Select Bibliography

In addition to the primary source materials at the Browne Popular Culture Library related to the alternative and underground press that are listed on the preceding pages, the following pages describe some secondary sources that provide useful reference and background information. Such resources include indexes, resource guides, bibliographies, historical studies, and reprints of underground press and other articles.

Note: Click on the link to find the location of each resource. They are not all in the BPCL.

Alternative Press Index. 1969 to 2005. College Park, MD: Alternative Press Centre.

An index to alternative and radical publications. Articles are listed by subject. Excellent resource.

Canan, Craig T. Progressive Periodicals Directory, 2nd edition. 1989. Tennessee: Progressive Education.

“Reviews and details on over 600 national social concerns magazines, newsletters, and newspapers”.

Ch'en, Jo-hsi. 1982. Democracy Wall and the Unofficial Journals. Berkeley, CA: Center for Chinese Studies, Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California.

“A report on an investigation of the journals published privately by Chinese citizens with the appearance of Democracy Wall in Beijing in the Winter of 1978.” This paper provides a brief history of the free speech and publication movement in China and a general analysis of the contents and relationship of the journals and their impact upon Chinese politics. It includes two listings of unofficial journals and campus publications, with more than 130 titles. Endnotes are included. Although the Browne Popular Culture Library has no holdings of Chinese alternative publications, this source could be used as a resource for a cross-cultural analysis of the alternative press.

Danky, James Philip. 1974. Undergrounds; A Union List of Alternative Periodicals in Libraries of the U.S. and Canada. Madison, WI: State Historical Society of Wisconsin.

Alphabetized title listing and geographic index are contained. Cross referenced by alternative titles and sometimes by the organization that published the periodicals.

Estren, Mark James. 1993. A History of Underground Comics. Berkeley, CA: Ronin Publishing, revised edition.

Highly illustrated overall history of the underground comics. Various chapters focus on the content of the underground comics, including “Sex and Sexism,” “Violence,” “The World Around Us,” “Drugs,” and others. Many underground cartoonists got their first exposure in the underground newspapers and many still appear in these papers. Bibliographies of and about underground comics are included in this resource.

Fenton, David. 1971. Shots: Photographs from the Underground Press. New York: Douglas Book Corporation.

Collection of photos and text from underground press publications during the 1960's.

Forcade, Thomas King, comp. 1972. Underground Press Anthology. New York: Ace Books.

Mass audience-oriented book containing selected articles from various undergrounds; a good introduction to the underground press. Contains a collection of essays and articles by Timothy Leary, Huey Newton, Dick Gregory and Todd Gitlin, and covers topics such as dope and dealing, the Altamont massacre, and the Black Panthers, among others. Reprints of the underground comic “The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers” and other material from various undergrounds are also included.

Fountain, Nigel. 1988. Underground: The London Alternative Press 1966-74. London, England: Routledge.

Traces the history of the underground press in London from its beginnings in the late 1950s to its demise in the late 1970s, using the British underground publications Idiot International, Black Dwarf, Friends, Friendz, Ink, Gandolf's Garden, Ox and It as primary sources. Includes bibliography and index.

Glessing, Robert J. 1970. Underground Press in America. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.

A solid history of the evolution of underground journalism as well as a thorough analysis of the underground press in 1970, including reviews of editorial content, language analysis, and audience analysis. Chapters on campus undergrounds, military, and peace papers are included. Contains twelve black and white page reproductions from the Oracle, Avatar, and others, as well as a directory of approximately 450 underground papers, a glossary of terms, and an index. Bibliographical references are included.

Guide to the American Left: directory and bibliography. 1989. Missouri: Editorial Research Service.

Compilation of publications as well as activist groups having some “form of sympathy with and/or interest in various forms of collectivism and/or liberalism and/or environmentalism and/or homosexual rights and/or other issues traditionally identified with 'left' political positions”.

Harland, Cisco. 1992. The Hippie Papers: a History of the Communication Company. Sudbury, MA: Water Row Books, Inc.

