MSRRT Newsletter's alternative news, views, and resource listings were sent via snail mail to members of the Minnesota Library Association Social Responsibilities Round Table (MSRRT). Others subscribed by making a donation ($15 suggested) payable to MLA/MSRRT. Editors: Chris Dodge/Jan DeSirey.
The words are simultaneously a warning and a promise--"PARENTAL ADVISORY EDITION"--on the jacket of our library's copies of I make my own rules (St. Martin's Press, 1997). Earlier this year we wrote about sanitized versions of gangsta rap CDs. With little fanfare, the phenomenon has now spread to books. The autobiography of rapper LL Cool J (real name James Todd Smith), I make my own rules is a story of repentance and redemption. One chapter titled "Excess XXX" begins with a note: "I just wanted to let everyone who is reading this know that I am not proud of anything that is in this chapter and I wouldn't advise any person to do any of the things that I did. Period. I know some of the acts I committed were sick and disgusting." Then it says that "an edition of this book that is suitable for all audiences is available. Check with your local book retailer." Smith proceeds to describe--if at times enthusiastically--his past youthful sexual behavior which he now considers to have been "deviant" and addictive, with "groupies... plentiful as the grains of sand on Jones Beach." Just "how many 17-year-olds do you know who would pass up a blow job?," he wonders. Oddly, though, throughout the "explicit" chapter--as through the book--are sprinkled words decimated by asterisks: "the more I f***ed," "other bulls***," "drugs ain't s***." Who's doing the fooling and who's being fooled? Has St. Martin's caved in to Wal-Mart, or what? What does the censored edition of the book look like? The latest poop on Wal-Mart was reported on the front page of the Wall Street Journal on October 22. Retail chains such as Kroger, Winn-Dixie, and Wal-Mart are now acting as "advance arbiters" of magazine content, the article makes clear. Buyers for the chains have been procuring advance copies of publications, and screening them in order to catch "material that...would be objectionable to many of our customers." Winn-Dixie banned the March 1997 issue of Cosmopolitan, for example, assumably for noting an article about "His & Hers Orgasms" on its cover. Wal-Mart manager Teresa Stanton says, "Every other week I pull something off the shelf that I don't think is of Wal-Mart quality." Are publishers becoming attuned to this concept of "Wal-Mart quality"? The Wall Street Journal piece strongly suggests so, quoting magazine exectives who worry about "risk[ing] our long-term partnership with dealers" and noting that nudity and articles on abortion, homosexuality, and religion all cause red lights to flash. Through it all, consumers' opinions go conspicuously missing. [Thanks to American Newspeak for bringing this story to our attention.]
In a mail ballot tabulated November 26, non-supervisory librarians at the Hennepin County Library system in suburban Minneapolis (HCL) voted overwhelmingly to affiliate with the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME). The 73-9 vote culminated a six month organizing campaign, the first by professional staff in HCL's 75-year history. With ninety-seven voters eligible, the tally represented an 85% "turn-out" and 89% of those voting chose union representation. Although they will constitute their own bargaining unit, the librarians will join other Hennepin County professionals already affiliated with AFSCME, including attorneys, psychologists, nurses, and senior social workers. Support staff and library assistants at HCL are also represented by the union. Other Minnesota libraries with AFSCME representation include Duluth Public Library, Rochester Public Library, and Ramsey County (suburban St. Paul). For more info: Jeff Dains, AFSCME Council 14, 612-455-0773.
Extortion by library trade publishers? A November poster to the library media specialists' electronic discussion group LM_NET thinks so. Decrying the practice of basing prices on library size and budget, the school librarian related a dispute she'd had with a library trade publisher's representative. The issue entailed being charged $205 for a title which had appeared in the catalog for $150. "I was told that the price depended on my book budget...[which] brought instant ire since how did they know my book budget? She told me my budget was $500-600. That was not the case...What if I said my budget was $6,000? Well, then the book would cost $230!" This sort of variable pricing structure is not uncommon. For small libraries (those with book budgets under $100,000), Chadwyck-Healey is charging $495-$995 for its new web-based African American Biographical Database. The rate for large libraries, on the other hand, is $995-1,495. At least as galling, perhaps, are the subscription prices of profiteering trade newsletters whose livelihood depends on the perpetuation of hazardous waste spills, workplace injuries, and racism. Subscriptions to the monthly CTD News ("Workplace Solutions for Repetitive Stress Injuries") are a mere $173, while the bimonthly newsletter Cultural Diversity at Work costs $98. These are a pittance, though, compared to publications like Defense Cleanup which organizes national conferences "for top environmental managers" where admission costs $475 and exhibit booths $900. Related topics are covered in The Newsletter on Serials Pricing Issues. To receive this newsletter, send a message ("subscribe prices [Your Name]") to listproc@unc.edu. Issues are also archived on the Web.
