Newsletter's alternative news, views, and resource listings are sent via snail mail periodically 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.
Activist librarian prototype Sandy Berman resigned in April from Hennepin County Library where he had worked as Head Cataloger since 1973. In a message to Hennepin County staff dated April 25, Berman wrote: "Dear HCL Colleagues and Friends: I am resigning from HCL employment effective 6-10-99 and will be on leave until then. My intention had been to retire in two-and-a-half years, but recent events have forced an earlier retirement. To be candid: I refuse to submit to any further muzzling, punishment, and humiliation. It has been a genuine honor--over the past 26 years--to work both with and for such a skilled, devoted, and caring staff. To all of you (with only a few exceptions): GOOD LUCK!" The resignation came on the heels of a written reprimand in February for communicating with colleagues outside HCL on cataloging issues--his raising questions was called "inappropriate and divisive"--and forced relocation in April under the pretext of assigning him to a special project.
Berman had earler been served an oral reprimand in 1996 for circulating a petition among staff members urging that the fine rate for children's materials not be doubled. Over 65 Hennepin staff members protested the latest reprimand in a joint memo to the library's director in March and others submitted individual letters. The latter went unanswered, while the signers of the former received a response in which the problem was stated thusly: "HCL management has become the target of a particularly one-sided and unfair public discourse." Dozens of colleagues nationwide wrote and called to support Sandy, and media queries prompted a Library statement which noted, "There have been allegations that HCL staff and line management were excluded from the decision making process [and] that HCL is creating a work environment that discourages staff from expressing their professional opinions about policy and operational issues."
On April 19 Berman was instructed to immediately occupy a remote office, told he would no longer supervise Hennepin catalogers or perform cataloging, and informed that his new project was to create a cataloging manual. Concurrently Berman's staff were told this news (and apprised that an "Employee Assistance Counselor" would be available for consultation two days later) and a memo to all Library staff went out via e-mail announcing the "reassignment" and asking people to "join...in congratulating Sandy." The Employee Assistance appointment, it was later learned, had been set up weeks in advance. Hennepin's cataloging budget, cut by $100,000 in 1999, has now been reached through staff attrition.
Named Minnesota Librarian of the Year in 1977, Berman was subsequently honored with the Margaret Mann Citation (1981), Honeywell Project Anniversary Award for Peace and Justice (1988), American Library Association (ALA) Equality Award (1989), Downs Intellectual Freedom Award (1996), and even the Golden Phallus Award (1997) for "body- and sex-positive contributions to society." He has written and edited numerous books (one of which--a new edition of his Prejudices and antipathies: a tract on the LC subject headings on people--garnered the 1994 Carey McWilliams Award) and is the subject of Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sandy Berman But Were Afraid to Ask (McFarland, 1995). Despite professing discomfort with the idea of leadership--which, as he noted, implies followers--Berman ran and was elected last year to ALA Council, garnering 3904 votes, twelve hundred more than the next leading vote-getter. With his departure from HCL, Berman also announced his resignation from ALA Council effective after the 1999 annual conference.
Berman's influence and inspiration--to courageously seek and speak the truth, to represent the powerless, to debate issues with dignity and without acrimony--lives on widely. In the person of librarians, cab drivers, students, authors, and untold others, the seeds he has sown have long ago taken hold, grown, blossomed, and given forth new offspring. He can rest now--for a while--knowing his work continues. Links to a support petition and more extensive background information can be found at: http://www.oocities.org/SoHo/Cafe/7423/sandy.html
At their April meeting, the Minnesota Library Association board voted down the following resolution:
"Whereas: Libraries value the free expression of ideas;
Whereas: Library professionals have a wide range of professional expertise;
Whereas: A fair and rigorous debate of ideas will result in the best decision for any organization;
Therefore be it resolved: That the Minnesota Library Association encourages the freedom of librarians and other library professionals to freely express their professional opinions as it is related to the responsibility of their job. That the Minnesota Library Association discourages the use of disciplinary action against library employees for expressing their opinion about matters related to their professional responsibilities."
Last year we criticized the Library of Congress for failing to assign treaty-specific subject headings to records for materials on GATT, NAFTA, and MAI. ("Politics of Cataloging," MSRRT Newsletter, Sept./Oct. 1998). After no response last fall, a belated dialogue ensued this past April after the commentary piece was sent to LC's Cataloging Policy and Support Office. Here are selections from the email correspondence:
LC: Dear Ms. Dodge....Headings for treaties are established in the Library of Congress name authority file according to AACR2 rules. These headings are then assigned as subject headings to works about the treaties. For example, the AACR2 heading for NAFTA is "Canada. Treaties, etc. 1992 Oct. 7," The heading for GATT is "General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (Organization)." Subject catalogers typically assign the heading for a treaty only to a general work on the treaty as a whole, not to a work that is only tangentially about it...." [This was followed by 180 words, literally citing chapter and verse--"Subject Cataloging Manual: Subject Headings, H 2227, sec. 2.b"]--describing what subject catalogers do, namely, use our best judgment to decide if headings are warranted.
