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[ Marginals and those Closely Related ]

Black, Bob. "Beneath the Underground." Loompanics Mail Catalog( 1 ) 1987. 150-156.

The most detailed and thorough examination of the Marginal Press that I've (thus far) found. Black gives an overview of the MP's concerns, as well as as focusing on the case of Gerry Reith. Includes a list of sources, some out of date...

Black, Bob. "Mailing Their Way Into Anarchy." Boston Review ( 2 ) August l986. 9-11.

An edited version of the above article. But useful on it's own. Includes a Donna Kossy collage for a title picture, and an abbreviated version of the source list given above. Get the original for the better work... There is an additional reprint of one of the versions of these two in Popular Reality, date unknown.

Cohen, R.H. "Art and Letters: Please, Mr. Postman, Look and See... Is There a Work of Art in Your Bag for Me." ARTNews 80.10 (Dec. 1981). 68-73.

In which the author gives a nice history of what mail art is, and maybe was. A worthwhile historical article, certainly entertaining, but not exceptionally probing to my reading.

Gunderson, Chris. "The Xerox Underground." Utne Reader ( 3 ) Oct/Nov 1986. 21-22.

Basically a blurb for Black's Boston Review article. But tries to draw some larger extrapolations out in it's sma]l space.

Kinney, Jay. "New Wave in Print." CoEvolution Quarterly( 4 ) Winter 1979/80 (Number 24). 121-125.

An overview of the major Punkzines of the time, with addresses and further contacts. Interesting reading, but of the 'zines listed, I know of only one that still survives.

Kinney, Jay. Backstage With 'Bob': Is the Church of the SubGenius the Ultimate Cult?" Whole Earth Review( 5 ) Fall 1986 (Number 52). 86-89.

Fairly nicely written article on the SubGenii, however brief and appropriately sensationalistic. Takes the Church seriously, but not in a paranoid or panic-stricken manner. But Kinney's been around such weirdness for a long time.

Klawans, Stewart. "The Small Time" The Nation( 6 ) 244.12 (March 28 1987). 407-409.

A discussion of Popular Reality, which Klawans recommended (although I can't find the column. anyone?) a while ago, and now rescinds the recommendation, due to holocaust revisionism in PRs pages. Actua]ly, an interesting piece, with some points - valid ones at times.

Klawans, Stewart. "The Small Time." The Nation. 244.19 (May 16 1987) 654-656.

In which Klawans discusses some about mail art, lists a few sources unencountered, and recommends conversion of New York Times columnist A.M. Rosenthal to a mail artist.

Langdon, J.F. "Life and Times of the Undergrounds." The Match( 7 ) Fall 1985 (number 80). 9-11.

A bit of reminiscing on the old sixties periodicals, and a comparison of these with what the author has found in the streets today. Calls for a bit more extremism, as a result of that old lefty paranoia.

Saunders, Jack( 8 ) "Guest Editorial: A Dissenting View." Small Press Review( 9 ). 19.4 (April 1987). 3.

Basically the standardized rant by Saunders on his favorite subject: why he isn~t accepted by New York. But actually, Saunders has more to say, here and in his books. Check 'em out, particularly the more recent work like Open Book or Evil Genius. It's just that the bitching seems to get overwhelming at times. Also note that in Small Press Review of June/July there are responding letters.

Stang, Rev. Ivan. "Your Pathway to Cosmic Truth - By Mail!! The Keys to Instant Success, Mystic Knowledge, Miraculous Inventions & Contact With the Space Brothers are within Your Grasp! - For Only a 22cent Stamp." Whole Earth Review( 10 ) Fall 1986 (number 52). 75-85.

From the founder of the Sub-Genii comes this listing of bizarre mail source after bizarre mail source. And some strangeness as well. Includes reviews of a medium sized slew of magazines, including False Positive, Factsheet Five, and Popular Reality, but along with these and other magazines it covers flat-earthers, off the edge religions and so on. Not exactly an article about the Marginals, but it does concern them and is an entertaining as hell source anyway.

[ Other Alternative Source Materials ]

Case, Patricia J. ed. FieId Guide to Alternative Media. A Directory to Reference and Selection Tools Useful in Accessing Small and Alternative Press Publications and Independently Produced Media. Chicago: American Library Association, Social Responsibilities Round Round Table, Task Force on Alternatives in Print ( 11 ). 1984.

A reasonably current guide to source materials concerned with the alternative press, and to an extent the marginals. But this may be of use to researchers and librarians that are dealing with, and presumably moving on to, bigger things. Not exceptionally complete for the current day stuff -- Factsheet Five isn't listed, and I think it was around three years ago. But a good work nonetheless.

Danky, James P. compiler. Undergrounds: A Union List of Alternative Periodicals in Libraries of the US and Canada. Madison: State Historical Society of Wisconsin. 1974.

If you want to see if that magazine is in your library, and if you're looking at history, check here to see if you can get the hard copy rather than a microfilm one. The date precludes this from marginals, but it is a fascinating project, and Danky has held on to do other things in this area. Sadly out of print.

Danky, James P. and Elliott Shore, eds. Alternative Materials in Libraries. Metuchen NJ: Scarecrow Press ( 12 ). 1982.