C-LIB, the Conservative Librarians discussion list, has ceased operations. Are you prepared for more email? Here are some other library-related lists we have heretofore neglected to notice:
ANARCHIST LIBRARIANS is a discussion group for "anarchist, left-libertarian, and anti-authoritarian librarians and library workers." To subscribe, send a message ("subscribe librarians [your name]") to majordomo@tao.ca.com
LEZBRIAN is a forum for discussing professional issues of interest to lesbian and bisexual women library workers. To subscribe, send a message ("subscribe lezbrian [your name]") to listserv@listserv.acsu.buff alo.edu
The SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES ROUND TABLE ACTION COUNCIL list is now public. To subscribe, send a message ("subscribe srrtac-l [your name]") to listproc@ala1.ala.org
Criticized here last issue, the fee-based document retrieval service at San Francisco Public Library ("Library Express") was shut down at the end of October. This wasn't done for philosophical or ethical reasons, however. According to SFPL acting director Regina Minudri, the cost of operating the service was higher than the money coming in to support it.
Speaking of the Bay Area, the San Francisco Chronicle ran a piece last summer which was only recently called to our attention. In "Between the lines" (August 3, 1997) Patricia Holt describes her correspondence with a "reader from Canada who claims that she is a former librarian who became a prostitute." The starting point was Holt's interview with Andrea Dworkin (June 15). How does getting paid to enact "librarian fantasies" at $300-500 compare with working "on the desk"? The complete correspondence is much more instructive than the short piece run in the Chronicle. For one thing, we learn that the correspondent is a lesbian, a fact which blows Holt's mind (her own description). "Whores do not take the grand prize of any victim sweepstakes," the Canadian writes. Check out the complete text of the correspondence.
And on that topic, have you seen the upcoming ALA conference theme? "Global Reach. Local Touch." It sounds like a great phone sex service catchphrase. Okay, perhaps our minds are overly lascivious...
Last summer the ALCTS-SS Worst Serials Title Change of the Year Award Committee (a candidate for the MSRRT Most Protracted Committee Name Award) panned Human Quest magazine for having the gall to drop "Churchman's" from its name. Commenting that they were relieved the publication hadn't gone so far as to change its title to "Huperson Quest", the committee joins a large group of people who act as if radical feminists are actually proposing to change "ottoman" to "ottoperson" and other absurdities.
AFRO-AMERICAN NEWS (with weekly national updates)
CRITCHICKS (Mimi Nguyen's rad site: women of color, feminist networking, film reviews, zine links, and much more)
INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION FOR ALTERNATIVE TRADE; includes links to member organizations
LOVE AND RAGE ("Revolutionary Anarchist" newspaper and links)
MEDIA FILTER (free speech, human rights, & investigative journalism links)
PEOPLINK, grassroots artisans showcase
PLANET PEACE (indigenous and environmental initiatives & action alerts)
REFUSE & RESIST! (activist news & info)
SLANT ("One asiatic geek girl's guide to feminist multi(sub)cultural insurrection")
The trouble with Dilbert: how corporate culture gets the last laugh. By Norman Solomon. Common Courage Press, 1997. 101p. Poking fun at management fads, corporate jargon, and dysfunctional office politics, the comic strip "Dilbert" is immensely popular. Just who is this cartoon character posted on cubicle walls and adorning the covers of Fortuneand Newsweek? Is "Dilbert" just "a witty spoof of daily life at the office"? Why is the strip so popular with Wall Street Journal readers? In addressing these questions, media critic Norman Solomon points out that "Dilbert" focuses almost solely on mid-level managers and individual incompetence. It never shows the upper echelon--CEOs, board members, and shareholders--nor does it present even a glimpse of the "workers who actually make the stuff" or the janitors who clean up after them. Covering a middle range of corporate dysfunction, it steers clear of critiquing corporate business as usual. Issues like outsourcing, union-busting, repetitive motion injuries, and sexual harassment are never mentioned. This should be entirely unsurprising, Solomon argues, given that "Dilbert" creator Scott Adams makes a killing on product spin-offs, commercials, and deals with corporations like Xerox and Intel. Solomon sees the comic as a "cynical placebo" that mirrors Adams' writings in books like The Dilbert Principle. "If you can't be rich, the next best thing is to be smug and cynical," Adams writes. "If you can come to peace with the fact that you're surrounded by idiots, you'll realize that resistance is futile." How dispiriting can you get? To Solomon, Dilbert represents a "mild strain of irreverence" which--like television sitcoms--fosters nothing so much as passivity. Inspired by Ariel Dorfman's How to read Donald Duck, this brief book aims to get people thinking critically about popular culture and offers solid rebuttals to anyone who claims "it's just a cartoon." Illustrated with comic strips by Tom Tomorrow, Scott Adams, and Clay Butler. (1 Red Barn Rd., Monroe, ME 04951, 207-525-0900, FAX: 207-525-3068; $9.95, paper, 1-56751-132-5).