CD: Thank you for your response. Happily, it seems as though some retrospective work has been done at LC in assigning specific headings to works about NAFTA. Dozens of such titles remain, however, that have not been assigned "Canada. Treaties, etc. 1992 Oct. 7." Among the most obvious: NAFTA: what you need to know now; The NAFTA puzzle: political parties and trade in North America; North American Free Trade Agreement: summary and analysis; NAFTA: an assessment; and Corporte [sic] counsel's guide to the North American Free Trade Agreement. Certainly these and other titles warrant specific assignment. (As an aside, would you care to explain to public library catalog users why "Canada. Treaties, etc. 1992 Oct. 7" is used instead of "North American Free Trade Agreement"?) On a smaller scale, regarding works about MAI, why no specific subject heading assignment to MAI: the Multilateral Agreement on Investment and the threat to American freedom or MAI: the Multilateral Agreement on Investment and the threat to Canadian sovereignty?
LC: As time permits, I will check the titles you report and add the heading for NAFTA where appropriate. It appears that some may have been cataloged prior to the time the treaty was signed and ratified and the heading established. Many were cataloged by the Government Printing Office, not by the Library of Congress. Thanks for letting us know about these. [This is followed by an "explanation" for the form of the heading for NAFTA: "Library of Congress follows the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, 2nd edition, in establishing headings."] The heading "OECD Multilateral Agreement on Investment" was established only a few months ago. We are in the process of updating the appropriate bibliographic records to add the heading. I notice that the name authority record for this treaty does not currently have references from the forms "MAI" or "OECD MAI." I will arrange to have those references added.
CD: Many thanks for your attention to this matter.
LC: I have some additional information to provide to you regarding MAI. This treaty is still a draft which has not yet been adopted and ratified. That is the reason why the Library of Congress had not established a heading for it and has not assigned it as a subject heading. It is not our practice to establish headings for proposed treaties, laws, etc. The LC office in Nairobi, Kenya erroneously established the heading "OECD Multilateral Agreement on Investment" in our name authority file recently, contrary to our standard practice. We have removed that heading from the file. Until such time as the treaty is actually approved and adopted, we will continue to assign only topical headings to works about this proposed treaty. If and when the treaty is adopted we will then establish a heading for it.
CD: Since there are whole works about MAI [cited previously], why not gloss a subject heading thusly?: Multilateral Agreement on Investment (Proposed). I am suggesting that if this is not currently policy, that it be made so.
LC: Thanks for the suggestion. I'm sorry that we are not in a position to consider changing our policy at the present time. We catalog so much material on proposals or drafts for legislation, treaties, etc., that it is not practical for us to establish headings for entities of this type that do not yet exist in reality. It would be too time-consuming to have to monitor these proposals and update headings if and when the proposals are actually adopted.
CD: Would you say 'We catalog so many materials on World War II history that it is not practical for us to establish [related] headings'? If there are whole works about a subject, why not make it policy to establish and assign a heading? If that subject is a proposed treaty, why not gloss it with the word 'proposed' in parentheses? Claiming that the MAI doesn't exist because it hasn't been signed is a disservice to catalog users. Try explaining to a public library patron that there is no subject heading for this reason. It's widely recognized. Here's one web search directory result: Yahoo! Category Matches: Business and Economy > Trade > Law > International > Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI).
LC: The Library of Congress operates with very limited resources and is under a mandate by the U.S. Congress to give the highest priority to reducing our arrearage of many millions of uncataloged items to which no access at all currently exists. Given these constraints on our time and resources, it is not practical for us to provide the level of detailed access to material on proposed treaties that you advocate. We appreciate hearing your opinion on this matter. Should circumstances permit, at some time in the future we might consider a change in our practice to provide this enhanced level of access. However, at this time it is impossible for us to do so.
FEMINISTA (feminist online journal of "art, social commentary, philosophy, wit, humor and respect")
LIBRARIAN.NET (Jessamyn West's daily weblog)
OYATE (books, music, and videos by Native people)
RADIO 4 ALL (micro-radio news & links)
A child's life and other stories. By Phoebe Louise Adams Gloeckner. Introduction by R. Crumb. Frog Ltd., 1998. 144p. Is "ugly truth" an oxymoron? This book suggests so, compiling Phoebe Gloeckner's powerful and disquieting comics about childhood sexual abuse. With admirable forthrightness Gloeckner explicitly addresses the creepiness of abusive stepfathers and boyfriends (cloaked in a veneer of respectability and niceness) as well as the ambivalence of a girl raised irresponsibly. Combining a fairy tale sense of pacing with hyperrealistic drawing (she works as a medical illustrator), the newest pieces here are especially cogent. Arranged developmentally (Childish Stories, Teen Stories, Grown-up Stories), some were first published in Wimmin's Comix, Young Lust, and WEIRDO, and included in the two Twisted sisters anthologies. The book includes two full-color sections, one of which reproduces the covers of Andrea Juno's Angry women and Angry women in rock and other paintings (one depicts fellatio in biomedical cross-section, reminiscent of the psychedelic anatomical art of Alex Grey). If there is an element of clinical detachment apparent here, A child's life is more a testament to courage, a message not to avert one's eyes, a reassurance against the fear to know. (Distributor: North Atlantic Books, P.O. Box 12327, Berkeley, CA 94712; $17.95, paper, 1-883319-71-4; http://www.ravenblond.com/pgloeckner).
