Telewoman Newsletter records, 1976-1986
Finding aid prepared by Pallavi Sriram; machine readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé.
UCLA Library Special Collections
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1575
(310) 825-4988
spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
© 2013 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Telewoman Newsletter Records
Collection number: 2142
Contributing Institution: UCLA Library Special Collections
Language of Material: English
Physical Description:
4.4 linear ft.
(10 document boxes, 1 flat box)
Date (inclusive): 1976-1986
Abstract:
Telewoman is an independent, self-published lesbian newsletter, based in Pleasant Hill, California, which ran from the late 1970’s
to mid 1980’s. Founded as a networking resource for lesbian writers, artists and educators, the newsletter served to connect
isolated lesbians in remote and urban centers, especially mothers, differently-abled, low-income, incarcerated and agoraphobic
women. It ran primarily on the work and personal charisma of its founder and sole editor, Anne J. D’Arcy. As evidenced in
her personal correspondence and the
Telewoman publications, she was invested in community and spirituality. Her role as
Telewoman editor was one of advisor, confidante and a figure connecting otherwise isolated women.
Language of Materials: Materials are in English.
Physical Location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Creator: Telewoman.
Restrictions on Access
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright
and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item],
Telewoman Newsletter Records (Collection 2142). Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Provenance unknown.
Processing Information
Processed by Pallavi Sriram in 2013 in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT), with assistance from Jillian
Cuellar.
The processing of this collection was generously supported by
Arcadia.
Biography/History
Telewoman is an independent, self-published lesbian newsletter, based in Pleasant Hill, California, which ran from the late 1970’s
to mid 1980’s. It ran primarily on the work and personal charisma of its founder and sole editor, Anne J. D’Arcy. Its circulation
had extended nationally by the time of its closing. Founded as a networking resource for lesbian writers, artists and educators,
the newsletter served to connect isolated lesbians in remote and urban centers, especially mothers, differently-abled, low-income,
incarcerated and agoraphobic women. Its primary goals were not so much radical as they were meant to create and foster a safe
and productive space for lesbian women. To this end,
Telewoman, in addition to its newsletter, regularly hosted community gatherings and parties.
The collection consists largely of the papers of Editor Anne D’Arcy. Intentionally never married, she was a single mother
of three children. Her long-time lover with whom she had a very close, albeit complicated, relationship was still in a non-sexual
marriage and battling agoraphobia, and seems to be one of the primary motivations for D’Arcy’s founding of
Telewoman. As evidenced in her personal correspondence and the
Telewoman publications, she was invested in community and spirituality, following Ram Dass, Jiddu Krishnamurti, the Seth material,
Ron Hubbard (Scientology) and others. Her role as
Telewoman editor was one of advisor, confidante and a figure connecting otherwise isolated women. Aside from her work on
Telewoman, D’Arcy continued her work in the legal profession in a social services agency where she supervised social workers and counselors
and represented government action in legal proceedings.
Scope and Content
This collection provides administrative, publicity-related and contextual material concerning
Telewoman, primarily in the form of the extensive correspondence of founder-editor Anne D’Arcy. Its primary significance is the light
it sheds on the cultural environment in which the newsletter existed, specifically regarding the lesbian community in Northern
California, as well as nationally. This environment is represented by D’Arcy’s correspondence with a close network of founders
and editors of a number of other Bay Area lesbian publications as well as with artists and writers in the Mid-West, East Coast
and elsewhere. This environment and network is also represented in this collection by the informational material received
by
Telewoman and Anne D’Arcy from publications, projects and organizations serving lesbian communities and needs.
While this collection does not contain issues of the
Telewoman newsletter, which can be found elsewhere, it does contain paste-ups and production material of select issues and ads. In
addition, the collection includes author files of contributors to the newsletter; article and poetry submissions, photographs
and drafts of spotlight articles. These materials give an idea of the style, form and type of content found in the newsletter,
which in turn provide an idea of its aims and function in the lesbian communities within which it circulated.
Organization and Arrangement
This collection has been arranged in the following series:
- Series 1: Administrative Records 1977-1986
- Subseries 1.1 Personal Correspondence 1977-1986
- Subseries 1.2 General/Business Correspondence 1977-1986
- Subseries 1.3 Other Organizations 1981-1986
- Series 2: Marketing and Production 1977-1986
- Series 3: Author Files 1976-1986
Series are arranged alphabetically.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Subjects
D'Arcy, Anne J. (Anne Jeanne) --Correspondence.
