Harpies & Quines: creating a platform and giving support

One of the main reasons I wanted to do a research placement with GWL, was because of my background writing for/ editing feminist magazines (Norway’s biggest, Fett, and Norway’s only feminist student magazine, Føniks). These experiences taught me that 1) publishing a magazine is hard work. 2) publishing a feminist magazine, is even harder. Why do it at all, then?

Harpies & Quines celebrated its first birthday (No. 7 June/July 1993) with an edition filled to the brim with women’s writings – a testimonial to show the incredible amount of fictional writing sent to them by their readers, and the importance of giving space to these voices when the literary establishment didn’t. Apparently, women lacked a wider perspective, to which Harpies countered: “What is lacking would seem to be support, encouragement, outlets for work and visible female role models.” (p. 2, H&Q, No. 7 June/July 1993) Because they saw the enormous amount of contributions sent to the Harpies collective, No. 7 addressed literary inspiration, and even a list of tricks and tips on writing. Additionally, the magazine was looking at publishing every month, which adds to the impact they wanted to make in providing a platform for Scottish women’s voices.

Harpies and Quines Poem Harpies & Quines Writing Advice

A feminist magazine like Harpies was not just a rebuff of the glossy magazines aimed at women, it established a space for women. In a gesture of passing the microphone, Harpies redirects attention to women themselves and their own experiences. As I held in the last blogpost, the magazine is filled with information and is a great guide for women on where to find help – but Harpies goes even further by giving (advertising) space to other magazines too: Spare Rib, bad attitude, Gay Scotland, Trouble & Strife, The List… and even whole pages reviewing ‘Dyke Mags’ (p. 35-36, H&Q, No. 8 Aug/Sept 1993) What Harpies did in the 90’s is not so unusual maybe today, with the countless feminist blogs in the online jungle. And why would there not be? It is easy and free to create one, and where women often have not been heard, the internet provides that kind of platform to be heard. On the other hand, a magazine provides a place for support and getting your work out there, and maybe even to a place like the GWL archives.

Harpies & Quines Shakespeare's Sisters Harpies & Quines Adverts

In No. 8 Aug/Sept, Harpies’ Charlotte Ross interviewed the creator of the zine Violet. Lucy Mackenzie was the teenage creator, inspired by the American riot grrrl-movement. Ross highlighted Mackenzie’s experiences with the world around her: “This world is full of Stepford Wives, not actually robots but rotted on the inside by everything around us. Magazines, films, family, school, music, art, books, fashion etc. all play a part in turning us into manfriendly little replicas of pretty, docile, weak Stepford Wives. Men don’t need to actually turn us into robots when everything else does it for them.” (p. 28, H&Q, No. 8 Aug/Sept) And this is one of the main reasons why women like the Harpies collective even bothered at all with the incredibly hard work of publishing a feminist magazine, to keep women from rotting on the inside and never have their voices heard. For women to show their wider perspectives, they need places to do so. The literary establishment was wrong in the 90’s, and Harpies & Quines was one of the many magazines who proved to be a space of support and validation.

Harpies & Quines List Harpies & Quines Zine

Further reading:
Violet Zine in the archive
Trouble & Strife, Spare Rib and other magazines and journals are held at GWL – pop in and ask to have a look!
Hens Tae Watch Oot Fur – a Queer Feminist Zine Project – is sold at GWL

Events at GWL:
Creative Writing For Fearties: Lose Yourself in Writing
Story Cafés
Book Giveaway Party

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