All-American anarchist: Joseph A. Labadie and the labor movement. By Carlotta R. Anderson. Wayne State University Press, 1998. 324p. "Gentle anarchist" Joseph Labadie was a Detroit-based labor activist, typesetter, writer, and editor whose influence continues today in great part due to the archives he left behind. Written by his granddaughter, this interesting and thoroughly documented biography traces Labadie's roots from childhood years spent with Pottawatomie people. (One of his great-grandparents was Ojibwe.) A tramp printer, Labadie eventually settled in Michigan, became an enthusiast of socialism, helped organize the Knights of Labor, got involved in the Greenback movement, and eventually moved towards advocacy of a "practical" anarchism. This biography further elucidates connections between the radicals of the late 19th and early 20th century, many of whom corresponded despite philosophical differences. (Labadie was connected with Samuel Gompers, Eugene Debs, Benjamin Tucker, and Emma Goldman, to name a few.) One interesting anecdote describes how Labadie got in trouble with a postal inspector for "adorning his letters with little anarchist stickers" (after which the Detroit press rallied to his cause). It's also fascinating to learn about Labadie setting up his own print ship as an old man and publishing his own poetry in booklets "hand-sewn and tied with leftover pieces of ribbon." Perhaps most interesting is the chapter about Labadie's amazing archives, saved by his wife and later heroically (if idiosyncratically) organized and augmented by Agnes Inglis at the University of Michigan. The book includes an afterword, "The Labadie Collection today," by Edward Weber, co-winner with Julie Herrada of this year's Eubanks Award. (4809 Woodward Ave., Detroit, MI 48201-1309, 313-577-4603, FAX: 313-577-6131; $34.95, cloth, 0-8143-2707-9).
The philosophy of punk: more than noise. 2nd edition. By Craig O'Hara. AK Press, 1999. 160p. I've read a number of books that attempted to analyze punk from an academic perspective. Without exception, they all made the same mistake: they all acted as if punk died in 1980, only to be revived in 1991, thereby completely ignoring the thriving (and heavily influential) hardcore scene in the U.S. and Europe of the '80s and '90s. Craig O'Hara is the first person to get it right. He describes the movement in loving detail, focusing on such aspects as skinheads, straight edge, anarchism, zines, queers, and more. O'Hara also thoroughly debunks punk stereotypes often found in the mainstream press. (Punk is not about having a six-foot high mohawk, sniffing glue, and robbing convenience stores. It isn't necessarily just a pose for rebellious adolescents to drop once they come to their senses.) The philosophy of punk does a wonderful job of explaining punk's role as a shaping force in people's lives to those who aren't punk. It serves a dual purpose as an introduction to the culture for novices and a welcome refresher course in punk ideals for seasoned punks. (P.O. Box 40682, San Francisco, CA 94140-0682; $12, paper, 1-873176-16-3; 415-864-0892, http://www.akpress.org). --Katia Roberto
Tales of a punk rock nothing. 2nd ed. By Abram Shalom Himelstein and Jamie Schweser. New Mouth from the Dirty South/Super Kick-Ass Media, 1998. 159 p. Tales of a punk rock nothing is a bitingly funny novel about Elliot Rosenberg, a young punk rocker from Tennessee who decides to move to Washington, D.C., after seeing a D.C. punk band. Upon moving, he does all the socially responsible punk rock scenester things: joins a collective, edits a zine, supports the Riot Grrrl movement, starts a band, works at an infoshop, and becomes disenchanted with all of it. Elliot learns the hard way that punk activists can be just as elitist as his high school classmates were. This is described through journal entries, zine reproductions, and letters to people back home. Some thinly fictionalized references to D.C. punk personalities and locations will be missed by the casual reader, which is unfortunate because they're pretty witty. ("Marchenko" is really Fugazi, "Discontent Records" is really Dischord Records, "Eros Auto Association" is Cupid Car Club, and "Hornets' Nest" is the Beehive.) This book does a great job of describing the attitudes of the 1990s DIY punk scene, even in the imprint's dig at hardcore record collectors: "This is the second edition. Put it in a plastic sleeve and don't read it or enjoy it and it maybe will be worth a dollar or two in a thousand years." Recommended reading for anyone who's ever wanted to fit in, be a punk, or both. (Box 19742, New Orleans, LA 70179-0742; $10, paper, 0-9666469-0-8; http://www.punkrocknothing.com). --Katia Roberto
The Good Vibrations guide: adult videos. By Cathy Winks. Down There Press, 1998. 83p. After more than twenty years in the sex toy business, the folks at Good Vibrations know their stuff. They've followed up The Good Vibrations guide to sex with a series of shorter guides on specific topics. For basic information about the wide world of porn, this book is a good introduction, especially for the shy or skeptical. It focuses not simply on "explicit, X-rated...professionally produced feature length films...with a storyline," but ones in which "women's sexual pleasure is as much a focus of the attention as men's." Like other Good Vibrations publications, it includes informative (and often amusing) personal anecdotes obtained from customer surveys. There are sections on what to expect from porn, how to select it, and common concerns about it, as well as information about relevant books, articles, organizations, mail order sources, and websites. More than 100 videos are briefly reviewed and over twenty directors, actors, and production companies profiled; all are conveniently indexed. This thin book is a useful guide to navigating the overwhelming plenitude of porn available. (938 Howard St., #101, San Francisco, CA 94103, 415-974-8985 ext. 105; FAX: 415-974-8989; $7, paper, 0-940208-22-9; ; http://www.goodvibes.com/dtp/dtp.html). --Chantel C. Guidry
