Feminary
Feminary #12
Name/Title
FeminaryEntry/Object ID
2024.4.18Secondary Title
A Feminist Journal for the South Emphasizing the Lesbian VisionDescription
"Feminary" was a Southern Lesbian feminist journal with a literary focus featuring poetry, essays, art, interviews, reviews, art, and regional news all contributed by Southern Lesbians. HOLDINGS: Vol. 9 #1; Vol. 10 #1-3; Vol. 11 #1-3; Vol. 12 #1; Vol. 13Context
"Feminary" was a Southern Lesbian feminist journal that had a slow evolution out of multiple previous incarnations. It first appeared as "The Research Triangle Women's Liberation Newsletter" on August 11th, 1969, produced by a group of feminists in the Chal Hill/Durham region, most of whom were graduate students at UNC. In October of '69 it underwent a name change to the "Female Liberation Newsletter of Durham-Chapel Hill." It was published weekly as a newsletter for a collective of area feminist organizations, with editorial responsibilities meant to rotate between the groups. Unfortunately, the job fell almost exclusively to two women: Elizabeth Knowlton & Marguerite Beardsley, who after repeatedly but unsuccessfully putting out the call for help, ceased publication in 1971. During this incarnation there were only limited mentions of Lesbian issues, all during the final year of publication. In 1973, Elizabeth Knowlton, along with Leslie Brogan, Nancy Blood, & Leslie Kahn moved into a house in Chapel Hill together, forming the region's first Lesbian feminist commune, reviving the newsletter, which they renamed "The Feminist Newsletter." It began bi-weekly publication in February 1973, featuring essays, poetry, local & regional news, book & movie reviews & ads, inviting contributions from its readership of area women. In its new incarnation it helped describe & define issues of importance to the local feminist community. In the fall of 1973 the collective publishing the newsletter began partnering with TALF (Triangle Area Lesbian Feminists,) dedicating its March '74 issue entirely to the Lesbian feminist community, marking a new focus on Lesbian feminist concerns. In October of '74 the publication underwent its final name change to "Feminary." Throughout 1975 the collective debated the issue of Lesbian separatism, becoming a quarterly exclusively devoted to Lesbian Feminism in 1978. At that point the publishing collective consisted of Minnie Bruce Pratt, Cris South, Mab Segrest & Susan Ballinger. Submissions surged & the journal became a vehicle for Lesbian community-building & consciousness-raising. However, the increased focus on writing led to a concentration of power amongst a core group of writers, some with PhD's, within the originally radically egalitarian collective. This led to fragmenting of the collective & a decrease in number of issues published. Then all core members moved to D.C., leaving Segrest alone to publish.The remaining members of the collective putout ads in women's journals across the country seeking a new group to take the reins, settling on a multi-racial group from San Francisco. Sadly, only two further issues were ever published before "Feminary" folded for good.Category
Periodical