Catalog of fliers printed by the Communication Company in the Haight/Ashbury district of San Francisco, California during the late 1960s.

Herstory, Womens History Collection, Microfilm Collection. Berkeley, CA: Women's History Research Center and Bell and Howell Company, 1956-1974. (23 reels of microfilm)

A collection of 251 titles of international newspapers, journals, and newsletters by and about women's liberation, civic, professional, religious, and peace groups. Most of the titles in the collection date between 1968 and 1974. A number of the titles in the Browne Popular Culture Library's alternative and underground press holdings and in the Ringle Collection are also represented in this microfilm collection. Duplicate titles include It Ain't Me Babe, Memo, Women's Strike for Peace, Off Our Backs, and Second Coming. For more information on this microfilm collection and how to use it, consult http://www.bgsu.edu/colleges/library/infosrv/MicroCollections/herstory.htm.

Hopkins, Jerry. 1968. The Hippie Papers: Notes from the Underground Press. New York: New American Library.

Collection of articles appearing in various underground newspapers in the 1960's. “One way to learn about what tomorrow may bring is to read what has become known as 'the underground newspaper'. To understand what it is that this most vocal of generations wants and believes, it is necessary to read their journals”.

Hopkins, Mark. 1983. Russias' Underground Press: the Chronicle of Current Events. New York: Praeger.

History of the people and events that shaped the underground newspaper The Chronicle of Current Events in the Soviet Union.

Howard, Mel and Thomas King Forcade, comps. 1972. Underground Reader. New York: Plume Books.

“An international selection that allows the initiated and uninitiated underground press reader to follow the Movement and Counter-Culture Movement through the great adventure of these past five years.”

Chronologically-ordered classic underground articles by Jerry Farber, John Wilcock, Timothy Leary, Allen Ginsberg, John Sinclair, Tom Hayden, William S. Burroughs, Huey Newton, Eldridge Cleaver, and many others. Reprints of selected cartoons from the underground press complement the collection.

Humphreys, Nancy K. 1989. American Women's Magazines: An Annotated Historical Guide. New York: Garland.

Part One of this annotated guide is devoted to women's alternative publications, and is broken down into two sections-- Early Women's Rights Periodicals (related to the suffragist movement) and Feminist Periodicals from the women's movement that began in the 1960s.

“Included here is information about alternative press feminist newspapers and organizational newsletters, women's studies journals, and cultural magazines.” This resource would be helpful to scholars searching for secondary sources concerning women's alternative publications.

Janowitz, Anne and Nancy J. Peters, eds. 1981. The Campaign Against the Underground Press. Introduction by Allen Ginsberg. San Francisco: City Lights.

Includes the title essay by Geoffrey Ripps; “Surveillance as Censorship” by Aryeh Neier; “The Underground Press and Its Cave-in” by Todd Gitlin; “Sabotaging the Dissident Press” by Angus MacKenzie; reprints of pages from underground papers; documents; and a bibliography.

Johnson, Michael L. 1971. The New Journalism; The Underground Press, the Artists of Nonfiction, and Changes in the Established Media. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.

A timely piece focusing on the emergence of “New Journalism.” Focuses on underground papers and magazines, with an emphasis on New Journalistic books and examples of “liberalizing” changes in the “established media,” such as magazines, newspapers, radio, and television. Includes endnotes and an index.

Kennedy, Jay. 1982. The Official Underground and Newave Comix Price Guide. Cambridge, MA: Boatner Norton Press.

Covers U.S. and Canadian undergrounds from 1962 to 1982. Indexes by title and artist for undergrounds and independent/ground level comix. “'Newave' or 'new wave' comics are usually small autopublications done on photocopy machines and distributed by exchange through the mail...'groundlevel' comic books was a term used to mean comparatively rare black and white comic books not 'underground' in nature.” [Scott, p. 8.] Includes eleven features on different aspects of the undergrounds, while the introduction gives a brief overview of this genre. Illustrated with many black and white and color reproductions of comix covers.

