Hundred Flowers (newspaper)
Encyclopedia
Hundred Flowers was an underground newspaper
published in Minneapolis, Minnesota from April 17, 1970 to April 4, 1972. It was produced by a communal collective, with the main instigator being antiwar activist and former Smith College
drama instructor Ed Felien. The 16-page, two-color tabloid was published weekly (later biweekly) and cost 25 cents, circulating about 5000 copies.
Hundred Flowers was a blend of antiwar radical activism with hippie counterculture, with special issues devoted to the Women's Liberation movement and to the Black Panther Party
. Founders, members of the staff collective and contributors included SDS
/gay activist Brian J. Coyle (who later became Minneapolis' first openly gay city council person), Warren Hanson (who later founded the Greater Minnesota Housing Fund, and co-founded Fresh Air Community Radio aka KFAI-FM
and Community Reinvestment Fund USA), Tom Utne (graphic artist & brother of Eric Utne, publisher of the Utne Reader
), Richard Dworkin, Marly Rusoff (who later founded The Loft Literary Center
), Ralph Wittcoff (a co-founder of the New Riverside Cafe), Rosemary Pierce, Doug Demalignon, and many others. Ed Felien went on to serve on the Minneapolis City Council and to establish South Side Pride, a successful South side newspaper and news blog.
For at least the first 8 months of its existence the core group lived in a staff commune.
A financial breakdown published in an early issue reported that Hundred Flowers had to gross between four and five hundred dollars a week to break even, with about half the money coming from advertising and the other half coming from sales by casual street vendors, which were coordinated through three local head shops which served as distribution points. Half the money went to pay for printing and the other half paid the rent, utilities and food bills of the staff commune.
After its 19th issue Hundred Flowers could no longer find a printer with the necessary web-fed press anywhere within a 150-mile radius who was willing to print the paper, and the staff were forced to go to Port Washington, Wisconsin
to get the paper printed by William Schanen ("by mid-1969, his was the only print shop between Iowa City and Kalamazoo willing to handle underground papers"), who was printing the Chicago Seed
, Milwaukee Kaleidoscope
and about half the underground papers in the Midwest.
By its 30th issue published December 11, 1970, the collective parted ways with Ed Felien as a result of political statements published by Felien that were in conflict with principles held by other members of the collective. The publication was relaunched as a biweekly from January 29, 1971 to May 1, 1971, and then as a weekly from June 4, 1971 to Dec. 3, 1971 (vol. 2, no. 33). The paper continued to be published irregularly until April 4, 1972. Beginning in 1970, the paper was published from offices above Liberty House (operated by Marv Davidov, founder of the The Honeywell Project
) at the corner of 6th Street and Cedar Avenue in the "West Bank" neighborhood near the University of Minnesota campus. Liberty House also housed the People's Pantry food co-op, the catalyst for the "new wave" food co-op movement in Minnesota. Several of the Hundred Flowers collective went on to co-found various Twin Cities "new wave" food co-ops throughout the 1970s and 1980s, including North Country Food Co-op, People's Company Bakery, the New Riverside Cafe, West Bank Co-op Grocery, West Bank Co-op Pharmacy, Mill City Food Co-op, People's Warehouse, as well as the Twin Cities Women's Union, Haymarket Press, and KFAI-FM aka Fresh Air Radio, among other community enterprises.
Underground press
The underground press were the independently published and distributed underground papers associated with the counterculture of the late 1960s and early 1970s in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and other western nations....
published in Minneapolis, Minnesota from April 17, 1970 to April 4, 1972. It was produced by a communal collective, with the main instigator being antiwar activist and former Smith College
Smith College
Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...
drama instructor Ed Felien. The 16-page, two-color tabloid was published weekly (later biweekly) and cost 25 cents, circulating about 5000 copies.
Hundred Flowers was a blend of antiwar radical activism with hippie counterculture, with special issues devoted to the Women's Liberation movement and to the Black Panther Party
Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party wasan African-American revolutionary leftist organization. It was active in the United States from 1966 until 1982....