The Good Vibrations guide: the G-spot. By Cathy Winks. Down There Press, 1998. 63p. Filled with factual information about the often mysterious female pleasure zone, this slim volume is easy to understand but not condescending. Customers' comments about their own G-spot experiences are sprinkled throughout, giving the theories a more personal and relevant impact. Notes and references sections facilitate fact checking and additional research. There is also material on female ejaculation and tips on "hitting the spot," plus a bibliography, a videography, and information on websites and sex toy companies. The guide's main weakness is a lack of adequate diagrams of female anatomy. If the one drawing present were larger, it would be easier to discern to which organ each arrow points. Information about Skene's glands, the urethra, and the urethral sponge might be more easily understood if these structures appeared in the anatomy diagram. An index would also be helpful, even in such a short book. Despite these flaws, this manual should be part of every library dealing with female sexuality. While candidly demystifying the G-spot, it recognizes that some women don't enjoy or respond to its stimulation. Readers are reminded that sex should be fun and to "beware of absolutes." Whether one has made extensive G-spot exploration or none at all, this how-to book can only lead to a better understanding of female sexual response. (938 Howard St., #101, San Francisco, CA 94103, 415-974-8985 ext. 105; FAX: 415-974-8989; $7, paper, 0-940208-23-7; ; http://www.goodvibes.com/dtp/dtp.html). --Chantel Guidry
Truth be known. By Maximum Traffic. 1999. unpaged. Combining collage, text, photocopy art, and "obscuro" comics by such artists as Steve "Morty Dog" Willis and Clark Dissmeyer, this "200th issue of Maximum Traffic" works as a coherent extended philosophical essay. A fat trade paperback emerging from the cracks of the underground (ISBN? what ISBN?) it quotes Albert Einstein in urging readers, "Remember your humanity, and forget the rest." Occupying ground somewhere between bleak prophecy and dire warning, it nonetheless effectively uses humor to touch upon disillusionment, truth, personal meaning, and enlightenment in the face of government violence and environmental degradation. "Maximum traffic is the definite limit of human impact on the earth that we must observe in order to survive as a species." (P.O. Box 2452, Butler, PA 16003; $10, paper).
Fat!So?: because you don't have to apologize for your size. By Marilyn Wann. Ten Speed Press, 1998. 208p. There is no weight minimum required to delight in this book; fatsos of all sizes will find it a pleasure. Based on a zine started in 1993, Fat!So? is fun and informative. Its history as a zine is apparent in its bold graphics, enlightening sidebars, and cool extras such as the "Flabulous Fat!So? Flipbook," anatomy lesson photo spreads, cut & paste projects, and a how-to-be-a-fatso tip at the bottom of each page. Marilyn Wann, who encourages use of the word "fat," rejects the idea that being fat is dangerous. She quotes from a January 1, 1998, New England Journal of Medicine editorial titled "Losing weight--an ill fated New Year's resolution" to support her suspicions that we don't know why people are fat, how to make people thin, or if being fat is debilitating. Additional sources are cited to debunk popular health myths. After explaining that there are no clear connections between being fat and being unhealthy, Wann and contributing writers and artists encourage people to be "flabulous" and accept themselves as they are. No section of the book is more than eight pages long and since they need not be read in order, this volume is great for browsing in short increments. Don't be suprised, however, if the book's playful teaching sucks you in, compels you to read from cover to cover, and leaves you wishing there were more. In a fat phobic world, Fat!So? is an enjoyable burst of body positivity that will be cherished by all people who want to be judged by who they are and not by how they look. (Box 7123, Berkeley, CA 94707; $12.95, paper, 0-89815-995-4). --Chantel C. Guidry
The solo sex joke book. By Ralph Mead. Cartoons by Chris Snyder. Factor Press, 1999. 107p. The Joycelyn Elders and Pee-Wee Herman incidents have opened up niche markets for masturbation humor and the results range from trite to humorous. This small collection of jokes, limericks, and cartoons about male masturbation--some previously published in the Celebrate the Self newsletter--is delivered with good-humored directness and simplicity. Its concluding section offers a contest whereby readers can devise captions for any of fifteen cartoons and win a prize from Factor Press. Herbert I. Kavet's Do-it-yourself guide to safe sex (Ivory Tower Press, 1995) is a more varied and slicker collection, with some distinctly female-oriented sections. (P.O. Box 8888, Mobile, AL 36689, 334-380-0606; $9.95, paper, 1-887650-17-2). --Martha Cornog
Dropout is a publication for kids considering quitting school or who have already dropped out, as well as the adults in their lives and anyone interested in education alternatives. A tabloid written and illustrated primarily by young people, it regularly covers such topics as curfews, homeschooling, and dress code fascism. Issue #6 included an article about how high school dropouts can go to college (complete with resource listings), a history of "deschooling," and reviews of related publications (including such zines as Brat and Oblivion). The 16-page #7 contains "How to build a skatepark" and a bibliographic essay on books about ADD and learning disabilities, along with material on Ritalin, a satirical column on IDD--"inspiration deficit disorder," and lots more reviews. (1114 21st St., Sacramento, CA 95814, 914-441-5526, dropout@phyze.com; $5/6).
Muuna Takeena is a Finnish publication entirely devoted to reviews of zines, tapes, and self-produced music CDs from around the world. Mostly in English and covering English-language publications, the reviews are lively in tone, descriptive, and refreshingly evaluative, with complete ordering information. The 17-page issue #5 covers over 75 English-language zine titles and also includes a four-page insert focusing on non-English zines (most Finnish) written in the language of the publication being examined. There's also a short essay on compilation tapes and "a hot idea for cool cassette covers." (Timo Palonen, Hepokuja 6 B 26, FIN-01200 Vantaa, Finland, lahtinen.palonen@megabaud.fi; stamps, or trade).