Ringing in the wilderness: selections from the North Country Anvil. Edited by Rhoda R. Gilman. Holy Cow! Press, 1996. 380p. In Minnesota from 1972 to 1989, nearly sixty issues of a thoughtful low-circulation magazine were born. Criticizing the military-industrial complex, discussing sustainable economics, and covering practical alternatives, the North Country Anvil itself modeled do-it-yourself perspicacity. This anthology of essays, poetry, short fiction, and photos from its pages presents source material for people interested in Upper Midwest history. It covers the co-op movement, draft resistance, and Wounded Knee, and contains articles about rural homesteading experiments, the founding of the People's Bakery (still operating on Lake Street in Minneapolis), "organic" product certification, and the growth of Green politics. Including an essay by editor Rhoda Gilman about the Anvil's own story, it also reprints items on the state's somewhat more distant "radical past." A firsthand account by Minnesota WPA artist Syd Fossum is compelling, as is a profile of the Iron Range's courageous U.S. Representative John Bernard who, on his second day in Congress in early 1937, cast the sole vote against the Spanish Arms Embargo Resolution. If some of the material here is journalistic and seems dated, other pieces mirror contemporary concerns uncannily. Among these are Neala Schleuning's "Letter from a welfare mother" and an article which notes organized labor positions on "the Domed Stadium debate." This timeless feeling is augmented by philosophical questions posed by Anvil writers (and longtime editor Jack Miller) which remain unresolved. Expressed most concisely in poems by Linda Hasselstrom and others, these yearning ideas about community, alienation, spirituality, and independence breathe life into this anthology. If history is a series of disappointments, they seem to say, its lessons at least hold out hope for the future. (P.O. Box 3170, Duluth, MN, 55803, 218-724-1653; $14.95, paper, 0-9031000-63-8).
Voices from inside (Video). Produced and directed by Katrina Epperlein. Transit 2000, 1996. 60 minutes. It has been said that everything can be taken from a person but the freedom to choose one's attitude. This portrait of four women prisoners locked up in the federal gulag in Dublin, California, testifies to this truth. Dancer and theater artist Katrina Epperlein went to the prison to lead a racially-diverse group of women in breathing, movement, and vocalization exercises. What came from this was a collaborative theatrical piece, as well as a powerful film about women's vulnerability, shared struggle, and strength. We learn four women's personal stories--one of them, Puerto Rican independentista Dylcia Pagan, was sentenced to 55 years for "seditious conspiracy"--and witness interviews with children they are not allowed to touch. It is impossible not to be moved at the sight of blossoming and growth under these conditions. To realize that empathy and love can be fostered even in prison's harsh climate engenders hope. The social reality remains bleak, however. The number of women prisoners in the U.S. has increased fivefold since 1983. Three-fourths of these women have been convicted of nonviolent offenses and eighty percent are mothers. Finally, Epperlein herself notes that this film could probably not be made in today's political climate. "Call for special discounts for community organizations." (Distributor: New Day Films, 22D Hollywood Ave., Hohokus, NJ 07423, 201-652-6590, FAX: 201-652-1973; $250; http://www.newday.com).
Seven stories (Compact disc). By James Kelman. AK Press Audio, 1997. 72 minutes. The struggle is not simply to get ahead, but to stay alive. Booker Prize winner James Kelman's first-person tales of hardscrabble living in Britain feature homeless women, buskers, drunks, "roof sliders" and porters. Related by their Glasgow-born author in a voice just above a deep whisper, they make the listener feel like a bus rider privy to secrets, some of which are discomforting. "What has happened to all my dreams is what I would like to know. Presently I am a physical wreck. If by chance I scratch my head while strolling, showers of dandruff reel onto the paved walkway....I put myself in mind of an undernourished 87-year-old." The longest piece here is a boozy insider's account about two gamblers ("punters") and their efforts to win at the greyhound track. Essentially a story about friendship, its intimacy is such that one can practically smell its pints of brown ale, stale smoke, and musty tenement rooms. Highly recommended. (Box 40682, San Francisco, CA 94140-0682, 415-864-0892, FAX: 415-864-0893, akpress@org.org; $13.98, 1-873176-34-1; http://www.akpress.org).
School's out: poems not for school. By Benjamin Zephaniah. AK Press, 1997. 56p. "Tried and tested in the playground," driven by Caribbean rhythms, these are performance poems which would undoubtedly be better heard than read. In fact, like Linton Kwesi Johnson and Mutabaruka, the UK-born Zephaniah has recorded extensively with musical groups. Our recommendation: check out the audio works first, such as Workers Playtime (available from AK). Here Zephaniah raps about fashion, violence, sexuality, and social class. "School days were so different/Now school days are done/Now is all commitments/Must make time for fun/Now it's not so physical/Now there's more above/In ways it's kind of spiritual/Dere's more to luv dan luv." A web site (http://www.oneworld.org/zephaniah) contains more info about the poet. (P.O. Box 40682, San Francisco, CA 94140-0682, 415-864-0892, FAX: 415-864-0893, akpress@org.org; $8.95, paper, 1-873176-49-X).
Inventory: new and selected poems. By Frank Lima. Edited by DavidShapiro. Hard Press, 1997. 201p. At their most magical, Frank Lima's poems are a privilege to experience. Lithe, romantic, earthy, they can be read over and over, like prayers filled with moving images. "I live in a bundle of unfaithful bones/My heart is a country where you are the president/The feathers in my pillow are your countless/Kisses that follow me to sleep" ("Recuerdos"). Growing up in Spanish Harlem during the 50s, Lima's life was a florescence of incest, drug use, and prison, some of which he relates in his autobiographical "Scattered vignettes." Now a teacher of culinary arts, Lima has never stopped writing. If many of his newer poems sacrifice intelligibility, straining with wild metaphors for the sake of metaphors, certain phrases cut cleanly. "I feel like a watermelon covered with Jergens Lotion," he writes (in "Ode to Love--Part 2"). "The kisses I send you are little/patches of fog that bark at the sea." Nothing more need be said when he describes a "panty-blue sky" or "your legs/two black highways around my neck." At their best, these poems are just a little bit ridiculous and surreal, like the writings of Russian absurdist Daniil Kharms. Here is "Un Poco Loco" in its entirety: "I want to eat everything you are wearing/ your dark red feathers/your doorbell/the ant farm in your poems/the little red hair in your watch." (P.O. Box 184, West Stockbridge, MA 01266, editors@hardpress.com; $12.95, paper, 1-889097-10-1; http://www.hardpress.com).
