Gina [Covina], Laurel [Galana], Audre Lorde, Jennie Orvino, eds.

Amazon Quarterly: A Lesbian-Feminist Arts Journal [complete run]

Oakland / Somerville, MA: Amazon Quarterly / Amazon Press, 1972-1975. Photo offset printed. Saddle stapled in wraps. From 7 x 8 1/2 in. to 8 1/2 x 11 in. All very good to near fine. Item #10371

Complete run of the early lesbian-feminist journal that introduced several writers and works that would influence the trajectory of lesbian-feminist politics and aesthetics.
As compiled by Tirza True Latimer, the roster of Amazon Quarterly contributors included Rita Mae Brown, who published excerpts of her pathbreaking lesbian novel Ruby Fruit Jungle in the magazine prior to its publication by Daughters, Inc.; Judy Grahn, who first published her epic poem “A Woman is Talking to Death” in Amazon Quarterly; June Arnold, who introduced her classic The Cook and the Carpenter in the magazine; along with works by Elana Nachman (later Dykewomon), Jane Rule, Alix Dobkin, Adrienne Rich, and Audre Lorde, who was poetry editor for the final four issues of the magazine’s run.

In addition to these luminaries of feminist writing, Amazon Quarterly published work by visual artists and photographers, a commitment to aesthetics also reflected by its stylish layout. The editors expanded the magazine beyond the traditional scope of an arts journal, committing a double issue to documenting the lives of its readership around the country, traveling to several dozen locales to interview individual readers. The wide range of work Amazon Quarterly published made it a major force in the project of cohering a lesbian-feminist public that transcended a particular genre or sphere of cultural production.

Amazon Quarterly is also notable for its explicit political commitment to the proliferation of an alternative lesbian-feminist print culture and audience by fortifying the networks and circuits of lesbian cultural production. Pre-figuring the DIY ethos of riot grrl feminism, the magazine published guides for printing one’s own magazine along with expansive listings of lesbian organizations and publications, refused to run ads, and operated on a shoestring budget that relied on volunteer labor from its audience.

Complete set of ten issues across nine volumes, gathered here with the 1975 anthology.

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