Kessler, Lauren. 1984. The Dissident Press: Alternative Journalism in American History. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.

Excellent historical review of the alternative press throughout American history, dating from pre-Civil War to the 1980s. Coverage includes the journalistic efforts of six groups: Black Americans; utopians and communitarians; feminists; non-English-speaking immigrants; Populists, anarchists, socialists, communists, and their splinter groups; and pacifists, noninterventionists, and resisters during World War I, World War II, and Vietnam. Each chapter contains references. Highly recommended resource for background on the historical development of the alternative press in the United States.

Kimbel, Alan. 1989. Underground Newspaper Collection, UM Libraries. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri.

A holdings list for the University of Missouri-Columbia's underground newspaper collection. Descriptions of subject material for each title in their collection is provided. This guide was used to provide descriptions of the same titles held by the Browne Popular Culture Library for this research guide.

Kornbluth, Jesse, ed. 1968. Notes from the New Underground. New York: Viking.

Forty-two well chosen articles from the underground press organized under groupings such as “The Redefinition of Culture: Life as Art;” “The Nature of Revolt;” “The Hippies: Flowering of a Nonmovement;” and “The Radicalization of Hip and the Reportage of Empathy.”

Kruchkow, Diane and Curt Johnson. 1986. Green Isle in the Sea: an Informal History of the Alternative Press, 1960-85. Highland Park, Illinois. December Press.

“First person narrative accounts from the editors of the leading American litmags and small presses of the past quarter century, beginning in the seminal '60s”.

Leamer, Lawrence. 1972. The Paper Revolutionaries: The Rise of the Underground Press. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Readable historical overview of the development of the underground press in the U.S. covering the press's impact on the mass media and the eventual “selling out” of radicalism. Includes many graphics and reprints of pages from underground papers. Contains bibliography, index, and an international listing of Underground Press Syndicate member papers.

Lewis, Roger. 1972. Outlaws of America: The Underground Press and Its Context. Harmondsworth, England: Pelican.

This informative study discusses the role and proliferation of the underground press, outlines its historical context, and reviews its social and political implications. Includes a list (dated June 1971) of the “members and friends” of the Underground Press Syndicate (UPS). Also includes index, black and white illustrations, and bibliographical references.

Mann, Ernest. 1973. Utopia Now: A Handbook. Minneapolis, MN: Little Free Press.

A collection of “The Little Free Press,” a newsletter proposing a new Utopia and free society.

Mother Jones (print version, electronic version). 1976 to present. San Francisco, CA: Foundation for National Progress. Douglas Foster, ed.

Includes fiction and news coverage of contemporary issues, such as public education, the South American rainforests, toxic waste; and contains interviews with personalities such as Nelson Mandela and Abbie Hoffman. Recently awarded for investigative reporting, this bimonthly publication is indexed by the Alternative Press Index and other indexes/databases (see electronic version above).

Nelson, Elizabeth. 1989. The British Counterculture, 1966-73: A Study of the Underground Press. New York: St. Martin's Press.

A social historian's overview of the British counterculture as represented in the British underground publications of the period, specifically Oz, It, and Friends. Includes bibliography, glossary, and index.

Paul, John, and Charlotte. 1970. Fire! Reports from the Underground Press. New York: E.P. Dutton.

“..the best underground press writing and over 200 graphics on the events and feeling that have shaped a whole generation. Written by people who are the counterculture they write about”.

Peck, Abe. 1985. Uncovering the Sixties: The Life and Times of the Underground Press. New York: Pantheon Books.

A comprehensive study of the Underground Press Syndicate (UPS) and the movement it covered. Pertinent information regarding the purposes and important landmarks of the organization is contained. The author, a past contributor to the underground press, interviewed “former undergrounders and other participants” whose statements make up a large proportion of the text. The epilogue contains long passages from his sources in which they assess the underground press and its impact. Includes index and bibliography.