Outlaws, renegades and saints: diary of a mixed-up halfbreed. By Tiffany Midge. Greenfield Review Press, 1996. 103p. "It is my birthday. I ask my mother, 'when I grow up will I be a full-blooded Indian?'" Winner of the North American Native Authors First Book Award, this collection of poetry and short prose is about family, cultural survival, humor, irony ("it's my only defense...it's all we have left"), and a world in which Cherokees and Dakotas are names for motor vehicle models. Largely centered around the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Montana, these writings are marked by repetition like hiccups, stuttering, drumbeats, heartbeats ("we were spared/we were spared/we were spared"). The author is a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation and currently lives in Seattle. (P.O. Box 308, Greenfield Center, New York, 12833, 518-584-1728; $12.95, paper, 0-912678-93-3).
Let's go down to the beach: poems and translations by William Lawlor. Poetry Harbor, 1996. 127p. At the heart of this collection are poems and excerpts by four writers from Cuba and the Dominican Republic--Belkis Cuza Mali, Nicolas Guillin, Pedro Mir, and Carlos Dobal--appearing both in their original Spanish and translated into English. Dobal's are spare and especially incisive, as in "Poema de las doce" ("Poem at midnight"), a love song to the white page: "La pagina blanca,/abierta y estatica,/tienta a un mismo tiempo/mi cuerpo/y mi alma." Lawlor's own writings are generally more satisfying than his translations. Ranging from poetic tall tales ("The right to bear arms") to true stories ("A question for high physics"), they blend playfulness with love. One pays homage to a dead neighbor, while another relates a game of telephone tag with "Mr. Muse." Other highlights: a paean to Cuban-American baseball player Minnie Minoso, a Bob Dylan cento, and a thoughtful piece about "a contemptuous person" who let down defenses momentarily. (P.O. Box 103, Duluth, MN 55801, $13.95, paper, 0-9641986-9-X).
Women's periodicals in the United States: social and political issues. Edited by Kathleen L. Endres and Therese L. Lueck. Greenwood Press, 1996. 529p. This useful work profiles a selection of 76 significant publications, from such nineteenth-century titles as Ida B. Wells' Free Speech and Headlight, to contemporary publications, among them, Sojourner, off our backs, Lilith and Feminist Teacher. Not intended to be exhaustive, it contains narrative histories of publications advocating both for and against women's suffrage, and representing the interests of clubwomen, radical feminists (No More Fun and Games), businesswomen, lesbians (e.g., The Ladder) and revolutionaries. Whether peace or labor movement magazine, or journal for women exploring celibacy, over of third of the titles represented here had a life span of shorter than ten years. Arranged alphabetically, each entry includes current location sources, as well as data on title changes, and (when known) circulation figures and names of editors. The book seems competently indexed (by name and broad subject) and is made further accessible by the addition of a chronology. (88 Post Rd. West, Westport, CT 06881, 201-226-3571; $110, cloth, 0-313-28632-9).
Paper, Scissors, Clocks is a new zine from Erik Farseth, creator of J. Cruelty. The 136-page edition examined (will there be more?) is a many-headed beast, with an interesting assortment of articles and commentary, most concerning politics and pop culture. Amidst a riot of clip art collages, interviews with Henry Rollins and peace activist Marv Davidov rub shoulders, along with articles about owls, bees, and pirates. Opinionated and often insightful reviews of children's literature classics and the current spate of zine books are accompanied by pieces on B-movies like "Return of the Streetfighter" and analysis of Neil Diamond's music. If some of the pieces seem to end abruptly or trail off, persistent readers will wend their way through this maze. It's like a carnival in print, where satirical fashion suggestions cohabitate with corporate welfare statistics, and a straightforward history of breakdancing precedes a tongue-in-cheek profile of conceptual artist Crisceau (who "in 1980...laid down 30 miles of flypaper outside the city of Gainesville, Florida"). Plus, you've gotta like the comparison of Oi! with Hootie and the Blowfish. (P.O. Box 14117, Minneapolis, MN 55414; $3.95).
