Harpies & Quines: This is the end?

In this final entry, I would like to give an overview of Harpies & Quines and the changes in the magazine from the first to the last magazine published in 1994, right before International Women’s Day. Just like feminism undergoes many changes, the first wave, the second wave, the third wave – so does a feminist magazine too. It might have been alive and thriving for only 12 issues from 1992 to 1994, but it surely impacted women’s lives. To think that the goal and vision came from a name made up from a visit to the pub! I had the pleasure of meeting one of the three founders, Lesley Riddoch, for a cup of tea at Kelvingrove Museum, and the interview will be available at GWL in the future.
 

The last magazine’s cover is a colourful photographic contrast to the lavender and celtic art of the very first. What changed? And what is left of H&Q’s legacy? When they came up with the name, flicking through the pages of Womanwords by Jane Mills, putting together ‘Harpies’ and ‘Quines’ — it came to encompass their undertaking. As they expressed in the 11th issue with the bold question Who’s Bad?: “Or does it mean that whatever women do, or don’t, we get slagged off for it? And that when we are feminists, breaking the man-made rules and making up our own, we become doubly bad?” (page 4, H&Q, No. 11, February 1994)

Generating more money through funding, they agreed to do an advertisement trailer in the beginning of 1994, and this caused quite a stir. The image of the ‘dungaree clad dyke’ with a bit of side-boob was not welcomed by everyone, but they still managed to get an ad-trailer. For a feminist magazine, this must have inspired greatness and a bright future. And so, naively, perhaps, they spent money on a new distribution system. It did triple the amount of readers from 5000 to 15000, just in one week. (The Herald, newspaper clipping in archive, 1. February 1994) Money spent towards publishing a magazine, now monthly instead of bimonthly, increased – and so did the gap between income and outcome. They needed money to publish, but it was from sales they generated money.

Harpies & Quines accomplished great things before the magazine died: they won the New Venture award given by Women in Publishing (UK) in 1994. In 1992 they won the lawsuit by Harpers & Queen – even before their first magazine was set to print, due to the name. This gave them the publicity they needed, but moreover, Scottish women were excited to have their own feminist magazine, with a sort of kilt on it. They interviewed and met women like Jo Brand, Naomi Wolf, Shere Hite, Andrea Dworkin, Mary Daly, Horse…They lifted Scottish women’s writing in every magazine. The most drastic changes to the magazine happened behind the scenes, and they had consequences. But that was the spirit of Harpies & Quines. They gave it all, and had the guts to just do it. 20. May 1992 they launched their first magazine, that’s 25 years ago. Maybe it’s time for a new Scottish feminist magazine riding the next wave of feminist change?

Further reading held by GWL

Jane Mills, Womanwords. 1989, 1991.

Lesley Riddoch, Blossom: What Scotland needs to flourish 2nd edition. 2013.

Relevant events:

Open the Door: Words with Women Writers, 13. May.

‘Painting Every Woman’: Creative Writing Workshop with Nadine Aisha, 29. April.

Sisterhood is Powerful, 11. May-17. June (exhibition)