Ain't I A Woman: A Midwest Newspaper of Women's Liberation (13 issues)
Iowa City: Publications Collective, Iowa City WLF / AIAW Collective, 1970-74. A substantial run of this Midwest lesbian-feminist newspaper published from 1970-74 in Iowa City under the aegis of the Iowa City Women’s Liberation Front (aka, Angry Independent Amazon Women), an “umbrella for a number of loosely organized and dynamic cells, including those focused on daycare, gay women, health, revolutionary art, political study, and a speaker’s bureau” (Beins, “Liberation in Print,” p. 25). Members of the paper’s editorial collective lived together and shared all responsibilities and resources, and much of the paper’s content reflects this commitment to collectivism.
Other content focused on lesbianism, abortion and women’s self-care, the Black Panthers and Third World Women, childcare, class, race, self-defense, and poetry. Some issues include guest articles from other feminist or lesbian collectives or reprinted material from other publications, although “Ain’t I A Woman” did not solicit contributions from the broader women’s liberation movement as much as other paper’s did. Vol. 1, No. 14 advertises a poster by the Red Star Quick Rising Yeast Cell and the Revolutionary Art Collective, but it’s unclear whether it refers to the cover and centerfold art, or if it was a separate enclosure. If so, it’s not included.
Issues include Vol. 2, Nos. 1-5, 7-9; Vol. 3, Nos. 1, 4-5; Vol. 4, Nos. 1-2. Vol. 4, No. 1 was published as a 22-page pamphlet titled Academic Feminists and the Women's Movement.
Most issues are tabloid format printed in black on newsprint, the final issue side-stapled newsprint sheets; pagination ranges from 8-28 p., with most issues 12 p., illustrated. Most of the issues are in near fine condition, Vol. 4, No. 2 is slightly edgeworn. Item #13641
Price: $550.00