The Baffler, a journal focusing on cultural and political analysis, has been lauded in Factsheet Five (#5 got "Editor's Choice" billing in early 1994) and now anthologized as Commodify your dissent (Norton, 1997). Though only appearing about once a year, libraries ought to subscribe to it. Each issue contains a mixture of essays, short fiction and poetry, usually organized around a central theme. The 128-page #9 ("An injury to all") examines organized labor, with articles on the current state of higher education (do you know about new "tenure-free" and for-profit institutions like Arizona International University and the University of Phoenix?) and pieces about local labor history, including Peter Rachleff's "Cram your Spam." It exposes two prime sources of free and cheap labor (internships and prison industries), and also contains articles about "what works" and "what doesn't" when it comes to workplace democracy and organizing. Risa Mickenberg adds a touch of levity with imaginary letters from an insistent marketer ("Direct male"). Previous editions have taken on the capitalization of "alternative" culture (#5) and looked at "Twentieth century lite: the city in the age of information," with contributors from Stephen Duncombe (Primary Documents) and Paul Lukas (Beer Frame). If generally well written, The Baffler is not inclined toward solutions or networking. As Erik Farseth puts it, "I wish they gave some ideas for action and didn't just criticize, which makes people feel like there's no hope." (P.O. Box 378293, Chicago, IL 60637; subscriptions: 7563 Lake City Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115; $20/4; 1059-9789).
The Ten Page News is a more-or-less monthly zine which features full-fledged reviews of alternative press publications. Recent issues have covered such titles as Spectacle, The Palindromist, and Temp Slave. Editor Owen Thomas also writes about punctuation, reviews movies featuring mathematicians and math teachers, offers amusing poems about his first car and learning to drive, and provides off-kilter Biblical miscellanea. Issue #15 includes commentary on the "serial comma" (noting the "probably apocryphal" book dedication, "To my parents, Ayn Rand and God"), while the 15-page #16 rips the "vile, unreadable, slick" POPsmear. There have also been three all-zine-review supplements (Indy Unleashed), as well as a joyfully thorough index to the first fifteen issues (ours came with a customized comic strip). Unpretentious, entertaining, and useful. (Owen Thomas, P.O. Box 9651, Columbus, OH 43209, vlorbik@delphi.com; $5/7 issues; http://people.delphi.com/vlorbik).
Harbinger ("Leaving the 20th century") is a publication of the CrimethInc. Workers' Collective intended "to criticize such modern phenomena as advertising." The 8-page tabloid labeled "First Communiqu?43 months and counting," includes questions and answers about passivity and desire, commentary on how to keep from being immobilized by fear of hypocrisy, an essay on plagiarism and intellectual property, and a manifesto in favor of falling in love ("the ultimate act of revolution"), as well as an anti-TV rant, a takeoff on the comic strip "Dilbert" ("Despair"), and an exercise designed to promote awareness in "the limited amount of time granted to us in this world." The editors ask, "Are there ways of thinking, acting, and living that might be more satisfying and exciting than the ways we think, act, and live today?" (P.O. Box 13731, Salem, OR 97309).
Biker Pride, a zine written by Twin Cities bicycle courier Sam Tracy, contains writings about automobile culture, politics, and biking. Issue #10 includes a personal account of paying "the stupid tax" (a bike crash and subsequent head trauma), thoughts on Critical Mass "Midwestern Style," and a satirical lexicon of "improved meanings" (e.g., "Bicycle: toy; a product designed for weekend recreation... not designated for use on roads or highways"), along with short fiction, some of it bike-related and one skewering the ad industry. (P.O. Box 2275, Minneapolis, MN 55402).
Pity Party is a personal zine put out by library school student Katia Roberto. In issue #1/2 Katia writes about feeling excluded from a feminist campus group, being bisexual with an opposite sex partner, growing up as the daughter of Italian immigrants, and experiences with self-mutilation ("I was a teenage cutter"), while issue #2/3 contains conflicting thoughts about marriage, notes from a women's therapy group ("like a soap opera"), and difficult memories about being molested by a cousin. Katia quotes Muriel Rukeyser's poem, "K?e Kollwitz," which is emblematic of her own writing here: "What would happen if one woman told the truth about her life? The world would split open." (URH 404 Sherman Hall, 909 S. 5th St., Champaign, IL 61820-6284, roberto@alexia.lis.uiuc.edu).
Quill & Quire ("Canada's magazine of book news and reviews") appears monthly. The 80-page September 1996 tabloid (v.62 #9) includes an article about the demise of Coach House Press, criticism of a new Canadian "blended" tax on books and magazines, and review essays on lesbian and gay travel guides and children's nature books, as well as an indexed (and briefly annotated) listing of fall titles. Also: more than fifty signed reviews (somewhat longer than ones found in Publishers Weekly). The October edition contains a horrifying apologetic for corporate logos on library cards as a moneymaking device. (Editorial: 70 The Esplanade, Suite 210, Toronto, Ontario, M5E 1R2, Canada, quill@hookup.net; subscriptions: 35 Riviera Dr., Unit 17, Markham, Ontario, L3R 8N4, 905-946-0406, FAX: 905-946-0410; $48.15).
American Book Review is a bimonthly tabloid covering "current books of literary interest published by the small, large, university, regional, third world, women's and other presses." The 32-page May/June 1997 issue (v.#18 #4) focuses impressively on contemporary Australian poetry, but also covers titles from such U.S. publishers as Singing Horse Press (Harriet Mullen's Muse & drudge) and Calyx Books (Patricia Grossman's Four figures in time). Forthcoming issues were planned to examine "science and literature," as well as "response to the literary malaise." The masthead reads like a writers who's who, with such contributing and associate editors as Andrei Codrescu, Joyce Carol Oates, Ishmael Reed, Rudolfo Anaya, and Kathy Acker. Indexed in Book Review Index, among others. (Unit for Contemporary Literature, Campus Box 4241, Illinois State University, IL 61790-4241, 309-438-2127, FAX: 309-438-3523; $24 individual, $30 institutional; ISSN: 0149-9408).