Twenty Bus: Everyone who's ridden a bus has stories to tell about it, but Kelli Williams has gone a step further and put these tales into print. Set in San Francisco, but guaranteed to ring true to urban commuters everywhere, Twenty Bus is streetwise and brassy with a take-no-shit attitude. Many of its anecdotes relate creative ways in dealing with men who cruise women, but there's also a certain sweetness and sensitivity below the tough-girl veneer. The Summer 1998 issue (#8) includes a bus dream, "Goofus and Gallant" cartoons, an overheard conversation about boxer Mike Tyson, an encounter with a drunk, and reproductions of personal ads from people who had brief bus-related encounters. (P.O. Box 170612, San Francisco, CA 94117, sharkygerl@aol.com; $.20 each).
Velvet Grass is a long-standing zine featuring personal stories, comics, fiction, and travel narratives from the perspective of a young woman. In issue #34 Rebecca writes about discovering that her father is having an affair, reports on welfare reform in Virginia, illustrates stories which involve her toddler son, remembers abusing an elementary school teacher, and reviews ten comic and personal zines. A previous issue was a "split" published in collaboration with another zine editor (flip it one way and it's Cheshire #4, flip it the other way and it's Velvet Grass #18). This included an amusing interview, poetry, and advice from mail artist Pag Hat the Rat Girl. The Velvet Grass Bathroom Reader reprints selections from previous issues, including product inquiries and an interesting firsthand account of "what to expect if you ever sign up for a dating service." Published about four times a year. (Rebecca D. Dillon, 1248 Buena Vista Blvd. SE, Roanoke, VA, 24013; $4/3; http://home.earthlikne.net/~velvetgrass).
Slant is "disgruntled graduate student" Mimi Nguyen's provocative zine about identity, politics, punk, and culture. It springs from her personal experience as a child refugee from Vietnam who became involved in the punk and riot grrrl movements as a teenager and is now an intellectual steeped in the theory of bell hooks, Coco Fusco, and Trinh Minh-ha, among others. In issue #5 she wrote about racism among feminists and zine editors, reprinted excerpts from anti-abortion letters sent to women's clinics, and provided "a few thoughts on Vietnam" in an attempt to "establish the contradictory conditions under which I have to come to terms with my history and politics." Issue #6 (completed in March 1998) contains more thinking on Vietnam--including obnoxious travel stories by American tourists who've been there, and writings about the commodification of Asian culture and fetishization of Asian American women. These are especially effective when the example is personal--stemming, for example, from a confrontation with a presumptuous restaurant customer or in talking about the politics of hairstyles. Mimi also reprints material from the America Online riot grrrl bulletin board which maddens her but to which she is compelled to respond, decrying "power-evasive liberalism" and neoconservatism alike. She also writes critically about being interviewed for Zines! Volume 2 (the reference is thinly veiled) and about a travel zine that fails to acknowledge its editor's privilege as a Euro-American in Europe. (1951 Chestnut, #208, Berkeley, CA 94702; http://members.aol.com/Slantgirl/index2.html).
y.m.a.w.l. (a.k.a. You Might As Well Live) is a zine by a Lauren Martin, the daughter of a Jewish Holocaust survivor father and a Chinese American mother who works as a librarian at New York Public Library. It's this bicultural blend that is the focus of this personal zine, with thoughts about class privilege, co-optation, tokenism, and people's assumptions. In #8 (dated October 12, 1998), Lauren writes about Asian Americans and hip-hop, getting called "Lotus Blossom" by a coffee shop worker, and the simple enjoyment of riding the Staten Island Ferry. There's also a reading list (a regular feature) and brief reviews of zines, many created by young writers of color. (Lauren Martin, 122 Harvard Ave., Staten Island, NY 10301; lm549@bard.edu).
Crush is a one-shot of comics and prose focusing on crushes and romantic infatuation. Edited by Carrie McNinch whose personal zine is The Assassin and the Whiner (see below), it contains generally touching and funny firsthand stories by such cartoonists and zine editors as Lee Kennedy, Kez Panel (Prozac and Cornflakes), Shawn Granston (Ten Foot Rule), Kelli Williams (20 Bus), and Davida Breier (Slow Leek). Are most self-publishers introverted geeks? These "pathetic" love stories about shyness and fantasy are somehow reassuring and hopeful, even though only a few of them describe crushes which blossomed into real relationships. (Box 481051, Los Angeles, CA 90036; $2).
The Assassin and the Whiner is Carrie McNinch's personal zine which takes the form of simply drawn "talking head" comics. In her Winter 1998/99 issue (#9) Carrie minces no words in writing about both her alcoholic father and her own attempt to maintain sobriety, coming out to her parents (and their subsequent negative reactions), falling in love, and a stressful gig house-sitting two dogs. Carrie's one-shot Beer zine was a disturbing compendium of drink-till-you-puke stories. Her latest "Asswhine," though, gives evidence that this sort of thing may not be repeated. (P.O. Box 481051, Los Angeles, CA 90036; $1).
Booty is an "angry indie comic," according to its creator Anne Thalheimer. She also calls her zine "cranky and feminist" but in fact it exhibits gentleness and sensitivity. Booty uses words and minimalist drawings to describe what's up with her life. In issue #12 (dated June-September 1998) this included a break-up, a dream about cartoonist Joe Matt, Ph.D. qualifying exams, attending a wedding in Danbury, depression, losing touch with friends, and coping with somewhat creepy professors. Anne also visited the Words and Pictures Museum where she reproduced Diane DiMassa's cat character Chicken which graces the back cover of this edition. One question: how do grad students find time to create zines? (Anne Thalheimer, 377 S. College Ave., Newark, DE 19711).
