Janet MacHarg papers

Title: Janet MacHarg papers

Dates: circa 1950-2004

Collection Number: 2003-41

Creator/Collector: Janet MacHarg

Extent: 2.5 linear feet (1 carton, 1 oversize box)

Repository: GLBT Historical Society

Abstract: Janet “Janny” MacHarg was a political songwriter, cabaret performer, writer, and feminist activist, known as the “Tallulah Bankhead of San Francisco.” Contents include photographs, sheet music, writings, publications, correspondence, drawings, notes, audio cassette tapes, costumes, and other ephemera.

Language of Material: English

Collection is open for research. Mailing lists and other records holding the names, addresses, and/or phone numbers of individuals will be restricted for 20 years from the latest date on the material. Funding for processing this collection was provided by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).

Copyright to all unpublished material has been transferred to the GLBT Historical Society. All requests for reproductions and/or permission to publish or quote from material must be submitted in writing to the GLBT Historical Society Archivist. Credit must be given to Janny MacHarg on any published material.

[Identification of item]. Janet MacHarg papers. Collection Number: 2003-41. GLBT Historical Society

The collection was donated to the GLBT Historical Society by Evie Turner and Hadie Sletner-Dwelley in November 2003 and Ruth E. Schein in March 2004.

Janet “Janny” MacHarg was born on April 7, 1923, in New York. Her interest in songwriting and performance developed as a child when she wrote music and played piano for her mother. After losing her father and sister at a young age, she moved to San Francisco and began working as a bookseller at the City of Paris department store. While there, she was drawn to left-wing literature and began writing political satire songs with the San Francisco Labor Theatre. MacHarg met her lifelong partner, Evie Turner at the Labor Theatre in the beginning years of the second Red Scare. She was offered a job as secretary of the Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee where she raised money for the organization by putting on talent shows. Eventually, MacHarg was forced to leave the communist party due to her relationship with Turner, which caused her to develop a drinking habit. After many years in hiatus from writing and performing, MacHarg began visiting the Women’s Building and Women’s Bookstore in San Francisco. Through a connection she made there, she received support for her alcoholism and became sober. Eventually, she joined the organization, Options for Women Over 40 where she began writing songs relating to the old lesbian movement. Her songwriting flourished during this time, covering topics around the women’s movement, peace movement, gay rights, alcoholism, and aging. MacHarg wrote songs and performed with theatre groups such as Theatre Rhinoceros and Mothertongue Feminist Theatre Collective. She also performed in solo cabaret shows where she sang and played the piano at venues such as Artemis, Mama Bears, the Metropolitan Church, and Valencia Rose. In addition to her songwriting, MacHarg was a prolific writer and wrote short stories, often autobiographical, about her experience as an aging lesbian. She was involved with organizations such as Old Lesbians Organizing for Change and Gay and Lesbian Outreach to Elders (GLOE). Despite MacHarg’s battle with cancer, she continued to write and perform late into her life. She died on November 4, 2003.

The collection documents the life and work of Janet “Janny” MacHarg, a political songwriter, cabaret performer, writer, and feminist activist, known as the “Tallulah Bankhead of San Francisco.” This collection includes records from 1950-2004, with a primary focus on 1985-2003. Materials include photographs of MacHarg performing cabaret and during her early years as a political songwriter; ephemera such as MacHarg’s Options for Women Over 40 membership card and flyers for local theatre and musical performances; correspondence between MacHarg and her friends; drawings and doodles made by MacHarg; papers related to her activism on aging; song boards used during performances; sheet music; flyers for her performances; writing about MacHarg; papers and photographs relating to MacHarg’s memorial; publications containing her writing such as Sinister Wisdom, Durable Dauntless Dykes, Broomstick, and Entre Nous; MacHarg’s lyrics, poetry, and short stories, loose notes and notebooks; and audio cassette tapes of her songs and performances. The collection also contains a black dress and green satin coat that MacHarg wore during her cabaret performances. GSSO linked terms: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/GSSO_000381; http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/GSSO_004300; http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/GSSO_004301; http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/NCIT_C16269