A book mainly for the librarian, about the travails that librarians must go through to get the materials and make them accessible, and the travails of the small publisher who must try to get the production. out to the public. A good study, verging on dated but still very useful.

Magel, Charles. A Bibliography on Animal Rights and Related Matters. two editions ( 13 ).

A bibliography that does what it says it will. Includes articles on vegetarianism, and even to the extremes like bestiality. Costs too much, however, so use it in your library.

Muller, Robert H., Theodore Jurgen Spahn and Janet M. Spahn, ed. From Radical Left to Extreme Right. Metuchen NJ: Scarecrow Press ( 14 ). 2nd Revised Edition. 1976.

An amazing project. In the late sixties, this group began to catalog and dispassionately content summarize publications across the range. I haven't seen a first edition, published in 1967, so I can't say how it came out. But the first volume alone, published in 1970, covers over 400 periodicals, and with the final volume, another 700 had been covered. Full information is given with the brief review, as well as feedback from the publishers, which when they tend toward race supremacy can be quite strong in their disagreement. It's expensive but check the library.

Selth, Jefferson P. Alternative Lifestyles: A Guide to Research Collections on Intentional Communities, Nudism, and Sexual Freedom. Westport: Greenwood Press( 15 ). 1985.

A list of what it says, collections of documents and information on the topics listed Not valuable for marginals per se, but a worthwhile tool to know about.

[ Sources Useful Once You Start Enjoying this Stuff ]
[ i.e. Some of my favorites... and some comments ]

What I try to read concerning recent alternative type stuff is fairly well represented by the above, with some notable exceptions that didn't quite fit anywhere else. For example, any wanderer through the mails would be lost without Factsheet Five( 16 ) which should get Gunderloy some sort of Nobel Prize. Or at least a grant...nominations are in order. I assume that his circulation has been going up with the last few of his quarterly issues, thanks to mentions in various semi-mainstream magazines, but there is always room for improvement. If everyone out there, especially those who are indebted to FF, were to badger your library into buying a subscription, if possible, or just donating one yourself, Gunderloy could breathe a lit tle easier and other people could find out what's going on. I assume - if your local library is like mine, most of the people don't browse there. But some people must, for my magazines keep getting out of order. Another worthwhile pub. is Printer's Devil( 17 ) put out by Joe M. Singer. If you have any interest in how a printing operation runs, or what Joe's thoughts are on what makes a good typeface, or any interest in the bones side of the operation, this is a good newsletter, appearing twice a year to thrill your mailbox. In addition, there are two mammoth microfilm sources that deserve to be listed. The first is the Underground Newspaper Collection originally put together by Bell & Howell and now published by University Microfilms International (UMI) which is a copy of some 700 (!?) underground publications dating to about 1973. For anyone interested in the tumultuous times of the late 60s. it's must reading and for anyone it should be a must browse. The second collection is the Tamiment Library's under the title Radical Pamphlet Literature: A Collection from the Tamiment Library (1900-1945) 1970, and published by the Microfilming Corporation of America. With a listing of titles running some 700 pages, it's a seminal primary source, with the bulk of the materials coming from the first half of this century. Especial thanks go out to Mr. Bob Black, whose article inspired me on this quest, and whose writing has urged me on. It isn't as good as his, to be sure, but I'm starting.... Anyway, I'm looking for contributions to future issues of this infant monstrosity, so if you run across anything that you think may help, please send it my way. I feel fairly certain that I haven't exhausted this area in the small space here, but the task is one that cries out for the work of more than one person. For example, if you have any information on the magazine Top Secret, put out by an Arizona Librarian in the 1970s, and working along the lines of the Muller book, I'd love to hear from you. If you don't, I'd still love to hear from you. Thank you for reading through this mess, I hope it will help or entertain you, and please do contribute, comment, spit upon, or whatever drives you forward.

Next issue: hopefully more of the same, plus a labor in honor of the 30th anniversary of Kerouac's most popular work's publication.


2. Boston Review; 33 Harrison Ave; Boston, MA 02111. Back Issues $3.

5. See note 4, but increase price to $4.50...

7. The Match; P.O. Box 3488; Tucson, AZ 85722. Back issues $1.50. A fairly nicely done Anarchist magazine, tho' a bit paranoid. And perhaps a little hypocritical (regarding search warrants)

9. Small Press Review from Dustbooks; P.O. Box 100; Paradise, CA 95969.

11. Order for $6 from: Office of Library Outreach Services; American Library Association; 50 E Huron Ave; Chicago, IL 60611.

13. Available in two editions, l981: $38.25 from University Press of America; PO Box 19101; Washington DC 20036. 1983 edition, presumably expanded: $80.00 from State Mutual and Periodical Service; 521 Fifth Ave. 17th Floor; New York, NY 10017.

15. $35 (gasp) from Greenwood Press; 88 Post Rd West; Westport, Connecticut 06881.

17. Available for a SASE (But I'm sure Joe wouldn't mind donations) from Mother of Ashes Press; PO Box 135, Harrison Idaho 83833-0135.


(circa 1987, Eric Sinclair,
HTMLized 1995, 1998 Eric Sinclair)