Scott, Randall W. 1988. Comic Books and Strips: An Information Sourcebook. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press.

Contains annotated bibliographies on “Books about Comics,” “Books that Reprint Comics,” “Periodicals and Journals,” and “Library Collections.” Annotations of books covering underground comic topics such as bibliographies, the underground comics artist R. Crumb, the history of the underground comics, library collections, price guides, and reprint collections can be accessed through the subject index. Also indexed by author and title.

Skidmore, Gail and Theodore Jurgen Spahn. 1987. From Radical Left to Extreme Right: A Bibliography of Current Periodicals of Protest, Controversy, Advocacy, or Dissent, with Dispassionate Content Summaries to Guide Librarians and Other Educators. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press. Third edition, completely revised.

Excellent resource guide for contemporary periodicals with political content. Organized by twenty-one subject headings from “Radical Left” to “Race Supremacist.” Each title is reviewed by one of the contributors to the book. Includes addresses and publication information for each title reviewed. Some of the titles in the Browne Popular Culture Library's holdings are still in publication and this source could be valuable in providing background information on their contents.

Task Force on Alternatives in Print. 1977-1978. Alternatives in Print; the Annual Catalog of Social Change Publications. San Francisco: Glide Publications.

Includes a subject index, a list of publications, and an address list by geographic location. Covers the years 1977 and 1978 only.

Underground Newspaper Microfilm Collection. Wooster, OH: Bell and Howell and the Underground Press Syndicate. 1965-1973. (147 reels of microfilm)

Microfilm collection of underground newspapers not only from the United States, but also from countries such as Japan, France, and Germany, among others. The collection includes nearly 600 titles, many of which are also represented in the Browne Popular Culture Library's collection. The microfilmed newspapers are not indexed in the Browne Popular Culture Library's User Guide, but can be accessed through the Underground Newspaper Microfilm Collection: Table of Contents (Alphabetical Listing Underground Newspaper Collection) 1963-1973 and the Underground Press Collection 1963-1985 Listing of Contents. These both index the 147 reels of microfilm in the collection. The POP CULT REF index covers the years 1963-1985, indexing all undergrounds that have been microfilmed by Bell and Howell. The Jerome Library, however, only owns reels 1-147.

Utne Reader. 1988 to present. Minneapolis, MN: LENS Publishing Co. Editor/President, Eric Utne.

Subtitled “The best of the alternative press,” this bimonthly publication reprints columns from other current publications, as well as articles written for Utne Reader. Contains coverage of contemporary concerns such as the environment, sexuality, the post-Cold War world, homelessness, quality public education, and the media, among others.

Whitaker, Cathy Seitz, ed. 1990. Alternative Publications: A Guide to Directories, Indexes, Bibliographies and Other Sources. Jefferson, NC: McFarland.

Contains a selective bibliography on alternative media, chapters on indexes, abstracts, review sources, and subject and trade bibliographies covering topics such as peace studies, ethnic and minority rights, health and human services, and literary small presses and little magazines. Each citation is briefly annotated. Includes international section on alternative mail order outlets.

Widor, Claude. 1987. The Samizdat Press in China's Provinces, 1979-1981: An Annotated Guide. Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution, Stanford University.

This annotated guide contains citations for eighty-eight journals published in China between 1979 and 1981. Each citation includes publication information, information about the editor, remarks on the influences of the journal, its political leanings, its most important articles, and other pertinent information. Index is contained. May be used in conjunction with Ch'en's work on the unofficial journals of China listed above.

Woodsworth, Anne. 1972. The “Alternative” Press in Canada: A Checklist of Underground, Revolutionary, Radical and Other Alternative Serials from 1960. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

A checklist of 388 Canadian alternative serials, including newspapers, which present alternative points of view -- “that is, those expressing views which disagree with present governmental policies and social mores” from 1960 to 1971. Title index, geographical index, subject index and bibliography are contained. A substantial number of the Browne Popular Culture Library's foreign alternative and underground newspapers are included in this checklist.

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