Telewoman, Inc. --Archives.
Telewoman.
Lesbians --United States --Periodicals.
Genres and Forms of Material
manuscripts for publication.
Related Material
The following institutions hold issues of
Telewoman: Texas Women's University and University of Illinois- Urbana Champagne among others.
Series 1: Administrative Records.
1976-1986.
Scope and Content
Taken together, the contents of this series provide insight into the workings of Telewoman, especially as it is situated socially
among lesbian, feminist communities, networks and organizations. Whether through the personal extended correspondence of Telewoman’s
editor Anne D’Arcy or the general mail and correspondence received by Telewoman, the material gives a view of who and what
Telewoman was in conversation with, what some of the primary investments of the publication were and the kind of community
D’Arcy was trying to foster locally, nationally and sometimes internationally.
Subseries 1.1: Editor's Correspondence.
1976-1986.
Scope and Content
This subseries provides a view into the life and motivations of Telewoman's sole founder and editor, Anne J D'Arcy. It takes
the form of outgoing correspondence and incoming correspondence separated by individual. Correspondents include writers, artists,
and editors of other lesbian publications who seem to be part of D’Arcy’s close personal network. It includes correspondence
regarding a publication controversy between Telewoman and Lace Publications, as well as correspondence about D’Arcy's son
Jeremy. D'Arcy's personal papers also include a series of papers written by her on what is known as the Luscher Color Test,
a personality test on which she was an expert.
Box 1, Folder 1
Anne J D'Arcy: Outgoing Correspondence.
undated.
Box 1, Folder 2
Anne J D'Arcy: Outgoing Correspondence.
1976-1984.
Box 1, Folder 3
Anne J D'Arcy: Outgoing Correspondence.
1985.
Box 1, Folder 4
Anne J D'Arcy: Outgoing Correspondence.
1986.
Box 1, Folder 5
Anne J D'Arcy: Luscher Color Test.
undated.
Box 1, Folder 6
Katherine Aal.
1980-1984.
Box 1, Folder 8
Bogus, S Diane (Woman in the Moon Publications).
1981-1985.
Box 1, Folder 9
DuBois, Rochelle.
1980-1985.
Box 1, Folder 10
Feola, Dorothy (Women's Network).
1983-1984.
Box 1, Folder 12
Greenhope Farm- Grossman, Sallie.
1982-1983.
Box 2, Folder 1
Greenhope Farm- Liefschutz, Sashie.
1982-1984.
Box 2, Folder 2
Havoc, Donna (Feminine Connections).
1983-1985.
Box 2, Folder 3
Hosler, Laddie (The Wishing Well).
1981-1985.
Box 2, Folder 4
Judith, Suzanne (The Tarot Network Annual).
1982-1985.
Box 2, Folder 8
Lopez, Leslie.
1985-1986.
Box 3, Folder 1
Paz, Juana Maria.
1983-1985.
Box 3, Folder 2
Springer, Judy.
1980-1986.
Box 3, Folder 7
Thorpe, Denni.
1982-1985.
Box 4, Folder 1
Various: Ball, Julia and Zeiser, J Linda.
1984.
Box 4, Folder 2
Various: Z. Budapest, Kary Wind and Zana.
1982-1984.
Box 4, Folder 3
Various: Lace Publications Controversy.
1984.
Box 4, Folder 4
Various: Maureen Hamm, Deb Rogers and Nancy Williams.
1982-1985.
Box 4, Folder 5
Various: Shekhinah Mountainwater, Linda Parks (Lace Publications) and Sudie Ruskin.
Subseries 1.2 General and Business Correspondence.
1977-1986.
Scope and Content
This subseries includes correspondence concerning the business of running Telewoman. It includes subscription requests, requests
for acceptance of written work, and letters of appreciation from individuals. There is also business correspondence that deals
primarily with subscription, publication, and ad exchanges with other organizations.
Box 4, Folder 6
Business (Answered).
1981-1985.
Box 5, Folder 2
General (A-H).
1980-1984.
Box 5, Folder 3
General (I-P).
1980-1984.
Box 6, Folder 1
General (A-L).
1983-1984.
