Conditions (magazine)

Conditions (full title: Conditions: a feminist magazine of writing by women with a particular emphasis on writing by lesbians) was a lesbian feminist literary magazine that came out biannually from 1976 to 1980 and annually from 1980 until 1990, and included poetry, prose, essays, book reviews, and interviews.^[1] It was founded in Brooklyn, New York, by Elly Bulkin, Jan Clausen, Irena Klepfisz and Rima Shore.^[2]

Conditions

The Black Women's Issue, November 1979
Frequency	Biannual (1976 - 1980) Annual (1980 - 1990)
Founder	Elly Bulkin Jan Clausen Irena Klepfisz Rima Shore
First issue	1976
Final issue	1990
Country	United States
Based in	Brooklyn, New York
Language	English
ISSN	2381-5620
OCLC	646884046

Publishing collective

Conditions was a magazine that emphasized the lives and writings of lesbians, and, throughout its history, maintained an all-lesbian collective.^[3] This collective expressed a "long standing commitment to diversity; of writing style and content and of background of contributors", within the lesbian and feminist communities.^[4] Conditions was especially dedicated to publishing the work of lesbians, in particular working-class lesbians and lesbians of color.^[3][4] While the founders were all white, Conditions was committed to promoting multiracial, multicultural, and multiethnic voices from its inception. By the early 1980s, the magazine had a diverse group of editors, especially under the leadership of Cheryl L. Clarke.^[1]

The Black Women's Issue

The journal's fifth issue, published in November 1979, was edited by Barbara Smith and Lorraine Bethel. Conditions 5 was "the first widely distributed collection of Black feminist writing in the U.S.",^[2] and was later to be the basis for the anthology Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology (1983), one of the first books released by Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press.^[5] Conditions 5: The Black Women's Issue was hugely popular, and set a record in feminist publishing by selling 3,000 copies in the first three weeks it was available.^[6]

Publication ceases

Conditions ceased publication in 1990.^[3][7] It ended because the existing collective members were focusing on other projects and they were unable to find new members.^[1]

Editors

• Barbara Smith
• Lorraine Bethel
• Dorothy Allison
• Cheryl L. Clarke
• Jewelle Gomez
• Nancy Clarke Otter
• Debbi Schaubman
• Elly Bulkin
• Jan Clausen
• Irena Klepfisz
• Rima Shore
• Melinda Goodman
• Paula Martinac
• N. Mirtha Quintanales
• Randye Lordon

Selected contributors

• Wilmette Brown
• Joy Harjo
• Cherríe Moraga
• Joan Nestle
• Amber Hollibaugh
• Donna Allegra
• Becky Birtha
• Audre Lorde
• Ann Allen Shockley
• Beverly Smith
• Gloria Anzaldúa
• Joan Larkin
• Paula Gunn Allen
• Jacqueline Lapidus
• Adrienne Rich
• Michelle Cliff
• Hattie Gossett
• Chrystos
• Marilyn Hacker
• Mitsuye Yamada
• Jo Carillo
• Toi Derricotte
• Minnie Bruce Pratt
• Bonnie Zimmerman
• Elly Bulkin
• Cheryl Clarke
• Dorothy Allison
• Irena Klepfisz
• Jewelle Gomez
• Honor Moore
• Luzma Umpierre
• Linda Smukler (Samuel Ace)
• Ramina Mays
• Barbara Banks
• Mab Segrest
• Sapphire^[8]

See also

• List of lesbian periodicals

References

1. Enszer, Julie R. (2015). "'Fighting to create and maintain our own Black women's culture': Conditions Magazine, 1977–1990". American Periodicals: A Journal of History & Criticism. 25 (2): 160–176. doi:10.1353/amp.2015.0025. S2CID 110217804. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
2. Smith, Barbara. The Truth That Never Hurts: Writings on Race, Gender, and Freedom, Rutgers University Press 1998, ISBN 0-8135-2761-9, p. ix.
3. Busia, Abena P. A. Theorizing Black Feminisms: The Visionary Pragmatism of Black Women, Routledge, 1993, ISBN 0-415-07336-7, p. 225n.
4. Allison, Clarke, Schaubman editorial. Conditions 11/12, p. 3.
5. Munro, C. Lynn (1984). "Review: Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology. By Barbara Smith". Black American Literature Forum. 8 (4): 175. doi:10.2307/2904298. JSTOR 2904298.
6. Smith, Barbara. Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology, Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press, 1983, p. 1.
7. Armstrong, David. Trumpet to Arms: Alternative Media in America, South End Press, 1985, ISBN 0-89608-193-1, p. 240.
8. "English.asu.edu" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 22, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2013.