NOLA Express
 The cover ofNOLA ExpressNo. 108 (June 9, 1972), with cover art by poetHedwig Gorski. | |
| Type | Biweeklyunderground newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Tabloid |
| Founder(s) | Darlene Fife and Robert Head |
| Founded | 1967inNew Orleans |
| Political alignment | Radical |
| Headquarters | New Orleans,Louisiana |
| Circulation | 11,000 |
NOLA Expressis a publication started in 1967 inNew Orleansby the young poets Darlene Fife and Robert Head. Part theunderground free pressmovement of the 1960s, the paper was opposed to Americanimperialism,racismandmaterialism.It protested theVietnam Warand other government policies, along with social hypocrisies.
Named afterWilliam S. Burroughs's cut-up novel,Nova Express,the paper was produced by a dedicated band of activists, poets, and illustrators based in theFrench Quarter;it published uncensored news, art, and literature featuringCharles Bukowski,Hedwig Gorski,and many others.
NOLA Expressis considered one of the most outrageous underground papers of the 1960s. Part of the controversy was due to the paper's inclusion of graphic images that many in Sixties society deemedpornographic.Such controversies increased readership and brought attention to the political causes that editors Fife and Head supported.[1]
History
[edit]Editors Robert Head and Darlene Fife were part of political protests that extended the "mimeorevolution "through pamphleteering used byfreedom of speechpoets during the 1960s.
New Orleans was considered theThird Coastby 1960scounterculturalmigrants whohitch hikedbetweenSan Francisco,Austin,New Orleans,Key West,andNew York City.[2]These social revolutionaries were able to find support, free housing, food, and work without commitments on the counterculture circuit. Theunderground pressmovement unified those in theanti-establishmentservice, social, and political movements, along with theBohemiancircuit of artists, freewheeling travelers, and hitchhikers into a force that permanently impacted American policy and culture.NOLA Expresswas mobilized by an ever-changing ragtag army of street vendors, at its peak selling 11,000 copies every two weeks.[3]
Bukowski's syndicated column,Notes of a Dirty Old Man,ran inNOLA Express;Francisco McBride'sillustrationfor Bukowski's piece "The Fuck Machine" was considered sexist, pornographic, and created an uproar.[citation needed]
In a landmark decision in 1971,NOLA Expressbeat federal obscenity charges.[citation needed]
Affiliations
[edit]In 1967, theUnderground Press Syndicate(UPS) cooperative was formed; the UPS allowed member papers to freely reprint content from any of the other member papers.NOLA Expresswas one of the most notorious UPS member newspapers, as it ralliedactivists,poets, and artists by giving them an uncensored voice.NOLA Expresswas also a member of theCommittee of Small Magazine Editors and Publishers(COSMEP). These affiliations with two organizations that were often at cross purposes madeNOLA Expressone of the most radical and controversial publications of the counterculture movement.[3]
Contents of June 9, 1972, issue
[edit]The contents of a single issue ofNOLA Express,No. 108 from June 9, 1972, coveredinvestigative reportingaboutenvironmentaland community issues,essaysabout current political and social issues, boldcartoons,statements by self-styled fringe leaders, and more created for the large fringehippieand artist society ofNew OrleansandAlgiers:
- "The Poisoning of Our Water Supply"
- "Lake CharlesPolice Sued "
- "Suit AgainstRichard NixonDismissed "
- "Kumi Maitreya La-La" by John Bennett
- "Notes of a Dirty Old Man" byCharles Bukowski
- "Walter Collins Ani Maitreya Marilyn Austin John Dulude Ericka Huggins poem/artcenterfold
- "Merit Unified Field Theory III Geophysical Warfare:Vietnam"
- "The Youth International Party inMiami"
- "Planet News Small Press Communications Conspiracy"
- "The North American Book of The Dead" by D. A. Levy
- Ads for warehouse concerts (1/4-page ad for gigs byEdgar Winter/ Groundhogs,ZZ Top/Wishbone Ash)
- Letters, calendar of events, community bulletin board, classified ads
Archives
[edit]Darlene Fife, poet, translator, and co-founder ofNOLA Express,wrote a personal and insightful memoir of the paper, the people who produced it, and the community it served, titledPortraits from Memory: New Orleans in The Sixties.[3]The book includes some of the correspondence and illustrations from notable issues.
An archive ofNOLA Expresscorrespondence and issues is housed at theUniversity of Connecticut.[citation needed]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Fife, Darlene. Illustration.Portraits from Memory: New Orleans in the Sixties.New Orleans: Surregional Press, 2000, p. 26.
- ^Gorski, Hedwig.Intoxication: Heathcliff on Powell Street. College Station: Slough Press, 2007. Forward.
- ^abcFife, Darlene.Portraits from Memory: New Orleans in the Sixties. New Orleans: Surregional Press, 2000.