Box 6, Folder 2
General (M-Z).
1983-1984.
Box 6, Folder 5
General (unidentified correspondents).
1977-1985.
Subseries 1.3: Other Organizations.
1981-1986.
Scope and Content
This subseries includes information from other feminist and lesbian publications, as well as other projects and businesses
serving the lesbian, feminist and larger gay community. It provides a view into the local networks of lesbian communities
in Northern California, and their links to other parts of California as well as the country. This includes material from organizations
such as the Wishing Well, Greenhope Farm, and Feminine Connection. Most of this material is in the form of ads, brochures,
newsletters, announcements, product catalogues, and subscription information. There are a few copies of issues from other
publications.
Box 6, Folder 6
Catalogues and Advertising.
1981-1986.
Box 6, Folder 7
Catalogues and Advertising.
1983-1986.
Box 6, Folder 8
Feminist Writers Guild (Bay Area).
1981-1982.
Box 7, Folder 1
Newspapers and Magazines.
1981-1983.
Box 7, Folder 2
Newspapers and Magazines.
1983-1986.
Box 7, Folder 3
Outreach and Publicity Materials.
1981-1982.
Box 7, Folder 4
Outreach and Publicity Materials.
1982.
Box 7, Folder 5
Outreach and Publicity Materials.
1983-1984.
Box 7, Folder 6
Outreach and Publicity Materials.
1983-1984.
Box 8, Folder 1
Outreach and Publicity Materials.
1983-1985.
Box 8, Folder 2
Outreach and Publicity Materials.
1984.
Box 8, Folder 3
Outreach and Publicity Materials.
1984.
Box 8, Folder 4
Outreach and Publicity Materials.
1985.
Box 8, Folder 5
Outreach and Publicity Materials.
1985-1986.
Box 8, Folder 6
Outreach and Publicity Materials.
1985-1986.
Box 9, Folder 1
Outreach and Publicity Materials.
1985-1986.
Series 2: Marketing and Production.
1977-1986.
Scope and Content
This series comprises the total of the material to be found in this collection relating to the business, marketing and production
side of running Telewoman. Although issues of the newsletter are not part of this collection, the paste-ups for select issues
and publicity material give an idea of the process and style of the publication. There are also receipts and accounts from
the newsletter's regular printers, since it was self-published.
Box 9, Folder 2
Business: Receipts and Accounts.
1982-1984.
Box 9, Folder 3
Business: Resumes.
1980-1981.
Box 9, Folder 4
Marketing: Telewoman Stationary and Paste-Ups.
1983.
Box 9, Folder 5
Marketing: Telewoman T-Shirt Correspondence.
1983-1984.
Box 9, Folder 6
Production: Paste-Ups of Telewoman Issues.
1980-1981.
Box 11, Folder 2
Production: Paste-Ups of Telewoman Issues.
1980-1981.
Box 9, Folder 7
Production: Camera-ready Ads (for Telewoman Issues).
undated.
Box 11, Folder 1
Production: Telewoman Stationary Paste-Ups.
1983.
Box 11, Folder 3
Production: Telewoman Logo Stamp.
undated.
Box 9, Folder 8
Publicity: Telewoman Flyers and Announcements Paste-Ups.
1980-1985.
Series 3: Author Files.
1976-1986.
Scope and Content
Telewoman was primarily meant to foster a community of lesbian writers, artists and educators, and the author files provide
a view of this community. The files consist of various types of submissions, including poetry, possibly for Telewoman’s Poetry
contest(s), and fiction. They also include regularly featured reviews of lesbian and feminist literature. A particularly interesting
feature of the newsletter is the spotlight articles; the editor published a highlight piece on a particular woman in each
issue that detailed the woman’s life, work and lesbian experience. These features illustrate the highly personal and community
oriented nature of the journal. As a corollary, you will find in this series, a number of photographs of individual woman,
ostensibly to be published in the spotlight articles, and a number of photographs from Telewoman events.
Box 10, Folder 2
Poetry Submissions.
1981-1985.
Box 10, Folder 3
Poetry Submissions and Spotlights.
1984-1985.
Box 10, Folder 4
Submissions (Originals).
1976-1981.
Box 10, Folder 6
Submissions and Spotlights.
1982-1985.
Box 10, Folder 7
Submissions and Spotlights.
1983-1986.
