Access
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Acquisition Information
Agency History
Collection Scope and Content
Processing Information
Related Archives
Related Works
Bibliography
Contributing Institution:
University of California, Santa Cruz
Title: HerBooks Feminist Press Archive
Identifier/Call Number: MS.037
Physical Description:
6.75 Linear Feet
5 cartons, 2 flats
Date (inclusive): 1984-2002
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 of Material:
English
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Copyright for the items in this collection is owned by the creators and their heirs.
Reproduction or distribution of any work protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair
use requires permission from the copyright owner. It is the responsibility of the user to
determine whether a use is fair use, and to obtain any necessary permissions. For more
information see UCSC Special Collections and Archives policy on Reproduction and Use.
Preferred Citation
HerBooks Feminist Press Archive, MS 37, Special Collections, University Library, University
of California, Santa Cruz.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Irene Reti.
Agency History
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.
Collection Scope and Content
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.
Processing Information
Processed by Irene Reti and UCSC OAC Unit.
Related Archives
- Asian/Pacific Islander Lesbian Collection, MS 40
- Papier-Mache Press Archive, MS 27
- Shameless Hussy Press Archive, MS 92
Related Works
Irene Reti and HerBooks Feminist Press by the Regional History Project,
University Library, University of California at Santa Cruz, 2001.
Sandra Martz: Papier-Mache Press and the Gentle Art of Consciousness
Raising
, by the Regional History Project, University Library, University of
California at Santa Cruz, 2001.
Alta and the History of Shameless Hussy Press, 1969-1989 by the Regional
History Project, University Library, University of California at Santa Cruz, 2001.
Bibliography
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).
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Authors, American -- California -- Santa Cruz County
Lesbian feminism
Lesbians' writings
Herbooks (Firm)