Distracted by the Stars is a personal zine about one young woman's life. In #3 is a list of what (and who) Rebecca's missing, accounts about getting raped and attempting suicide (with subsequent hospitalization), and (unsent?) letters to the editor's mother and a close friend. Issue #4 (dated October 6, 1998) has a great color cover done as a screen-printing assignment and contains personal writings about dreams, depression, break-ups, and rape. Regular features: vegan recipes and zine recommendations, though the latter do not include contact data. (2857 W. Shakespeare, #2, Chicago, IL 60647; rebeccaann65@hotmail.com).
Funhouse offers concise reviews of zines, small press catalogs, mini-comics, chapbooks, and other printed marginalia. Get out your magnifying glass to read issue #8, a folded 11 x 17" sheet with about 100 reviews. One drawback besides its tiny print size is that entries are neither alphabetized nor arranged in any apparent useful order. (Brian Johnson, 11 Werner Rd., Greenville, PA 16125-9434; $1/issue).
Skate Dork is a new zine which "focuses on the personal side of skateboarding." The 32-page initial issue, offset on newsprint, contains thoughts on skating in the rain, material about Magic Skatepark (in Reading, Pennsylvania), an article about organizing against a ban on skating (it's unclear what community is being described), excerpts from Michael Brooke's forthcoming Concrete wave: the history of skateboarding, and even suggestions for mending beat-up shoes. (Steve Voss, 221 Spring Ridge Dr., Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922, 908-665-1267, svoss@gwu.edu; $1; http://www.skatedork.org).
Organise! ("For revolutionary anarchism") is the "quarterly theoretical journal" of the London-based Anarchist Communist Federation. The 20-page issue #47 covers the conspiracy trial of Green Anarchist editors, surveys the contemporary anarchist movement in Europe, and includes part two of a piece on syndicalism as well as an article on "organising for change within the community." One regular feature debunks "myths and legends" about the likes of Che Guevara, Haile Selassie, and Evita Peron. The magazine also covers British politics and provides prison justice updates focusing on specific individuals. (c/o 84b Whitechapel High St., London, England, E1 7QX; http://burn.ucsd.edu/~acf/org).
New Democracy is both a newsletter and a fledgling independent membership organization working "for democratic revolution" and "against capitalism." The 16-page November/December 1998 issue (#6) is hopeful in tone, with an essay on the psychological aspects of capitalism and competition ("We can get there from here"), letters from two prisoners (plus a response), and an account of UAW Local 308 struggles with the Northland Corporation in Grand Rapids, Michigan. (P.O. Box 427, Boston, MA 02130, 617-524-4073, http://users.aol.com/newdem).
Human Rights Action is the action-oriented newsletter of the nonprofit Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights. The undated issue seen (with a cover letter dated November 30, 1998) includes action alerts regarding women war victims in Bosnia, indigenous peoples' land rights, and the extradition of Augusto Pinochet, as well as a call for volunteers to help serve "battered refugee and immigrant women and children in Minnesota." (310 Fourth Ave. S., Suite 1000, Minneapolis, MN 55415-1012, 612-341-3302, FAX: 612-341-2971, http://www.umn.edu/humanrts/mnadvocates).
Abstracts is a new quarterly newsletter published by the Institute on Race and Poverty. The 6-page Winter 1999 initial issue contains commentary on neighborhood schools and affordable housing, information about the Minnesota Foundation's "Building Better Futures" initiative, and a report on the Institute's October 1998 "Welfare to Work Summit." (University of Minnesota, 415 Law Center, 229-19th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55455, 612-625-1580; http://www.umn.edu/irp).
Gerbil ("A queer culture zine") is a nicely produced little magazine. The 30-page issue #9 (published July 1998) contains an article about the etymology of the word "faggot," an essay on camp in the films of Russ Meyer (complete with footnotes), and one lesbian's account of attending Lilith Fair, as well as a handful of zine reviews and queer web resource listings. Previous editions have contained material on Pansy Division and Princess Xena, as well as interviews with the likes of Allen Ginsberg and Harry Hay. (P.O. Box 10692, Rochester, NY 14610, GerbilZine@aol.com; $10/4; ISSN: 1086-5624).
Contrascience is a cleanly-designed publication edited by Bryan Alft who has otherwise been involved with Minneapolis-based punk record and zine store Extreme Noise. The zine was created, Alft writes, "as a vehicle to question our surroundings, beliefs, and the ideas that influence how we view and interact with each other and the world around us." The 60-page issue #6 (which came out sometime in early 1998) is at its best when closest to the source: accounts of serving jury duty and visiting Cuba and a series of interviews with teachers who have a background in punk rock. The editor himself notes that other articles have been based on secondhand sources, some covering the criminal justice system and the U.S. prison boom, a history of the Minneapolis truckers strike of 1934, the mythology of Woodrow Wilson, and U.S. weapons sales. There's also an article by punk botanist Theo Witsell on the timber industry and forest policy. (P.O. Box 8344, Minneapolis, MN 55408-0344; balft@isd.net; $3 postpaid for #6).