Hour Community is a monthly publication of Madison HOURS, a community currency program based in Madison, Wisconsin. Besides an extensive directory that appears in each issue--listing services offered and sought by participants, from accounting services to yoga classes--the 12-page July 1997 edition (v.2 #7) contains contact data for over forty other local currency systems around North America, with profiles of two. A typical issue also has articles on economics and social justice, such as pieces reprinted from Holly Sklar's book Chaos or community?, the August edition's report on "the partnership between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the gun industry," and September's material on "the rural prison boom" and the rising U.S. incarceration rate. (Box 3204, Madison, WI 53704, 608-259-9050).
Femme Flicke is a zine focusing on independent films and videos, especially those made by women. Besides reviews and news items, the issue seen (#6) includes an article about the films of Chantal Akerman, interviews with "Girls Town" performer Anna Grace and director Jim McKay, and journal entries by African American lesbian filmmaker Lenn Keller, as well as guides to the best theaters, video stores, and film equipment sources in Minneapolis and Washington, DC. Also: "What you can do to support underground film" and "Rappaport: reimagining the lives of Rock Hudson and Jean Seberg." (Tina Spangler, 99 Hancock St., #4, Cambridge, MA 02139-2226; $2/issue).
Bleached Blonde ("The bad ass girl guide to adventure") is a new personal zine "about feminism ...being queer [and] being political." In the 22-page December 1997 initial issue, editor Jet writes engagingly about her positive experiences as a stripper in Japan ("Tokyo...through the eyes of a western sex worker"), relates details from her job history (everything from waiting tables to providing child care), and describes eccentric people she's seen while running in a park. She also writes about lesbian dating dilemmas and the "money addiction" which fueled her increasingly unhappy stripping and nude dancing gigs in the U.S. (Jet, P.O. Box 8713, Denver, CO 80201, 303-861-5787; $1 and 2 stamps, $6/6 payable to Julie Thompson).
Mamasita! is a zine produced by Bianca Ortiz, who calls herself "Mexican and European displaced since birth in America." In issue #4 she writes about being "so American and so Chicana and watching the two fight," comments on Jos?ntonio Burgiaga's book Drink cultura, and talks about internalized hatred, the label "Chicano," learning Spanish, and embarrasment at not being able to speak it well. She also writes about identity issues in her one-shot zines Hey Mexican! and Mestiza. The former contains a letter about the term "wetback," while the latter is a concise account about who she is: "mixed but never mixed-up." (2415 Fordham, San Pablo, CA 94806; $1 each).
Drumvoices Revue ("A Confluence of Literary, Cultural & Vision Arts") is a magazine issued by the English Department of Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, in collaboration with the Eugene B. Redmond Writers Club of East St. Louis. Intended for publication twice a year, recent editions have appeared annually as combined issues. Focusing heavily on poetry, contributors have included Gwendolyn Brooks, Dennis Brutus, Quincy Troupe, and Joy Harjo. Illustrated with photos, some in color, the 144-page Fall-Winter 1995/96 issue (v.5 #1/2) includes the text of a roundtable discussion on multiculturalism held at the 1993 American Booksellers Convention (participants included Brenda Mitchell-Powell and Cornell West), the continuation of a report on the 1994 National Black Arts Festival, and an unedited interview with teacher and poet Jerry Ward, Jr., as well as a personal narrative about taking part in the Million Man March. (Box 1431, SIUE, Edwardsville, IL 62026-1431, 618-692-2060, FAX: 618-692-3509; $10).
Shambhala Sun ("Creating enlightened society") is a glossy bimonthly Buddhist magazine. The 80-page January 1996 issue (v.4 #3) contains an interview with Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as the text of her keynote address (delivered via smuggled videotape) at the UN Conference on Women in Beijing. Also: an excerpt from Thich Nhat Hanh's Cultivating the mind of love (Parallax Press, 1996), Haida trickster tales, book reviews, and commentary by Willis Harmon on what he sees as the spiritual foundation of economic crisis. Two anti-feminist letters to the editor stand out like sore thumbs (one is from a man who finds "feminism...a symptom of human suffering."), as does a photo-essay on (male) film directors. (Editorial: 1585 Barrington St., Suite 300, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, B3J 1Z8, 902-422-8404, FAX: 902-423-2701; U.S.: 1345 Boulder, CO 80302, shambsun@ra.isisnet.com; $15 for new subscribers; ISSN: 1190-7886).
Baobab Notes ("News and views from Southern Africa") is a bimonthly publication of the Mozambique Solidarity Office. The 10-page February/ March 1996 issue (v.5 #1) contains an obituary for activist Jean Sindab (reprinted from Amsterdam News), two single-page editions of Angola Peace Monitor (v.2 #4/5), and criticism of Cameron Hume's Ending Mozambique's war. Union-printed on recycled paper. (6 Goodrich Rd., #2, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130, 617-983-2239, FAX: 617-983-2240; hkalan@acs.bu.edu).
