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Guide to the HerBooks Feminist Press Archive 1984-2002
MS 37
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Title: HerBooks Feminist Press Archive,
Date (inclusive): 1984-2002
Collection number: MS 37
Creator:
Reti, Irene
Extent:
5 cartons, 2 flats
6.75 linear ft.
6.75 linear ft.
Repository:
University of California, Santa Cruz. University Library.
Special Collections
Santa Cruz, California 95064
Abstract: This collection includes correspondence, business records, manuscripts, and ephemera on the subjects HerBooks has published.
Physical location: Stored offsite at NRLF: Advance notice is required for access to the papers.
Language:
English.
Collection is open for research.
Property rights reside with the University of California. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and
their heirs. For permission to publish or to reproduce the material, please contact the Special Collections Librarian.
HerBooks Feminist Press Archive, MS 37, Special Collections, University Library, University of California, Santa Cruz.
Gift of Irene Reti.
HerBooks Feminist Press was founded in Santa Cruz, California in 1984 by Irene Reti, a poet and creative nonfiction writer.
The emphasis of the press has been on publishing anthologies of creative writing, poetry, and other works by lesbians.
HerBooks is known for its groundbreaking collections, such as
The Lesbian in Front of the Classroom: writings by Lesbian Teachers (1988) and
Childless by Choice: A Feminist Anthology, both of which were the first anthologies published in the United States on these topics. Irene Reti's
Remember the Fire: Lesbian Sadomasochism in a Post Nazi-Holocaust World (1986) and
Unleashing Feminism: Critiquing Lesbian Sadomasochism in the Gay Nineties (1993) were outspoken critiques of s/m and pornography which put the press on the forefront of radical feminist inquiry.
HerBooks is also known for publishing innovative books about lesbian culture, such as
Cats (and their Dykes) and
Garden Variety Dykes: Lesbian Traditions in Gardening. Another strength of the press is Jewish feminism.
HerBooks published
Bubbe Meisehs by Shayneh Maidelehs: an anthology of poetry by Jewish Granddaughters about our Grandmothers,
A Transported Life: Memories of Kindertransport, the Oral History of Thea Feliks Eden, and
The Keeper of Memory: A Memoir.
HerBooks also distributed the first anthology of Pacific/Asian Lesbian writing,
Between the Lines (Dancing Bird Press, 1987). In 1994 HerBooks published
The Second Coming of Joan of Arc and Other Plays by Carolyn Gage, a finalist for the Lambda Book Award.
Lesbian Words: A Santa Cruz Anthology, edited by Irene Reti and Sue McCabe (1984).
Lesbian Words II: Photographs and Writing, edited by Irene Reti, Sue McCabe, and Terese Armstrong (1985).
To Live with the Weeds, Poetry by D.A. Clarke (1985).
The World Between Women: An Anthology, edited by Irene Reti, Sarah-Hope Parmeter and Abby Bogomolny (Bee) (1986).
Prepositions, poetry by Linda Hooper (1986). Distributed by HerBooks.
Nauseous in Paradise, poetry by Abby Bee (Bogomolny) (1986). Distributed by HerBooks.
Remember the Fire: Lesbian Sadomasochism in a Post-Nazi Holocaust World, an essay by Irene Reti (1986).
Past, Present, and Future Passions: poetry by Barbara Ruth. Distributed by HerBooks (1986).
The Lesbian in Front of the Classroom: Writings by Lesbian Teachers, edited by Irene Reti and Sarah-Hope Parmeter (1988).
Love Me Like You Mean It, poetry by Lesléa Newman (1987).
Between the Lines: An Anthology of Pacific/Asian Lesbians of Santa Cruz, California, edited by Alison Kim, Christy Chung and A.K. Lemeshewsky, distributed by HerBooks (Dancing Bird Press, 1987).
Love, Politics and "Rescue" in Lesbian Relationships, an essay by Diana Rabenold (1987).
Lizards/Los Padres, short stories by Bettianne Shoney Sien (1988).
Messages: Music for Lesbians by D.A. Clarke (1988).
Bubbe Meisehs by Shayneh Maidelehs: An Anthology of Poetry by Jewish Granddaughters about our Grandmothers, edited by Lesléa Newman (1989).
Cats (and their Dykes): An Anthology, edited by Irene Reti and Bettianne Shoney Sien (1991).
Sweet Dark Places: Poetry by Lesléa Newman (1991).
Childless by Choice: A Feminist Anthology, edited by Irene Reti (1992).
Unleashing Feminism: Critiquing Lesbian Sadomasochism in the Gay Nineties, an anthology edited by Irene Reti (1993).
The Second Coming of Joan of Arc and other plays, by Carolyn Gage (1994).
Garden Variety Dykes: Lesbian Traditions in Gardening, edited by Irene Reti and Valerie Chase (1994).
A Transported Life: Memories of Kindertransport, the Oral History of Thea Feliks Eden, edited by Irene Reti and Valerie Chase (1995).
The Keeper of Memory: A Memoir, by Irene Reti (2001).
The HerBooks Feminist Press Archive contains the general history of HerBooks, and materials related to the publication, promotion,
and distribution. There are also materials on the
Childless-by-Choice movement; lesbian feminism in the 1980's and 1990's; and materials on Holocaust studies, including on
Lesbian Daughters of Holocaust Survivors and the Kindertransport program (which rescued Jewish
children from Nazi-occupied Austria and Germany and brought them to England during 1938-1939); antipornography activism and
theory; and the Women In Print Movement. The archive also contains writings
by Irene Reti, including her memoir,
The Keeper of Memory (published by HerBooks in 2001), as well as work by other Santa Cruz women writers.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Reti, Irene
Herbooks Feminist Press--Archive
Lesbian feminism
Children of Holocaust survivors
Authors, American--California--Santa Cruz County
- Asian/Pacific Islander Lesbian Collection, MS 40
- Papier-Mache Press Archive, MS 27 (unprocessed)
- Shameless Hussy Press Archive, MS 92
Irene Reti and HerBooks Feminist Press by the Regional History Project, University Library, University of California at Santa Cruz, 2001.
http://library.ucsc.edu/reg-hist/reti.html
Sandra Martz: Papier-Mache Press and the Gentle Art of Consciousness Raising,
Date: 1984-1999
by the Regional History Project, University Library, University of California at Santa Cruz, 2001.
http://library.ucsc.edu/reg-hist/martz.html
Alta and the History of Shameless Hussy Press,
Date: 1969-1989
by the Regional History Project, University Library, University of California at Santa Cruz, 2001.
http://library.ucsc.edu/reg-hist/alta.html