Unite! is the bimonthly magazine of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial & Textile Employees. Do you buy new clothing? If so, do you know where it is made and by whom? Increasingly, clothes are assembled and sewn in third world countries such as Pakistan, Indonesia, Guatemala, and Bangladesh, typically by women and children whose working conditions are appalling. Unite! regularly covers the politics and economics of the clothing trade. The 32-page July/August 1998 issue (v.4 #4) contains info about UNITE's campaign to stop sweatshops, a report on Fechheimer (a company which uses non-union workers to affix "Union Made in the USA" labels), news of organizing victories ("Levi's workers in Texas and Tennessee join UNITE), and coverage of the defeat of California's anti-union Proposition 226. (1710 Broadway, New York, NY 10019, http://www.uniteunion.org; ISSN: 0022-7013; $2).
Musea is a newsletter that comments upon and provides news about the arts industry and media, with special attention to increasing monopolization and corporate control. Its editor reads widely and condenses from such sources as the Wall Street Journal, music industry publications, international papers, press services, and zines. Roughly produced using photocopy and tiny type, Musea is worth the effort to read. The 8-page September 1998 issue (#68) included a proposal for creating a guerrilla movie theater and a poll asking readers to decide which of ten ad campaigns was "the scummiest," while the October edition includes an essay by Davida Breier on collectibles, a "camp" radio station of the month announcement, and comments on how amazon.com creates its "top sellers" list. (4000 Hawthorne Ave., Dallas, TX 75219; $10/ year; http://musea.digitalchainsaw.com).
Numero is a bilingual mail art zine with writings in both German and English. The 48-page issue #3 (1998) includes commentary by editor Wilfried Nold ("Mail art without mail artists?") which expresses a special interest in "cultural workers [who] are not aware of the fact that what they do is called mail art around the globe." Also: part one of an essay by Stephen Perkins (which first appeared in a brochure accompanying the 1997 exhibition "Artifacts of the Eternal Network" at the University of Iowa Museum of Art), an article about assembling magazines (with contact data for 18 of them), and a firsthand account on micro-publishing by Thomas Stemmer of TYPEWRITER PRESS. Significantly, there are notices for several dozen mail art projects, along with graphic reproductions. Issue #4 includes JosZ* Vandenbroucke's "A letter about the continuous death and rebirth of the mail art network." (Eppsteinerstr. 22, D-60323, Frankfurt am Main, Germany; 2 international reply coupons; free to contributors; 1434-5706).
Ballast Quarterly Review is a handsomely designed little zine of quotations and reviews, most centering around the arts. Editor Roy Dysart, an artist and art teacher at the University of Northern Iowa, typically reviews a half dozen or so books and videos each issue. In the 16-page Autumn 1998 edition (v.14 #1) these include a catalog of works by Rosa Bonheur and two videos about a 17th century rape case involving Italian artists Agostino Tasso and Artemisia Gentileschi. (2022 X Ave., Dysart, IA 52224-9767; 20 postage stamps/4 issues; ISSN: 1093-5789).
My Letter to the World is a personal zine edited by world traveler and music fan Tiger Lily. Occasional reviews in past editions of Factsheet Five suggest that road stories and travelogues are its mainstay. Issue #15 (April 8, 1998) includes commentary on a first trip to New Orleans ("cooked crawfish in a huge tub look disturbingly like enormous roaches"), a rating of Disneyland rides, and a Japan tour diary by the vocalist of Peter and the Test Tube Babies, as well as an essay on punk rock which the editor wrote in eighth grade (1989) and reviews of recent books on punk. Also: record reviews and an interview with the Toy Dolls. By far the most engaging reading was a three-page account of how much a $30 gift certificate will buy at Berkeley's toney Chez Panisse. (P.O. Box 40082, Berkeley, CA 94704).
Flatland ("A review of the repressed and secret evidence") is ostensibly published twice a year. The 60-page issue #15 (February 1998) included interviews with Lloyd deMause (editor of The Journal of Psychohistory), an essay by a former Summerhill houseparent ("Childhood freedom as the basis for a healthy society"), an article about biological weapons development, and a review of Len Bracken's biography of Guy Debord, while #16 (February 1999) contains material on Timothy Leary's FBI file, the effect of radioactivity on plant growth, the bombing of Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney, and South African Intelligence Service disinformation. Past editions have looked at everything from UFOs to "the cancer conspiracy." (P.O. Box 2420, Fort Bragg, CA 95437, 707-964-8326; $20/4; http://www.flatlandbooks.com).
Interbang is published by "Ben Interbang" who writes self-importantly that he is "involved in college, activism, worldwide political networking, this zine and my [record] label." Get out the magnifying glass to read the 64-page issue #7. It is full of earnest (if sometime overbearingly self-righteous) material on "the destruction and subjugation of Iraq," the U.S. Army's School of the Americas, polyfidelity, the Mumia Abu-Jamal case, and sexist and homophobic song lyrics. There's a call for an "all out war on Victory Records" (a "bastion for hatred, bigotry, and reactionary politics in the hardcore scene"), an interview with a member of Urban Guerrilla Poets, and reviews of books, zines, and records. A highlight: six reports on protests in and around Ohio, including one targeting the Cleveland baseball team's "Chief Wahoo" mascot. (P.O. Box 671, Ravenna, OH 44266; $2/copy).