The Jerusalem Monitor, a monthly newsletter produced by the nonprofit American Committee on Jerusalem, is intended to counter "disinformation [which] emphasizes Israeli and Jewish claims to the city." The 6-page December 1996 edition (v.1 #2) contains a report on ethnic cleansing in East Jerusalem, a chronology "devoted to documenting the daily impact that Israeli policies have on the local Muslim and Christian population," and a page of relevant quotations. (4201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 404, Washington, DC 20008, 202-237-0215, FAX: 202-244-3196, acj@access.digex.net).
AhoraNow is a bilingual (Spanish/English) publication of the Labor/Community Strategy Center, a Los Angeles-based "multiracial 'think tank/act tank' committed to...class-conscious labor organizing, fighting for environmental justice, immigrant rights, and first-class mass transportation." The 20-page issue #4 contains detailed analysis of the Center's lawsuit (with the Bus Riders Union) against the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority, as well as commentary on health care industry "solutions" which focus on maintaining profits, material about Korean Immigrant Workers Advocates and its efforts to combat problems in the restaurant business, and an article about "rock en espa? by recent convert Maria Elena Fernandez. Previous issues have included material on affirmative action and the politics of language. (3780 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1200, Los Angeles, CA 90010, 213-387-2800, FAX: 213-387-3500, laborctr@igc.apc.org; $25 donation; http://www.igc.apc.org/lctr).
CCC Reporter is the magazine of the Citizens Coal Council, a "grass roots federation of coal field citizen groups working for social and environmental justice." The 24-page Fall 1996 issue includes a profile of 60s Kentucky activist Widow Coombs, updates on Navajo and Zuni struggles with the federal Office of Surface Mining, suggestions for organizing corporate campaigns, and a review of George Pring and Penelope Canan's SLAPPS: getting sued for speaking out, as well as material on new corporate tax breaks and stats on cash donations from coal companies to the Republican and Democratic parties. (110 Maryland Ave. NE, Room 408, Washington, DC 20002, citzcoal@essential.org, $20; editorial: 1705 S. Pearl St., Denver, CO 80210, 303-722-9119, FAX: 303-722-8338, ccc@netone.com).
Lib ED--a.k.a. Libertarian Education ("A magazine for the liberation of learning")--is put out by the UK-based Libertarian Education Collective. The 16-page Summer 1996 issue (#27) includes an article on the widespread prescription of Ritalin for hyperactive children ("ADD and the medicalisation of schooling"), the second of a two-part article by Chris Atton on corporate sponsorship in education, and a report on a democratic schools conference, as well as book reviews (e.g., Racism in children's lives: a study of mainly-white primary schools) and resource listings. Also: "Political illiteracy and the writing on the wall: the crisis of British universities in the 1990s." (Phoenix House, 170 Wells Rd., Bristol, BS4 2AG, England).
Squealer ("Music and non-fiction from the Upper Midwest and beyond") is published bimonthly, with a focus mostly on the Twin Cities rock scene. Writing in each edition ranges from thoughtful to sophomoric (e.g., inconsequential essays on topics like "the worst acid trip I ever had"). Besides standard rock reviews and interviews, the 40-page June/July 1997 issue includes an expressive essay by Gabriella West on being the odd one out in a romantic triangle, a substantial and interesting interview with author Leslea Newman (Heather has two mommies), and an account about picking up a hitchhiker who was in the process of legally changing his name to a number ("to protect his identity, I will change his number to 1249"), as well as a personal report on this year's South by Southwest music fest and commentary on the Mike Diana case. Previous editions have included an account of hearing Billy Graham at the Metrodome ("M-m-m-my salvation") and whiny, though not off-target, criticism of a zine show held at the Walker Art Center. Ads make up 20-25% of this publication's content. (Box 818308, Minneapolis, MN 55418, 612-378-9523, FAX: 612-378-3227, squealer@bitstream.net).
Chorus is a new Minnesota-based quarterly arts tabloid that--like its spiritual predecessor Artpaper--is political and anything but provincial. The 44-page issue #3 contains interviews (e.g., with Mexican artists Yohua Okun and Miguel Calderon), writings by prisoners at Oak Park Heights and Stillwater ("Words from the big house"), criticism of Star Tribune arts coverage, and an article about the marketing of the dance music known as "electronica," along with essays on "McDisney," Che Guevara, Northern Ireland, and the concept of home. Also: reviews of Minneapolis and New York exhibitions, as well as recordings, concerts, and books. Initially published November 1996 as Famine Chorus. (711 W. Lake St., Ste. 307, Minneapolis, MN 55408, 612-824-9009, FAX: 612-824-0167, chorus@bitstream.net).
Open Arms of Minnesota Newsletter describes the ongoing work of an organization providing home-delivered meals to persons with HIV/AIDS. The 12-page Summer 1997 edition includes news of Open Arms' new home on Franklin Avenue, a profile of a program participant, and a list of volunteer needs, as well as board member Phil Willkie's "Reflections on six yearswith Open Arms." (1414 Franklin Ave. E., Minneapolis, MN 55404, 612-872-1152, FAX: 612-872-0866).
African American Images new and recent titles include Brenda Wall's The Rodney King rebellion: a psychopolitical analysis of racial despair & hope, Jawanza Kunjufu's Black college student survival guide, and Madeleine Wright's Sisters helping sisters. (1909 W. 95th St., Chicago, IL 60643, 773-552-1991, FAX: 773-445-9844, aai@africanamericanimages.com, http://www.africanamericanimages .com).
