The Marginal Press Project

In the late 1980's, I embarked on what I then believed would be a long term project. Inspired by the work of Mike Gunderloy and Bob Black, as well as numerous librarians, I set out to catalog, in a bibliographic manner, as many sources related to the so-called Marginal Press as possible.

I had no idea the area would become as popular as it has today.

The 'zine and marginal world has changed, some, since then, I think. There's even more media attention, and the diversity of 'zines has meant that you could see an article about 'zines as realistically in Outside as you could in PC Week. And the burgeoning e-zine evolution has changed the face, and ease, of publishing for many.

Gunderloy is gone from the zine stage, of course. FF5 periodically lives on in new, perhaps improved, forms whenever someone raises it back (or inherits the mailing list). But its work has been displaced by others, like the Zine Yearbook. Conferences are held where zinesters get together and socialize and bicker. Librarians build libraries of zines for the collector and curious alike.

I ended up putting out 3 issues of MPP. When I went back to fight with my scanner about getting them electronicized, I could only find issues 1 and 2. If anyone has a copy of #3, I'd really love to get my hands on it - the diskettes are long, long gone.

What is here are the first two issues of the Marginal Press Project. The information is very dated at points (and I'm in the process of trying to bring it all up to date, or at least accurately errata'd), but the spirit, and I hope the idea, is still interesting.

Issue #1 concerned itself with some basic sources and early articles on the 'zine phenomenon, as well as some tangential sources.

Issue #2 concerned itself with "more of the above," and included a lengthy, and then (1988) fairly complete bibliography of the late Gerry Reith. [note: still under conversion...]

In the time since this page went up, I've received some updates to the information contained within. Thanks to all who wrote, and please do send your own updates, should you have them.

Do let me know if you find these interesting, or if you have any input on the still unanswered questions posed in the MPPs.

For the project is still ongoing

Thanks!