Action on Colombia (MSRRT Newsletter, Nov 94) has new contact data: 608-257-8753, csn@igc.apc.org, http://www.igc.apc.org/csn
Canadian Dimension (MSRRT Newsletter, Oct 90) has moved: 2B-91 Albert St., Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, R3B 1G5, 204-957-1519, FAX: 204-943-4617, http://www.canadiandimension.mb.ca/cd/index.htm
Crossroads, "national magazine written by and for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender youth...and their adult allies" (MSRRT Newsletter, December 93) is now being published by the National Youth Advocacy Coalition: 1711 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 206, Washington, DC 20009, phone: 202-319-7596, FAX: 202-319-7365, NYouthAC@aol.com
Intersections (MSRRT Newsletter, May/Jun 96) and S.A.S.E: The Write Place have new contact data: 711 W. Lake St., Suite 211, Minneapolis, MN 55408, 612-822-2500, FAX: 612-822-0095, sase@maroon.tc.umn.edu
Storm Warning (MSRRT Newsletter, Feb 90 and Nov 91) and Vietnam Veterans Against the War Anti-Imperialist have new contact data since we last noted: Box 21604, Seattle, WA 98111-3604, 206-374-2215, vvawai@oznet; http://www.oz.net/~vvawai
Talking Leaves (MSRRT Newsletter, Oct 93) has new contact data: 81868 Lost Valley Lane, Dexter, OR 97431, 541-937-3351, http://www.efn.org/~lvec Transitions Abroad (MSRRT Newsletter, Mar 89) has new contact data: P.O. Box 1300, Amherst, MA 01004, 413-256-3414, FAX: 413-256-0373, trabroad@aol.com, http://www.transabroad.com
Truthseeker (MSRRT Newsletter, Feb 89) has new contact data: 16935 W. Bernardo Dr., Ste. 103, San Diego, CA 92127, 619-676-0430, FAX: 619-676-0433, http://truthseeker.com
American Gamelan Institute is a prime source not only of gamelan music on CD and Indonesian arts videos, but also English translations of Indonesian literature, poetry, and art criticism from the Jakarta-based Lontar Foundation. (Box 1052, Lebanon, NH 03766, 603-448-8837, http://www.gamelan.org).
New from Interlink Publishing Group: Gabriele Ranzato's The Spanish Civil War, John Gee's Unequal conflict: the Palestinians and Israel, and A land of stone and thyme: an anthology of Palestinian short stories. (46 Crosby St., Northampton, MA 01060, 413-582-7054, FAX: 413-582-7057, interpg@aol.com).
Second Story Press recent titles include From memory to transformation: Jewish women's voices, Melanie Stewart Millar's Cracking the gender code: who rules the wired world?, and June Larkin's Sexual harassment: high school girls speak out. (720 Bathhurst St., Suite 301, Toronto, Canada, M5S 2R4, 416-537-7850, FAX: 416-537-0588; http://www.secondstorypress.on.ca).
Recent titles from Ragweed Press/gynergy books: At the edge: a book of risky stories (for young adults) and An unexpected journey: women's voices of hope after breast cancer. (P.O. Box 2023, Charlottetown, PEI, Canada, C1A 7N7, 902-566-5750, FAX: 902-566-4475).
The Right Stuff is a major catalog source of anime--Japanese animated videos--and related soundtrack CDs, comics, and posters. (P.O. Box 71309, Des Moines, IA 50325, 1-800-338-6827, http://www.rightstuf.com).
Pulp Faction new and forthcoming titles include Mick Bower's Football seasons (a novel that "tackles homophobia off the pitch") and P-P Hartnett's I want to fuck you, "an exploration of sexuality set in contemporary Japan." (Box 12171, London, England, N19 3H; http://www.pulpfact.demon.co.uk/main.html).
Poor people and library services. Edited by Karen M. Venturella. Foreword by Sanford Berman. McFarland, 1998. 190p. Includes contributions by Khafre Abif ("At Work in the Children's Room"), Wizard Marks (on Hosmer Branch Library in Minneapolis), and Sherry Lampman. (Box 611, Jefferson, NC 28640, $26.50, paper, 0-7864-0563-5; http://www.mcfarlandpub.com).
Alternative library literature, 1996/97. Edited by Sanford Berman and James P. Danky. McFarland, 1998. 274p. Includes Carol Seajay on chain bookstores, Chris Atton on anarchism and the Internet, Candi Strecker on "the steamy world of librarian porn," and a special section about "the Hawaii outsourcing scandal." (Box 611, Jefferson, NC 28640, $35, paper, 0-7864-0493-0; http://www.mcfarlandpub.com).
The habits of highly deceptive media: decoding spin and lies in mainstream news. By Norman Solomon. Common Courage Press, 1999. 294p. Columns and essays; includes index. (Box 702, Monroe, ME 04951, 207-525-0900, http://www.commoncouragepress.com; $15.95, paper, 1-56751-154-6).
Censored 1998: the news that didn't make the news--the year's top 25 censored stories. By Peter Phillips & Project Censored. Seven Stories Press, 1998. 367p. (632 Broadway, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10012; $16.95, paper, 1-888363-64-9; http://www.sevenstories.com).
On the fringe: gays and lesbians in politics. By David Rayside. Cornell University Press, 1998. 356p. Scope: Britain, Canada, U.S. (Sage House, 512 E. State St., Ithaca, NY 14850, 607-277-2338, FAX: 607-277-2374; $19.95, paper, 0-8014-8374-3).
Pacifists in bomber jackets. Cartoons by Isabella Bannerman. Laugh Lines Press, 1998. 94p. (Box 259, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004, rozwarren@aol.com, $8.95, paper, 1-889594-04-0).
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