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HerBooks Feminist Press Archive
MS.037  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • 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

    1. Asian/Pacific Islander Lesbian Collection, MS 40
    2. Papier-Mache Press Archive, MS 27
    3. 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)