New from Latin American Literary Review Press: Cruel fictions, cruel realities: short stories by Latin American women writers and The mirror of Lida Sal, the latter "a never-before translated collection of stories based on Mayan myth and Guatemalan folklore," by 1967 Nobel Laureate Miguel Angel Asturias. (121 Edgewood Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15218, 412-371-9023, FAX: 412-371-9025, lalrp@aol.com).
Kelsey St. Press specializes in publishing "the collaborative writing and art of women," from such poets and artists as Mei-mei Berssenbrugge, Camille Roy, and Alison Saar. (P.O. Box 9235, Berkeley, CA 94709, 510-845-2260, FAX: 510-548-9185, kelseyst@sirius.com; http://www.sirius.com/~kelseyst).
New and recent from Chardon Press: Justice by the people: action education workshops for community safety & police accountability, Grassroots grants: an activist's guide to proposal writing, and Suzanne Pharr's In the time of the right: reflections on liberation. (P.O. Box 11607, Berkeley, CA 94712, 510-704-8714, FAX: 510-649-7913, chardn@aol.com).
Fanlight Productions offers videos on health care, aging, and disabilities. Recent titles include "To Choose No Harm: Ethical Decision Making at the End of Life." (47 Halifax St., Boston, MA 02130, 1-800-937-4113, FAX: 617-524-8838).
International Publishers new titles include Victor Perlo's Economics of racism II: the roots of inequality, USA and Virginia Warner Brodine's Seed of the fire, a novel about Irish immigrant workers in Ohio. (239 W. 23rd St., New York, NY 10011, 212-366-9816, FAX: 212-366-9820).
Recent titles from New York University Press include Radical feminism: a documentary history, Gay macho: the life and death of the homosexual clone, and The color of crime: racial hoaxes, white fear, Black protectionism, police harassment, and other macroaggressions. (70 Washington Square S., New York, NY 10012, 1-800-996-NYUP, http://www.nyupress.nyu.edu).
Africa World Press/Red Sea Press new titles include No monopoly on suffering: Blacks and Jews in Crown Heights (and elsewhere), Betty LaDuke's Africa: women's art, women's lives, and In search of cool ground: war, flight, & homecoming in Northeast Africa. (11-D Princess Rd., Lawrenceville, NJ 08648-2319, 609-844-9583, FAX: 609-844-0198).
The Mural Resource and Education Center at the nonprofit Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC) is one of the country's largest repositories of information about murals and public art. For more information: 685 Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291, 310-822-9560, FAX: 310-827-8717.
The Foundation for a Compassionate Society supports such feminist projects worldwide as WINGS (Women's International News Gathering Service), Women's Peace Caravan, and FIRE (Feminist International Radio Endeavor). For more info: P.O. Box 868, Kyle, TX 78640-0868, 512-447-6222, ffacs@igc.apc.org, http://www.compassionate.org).
"Savvy troublemaking: politics for new labor activists" is a 24-page pamphlet published by Solidarity, the independent Socialist organization. Included are resource lists of how-to books, labor histories, and videos, as well as related organizations. (7012 Michigan Ave., Detroit, MI 48210, 313-841-0160, solidarity@igc.apc.org, http://www.labornet.org/solidarity ; $1).
Not black and white: inside words from the Bronx WritersCorps. Edited by Mary Hebert. Plain View Press, 1996. 243p. (P.O. Box 33311, Austin, TX 78764, 512-441-2452, sbpvp@eden.com; $17.95, paper, 0-911051-83-X; http://www.eden.com/~sbpvp).
Each one teach one: up and out of poverty: memoirs of a street activist. By Ron Casanova as told to Stephen Blackburn. Curbstone Press, 1996. 260p. (321 Jackson St., Willimantic, CT 06226, 860-423-5110, curbston@connix.com; $22.95, cloth, 1-880684-37-3).
Hot licks: lesbian musicians of note. Edited by Lee Fleming. Gynergy Books, 1996. 135p. Profiles and contact data for two dozen singers and bands, from Toshi Reagon and k.d. lang, to Tribe 8. (Box 2023, Charlottetown, P.E.I., Canada, C1A 7N7; $24.95, paper, 0-921881-42-8).
On the edge: women making hockey history. By Elizabeth Etue & Megan K. Williams. Second Story Press, 1996. 336p. Includes a directory of women's sports and hockey organizations. (730 Bathurst St., Suite 301, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S 2R4; $16.95, paper, 0-929005-79-1).
The art of democracy: a concise history of popular culture in the United States. By Jim Cullen. Monthly Review Press, 1996. 320p. (122 W. 27th St., New York, NY 10001, 212-691-2555, FAX: 212-727-3676, mreview@igc.apc.org; $18, paper, 0-85345-920-7).
Pushing the limits: disabled dykes produce culture. Edited by Shelley Tremain. Women's Press, 1996. 246p. Anthology of fiction, personal narratives, poetry, and art by disabled lesbians. (517 College St., Suite 302, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M6G 4A2, 416-921-2425, FAX: 416-921-4428, wompress@web.apc.org; $13.95, paper, 0-88961-218-8).