 1436 U St. NW, Washington, DC 20009, 202-387-3890, FAX: 202-387-5590, http://www.ncadp.org
The National Prison Project Journal (MSRRT Newsletter, Oct 88) and the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation have new contact data: 1875 Connecticut Ave. NW, #410, Washington, DC 20009, 202-234-4380.
Public Art Review (MSRRT Newsletter, May 91) has new contact data since last we noted it and is now indexed in Art Index. (2324 University Ave. West, #102, St. Paul, MN 55114, 612-641-1128, FAX: 612-641-0028, forecast@mtn.o rg, http://www.forecast.org).
The Urban Ecologist (MSRRT Newsletter, Nov 90) has new contact data: 405 14th St., #900, Oakland, CA 94612, 510-251-6330, FAX: 510-251-2117, urbanecology@igc.org; editorial: 510-251-6336, ueeditor@aol.com; http://www.urbanecology .org/journal/back.html
Asia for Kids distributes a wide variety of picture books and titles for older readers, language learning and adoptive parenting materials, documentary videos, and other items related to Asian cultures and Asian Americans. (Master Communications, 4480 Lake Forest Dr., Suite 302, Cincinnati, OH 45242-3726, 1-800-765-5885, FAX: 513-563-3105, http://www.afk.com).
Pan Asian Publications publishes and distributes Asian language learning materials, bilingual picture books for children, and related material. (29564 Union City Blvd., Union City, CA 94587, 510-475-1185, FAX: 510-475-1489, http://www.panap.com).
New Rivers Press recent titles include An inn near Kyoto: writings by American women abroad and Bea Exner Liu's Remembering China: 1935-1945. (430 N. Fifth St., Suite 910, Minneapolis, MN 55401-1389, 612-339-7114, FAX: 612-339-9047; http://www.mtn.org/newrivpr).
New Society Publishers recent titles include Eben Fodor's Better, not bigger: how to take control of urban growth and improve your community and Helene Cyr's Handmade forests: the treeplanter's experience. (Box 189, Gabriola Island, B.C., Canada, V0R 1X0, 250-247-9737, FAX: 250-247-7471; http://www.newsociety.com).
Knowledge Unlimited's Multicultural Resources catalog includes an excellent selection of posters (including a set by such African American artists as Alma Woodsey Thomas and Jacob Lawrence) and videos (e.g., "Prejudice: The Monster Within"). (Box 52, Madison, WI 53701, 1-800-356-2303, 608-836-6660, http://www.ku.com).
Human Kinetics specializes in books, videos, journals, and software on athletic medicine and training, sports psychology and physiology, and related topics. Recent titles include Feminism and sporting bodies: essays on theory and practice. (P.O. Box 5076, Champaign, IL 61825-5076, 1-800-747-4457, FAX: 217-351-1549, http://www.humankinetics.com).
Women Make Movies recent releases include "It's Okay to Peek: Gynecological Self-Exam," "Calling the Ghosts: A Story about Rape, War, and Women," and "Out in South Africa." (462 Broadway, Suite 500E, New York, NY 10013, 212-925-0606, FAX: 212-925-2052, info@wmm.com).
Rounder Records is key source of international music recordings, from Gambian kora duets to North America's zydeco and conjunto. (One Camp St., Cambridge, MA 02140-1194, 617-354-0700, FAX: 617-491-1970, 1-800-661-6308; http://harp.rounder.com).
The 1997 People's Annual Report ("The Human Toll of Corporate-Influence Peddling: an INFACT exposi") is a 57-page booklet focusing on Philip Morris, RJR Nabisco ("Astroturf lobbying"), Columbia/HCA, Dow Chemical, and WMX Technologies. Includes board member lists. (INFACT, 256 Hanover St., Boston, MA 02113, 617-742-4583, FAX: 617-367-0191; $15, paper, 0-9619952-1-1; http://www.infact.org).
The Whizzbanger Guide to Zine Distributors (#2, 1998) provides "self-descriptions" from all 196 respondents to a questionnaire sent to 886 zine distributors, almost half from outside North America. Arranged in no apparent order and lacking the critical element of Zine World's regular commentary on distributors, the guide does include a table of contents. (Shannon Colebank, P.O. Box 5591, Portland, OR 97228; $3).
Realidades Latinas/Latino Realities is a bilingual report on the growing Latino community of South Minneapolis. Published in June by HACER (Hispanic Advocacy and Community Empowerment through Research"), the 69-page publication includes black-and-white photos and statistics. (HACER, 330 HHH Center, 301 19th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55455, 612-625-2086, FAX: 612-626-0273).
Socialist and labor songs of the 1930s. Compiled by Elizabeth Morgan. Commentary by Ernest Morgan. Preface by Utah Phillips. C. H. Kerr, 1997. 82p. Words and music to 77 songs, from "The Internationale" to "Solidarity Forever." (P.O. Box 914, Chicago, IL 60690; $12, paper, 088286-230-8).
Animal ingredients A to Z. Compiled by the E.G. Smith Collective. 2nd ed. E.G. Smith Press/AK Press, 1997. 87p. Includes international resource listings for vegetarians and vegans. (P.O. Box 40682, San Francisco, CA 94140, 415-864-0892, FAX: 415-864-0893; $6.95, paper, 1-873176-59-7; http://www.akpress.org).
Educating the entire person. By Ron Dultz. New ed. R. Dultz, 1998. 168p. (P.O. Box 370985, Reseda, CA 91337, $10, paper, 0-9601636-0-3).
Bad sex is good: fiction and essays. By Jane DeLynn. Painted Leaf Press, 1998. Includes "I flunked masturbation class" (about attending Betty Dodson's sessions) and material on "why it's enjoyable to have one's dildo sucked." (308 W. 40th St., New York, NY 10018, 212-594-4940, Cocadas@aol.com; $12, paper, 1-891305-00-X).
Commies, cowboys, and jungle queens: comic books and America, 1945-1954. By William R. Savage, Jr. Wesleyan University Press, 1998. 151p. First published in 1990 as Comic books and America, 1945-1954, by the University of Oklahoma Press. (23 S. Main St., Hanover, NH 03755-2048, 603-643-7100; $14.95, paper, 0-8195-6338-2).
Stylin': African American expressive culture from its beginnings to the zoot suit. By Shane White and Graham White. Cornell University Press, 1998. 301p. (Sage House, 512 E. State St., Ithaca, NY 14850; $30, cloth, 0-8014-3179-4).