. Founders, members of the staff collective and contributors included SDS
Students for a Democratic Society (1960 organization)
Students for a Democratic Society was a student activist movement in the United States that was one of the main iconic representations of the country's New Left. The organization developed and expanded rapidly in the mid-1960s before dissolving at its last convention in 1969...
/gay activist Brian J. Coyle (who later became Minneapolis' first openly gay city council person), Warren Hanson (who later founded the Greater Minnesota Housing Fund, and co-founded Fresh Air Community Radio aka KFAI-FM
KFAI
KFAI is a community radio station in Minnesota. The station broadcasts a wide variety of music, and also airs programming catering to many of the diverse ethnic groups of the region...
and Community Reinvestment Fund USA), Tom Utne (graphic artist & brother of Eric Utne, publisher of the Utne Reader
Utne Reader
Utne Reader is an American bimonthly magazine. The magazine collects and reprints articles on politics, culture, and the environment from generally alternative media sources, including journals, newsletters, weeklies, zines, music and DVDs...
), Richard Dworkin, Marly Rusoff (who later founded The Loft Literary Center
The Loft Literary Center
The Loft Literary Center is a nonprofit literary organization located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Incorporated in 1975, the Loft's stated mission is "to support the artistic development of writers, to foster a writing community, and to build an audience for literature"...
), Ralph Wittcoff (a co-founder of the New Riverside Cafe), Rosemary Pierce, Doug Demalignon, and many others. Ed Felien went on to serve on the Minneapolis City Council and to establish South Side Pride, a successful South side newspaper and news blog.
For at least the first 8 months of its existence the core group lived in a staff commune.
A financial breakdown published in an early issue reported that Hundred Flowers had to gross between four and five hundred dollars a week to break even, with about half the money coming from advertising and the other half coming from sales by casual street vendors, which were coordinated through three local head shops which served as distribution points. Half the money went to pay for printing and the other half paid the rent, utilities and food bills of the staff commune.
After its 19th issue Hundred Flowers could no longer find a printer with the necessary web-fed press anywhere within a 150-mile radius who was willing to print the paper, and the staff were forced to go to Port Washington, Wisconsin
Port Washington, Wisconsin
Port Washington is the county seat of Ozaukee County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The city is about 25 miles north of Milwaukee and 110 miles north of Chicago. In the 2000 census Port Washington had a population of 10,467...
to get the paper printed by William Schanen ("by mid-1969, his was the only print shop between Iowa City and Kalamazoo willing to handle underground papers"), who was printing the Chicago Seed
Chicago Seed (Newspaper)
Seed was an underground newspaper launched by artist Don Lewis and Earl Segal , owner of the Molehole, a local poster shop, and published biweekly in Chicago, Illinois from May 1967 to 1973. Disagreements between Lewis and Segal led to its purchase by Harry Dewar, a graphic designer and Colin...
, Milwaukee Kaleidoscope
Kaleidoscope (newspaper)
Kaleidoscope was an underground newspaper, founded by John Kois, radio disk jockey Bob Reitman, and John Sahli , which was published in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from Oct. 6, 1967 to Nov. 11, 1971, printing 105 biweekly issues in all...
and about half the underground papers in the Midwest.
By its 30th issue published December 11, 1970, the collective parted ways with Ed Felien as a result of political statements published by Felien that were in conflict with principles held by other members of the collective. The publication was relaunched as a biweekly from January 29, 1971 to May 1, 1971, and then as a weekly from June 4, 1971 to Dec. 3, 1971 (vol. 2, no. 33). The paper continued to be published irregularly until April 4, 1972. Beginning in 1970, the paper was published from offices above Liberty House (operated by Marv Davidov, founder of the The Honeywell Project
Honeywell project
The Honeywell Project was a peace group based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that existed from the late 1960s until about 1990. During its existence, the organization waged a campaign to convince the board and executives of the Honeywell Corporation to convert their weapons manufacturing business to...
) at the corner of 6th Street and Cedar Avenue in the "West Bank" neighborhood near the University of Minnesota campus. Liberty House also housed the People's Pantry food co-op, the catalyst for the "new wave" food co-op movement in Minnesota. Several of the Hundred Flowers collective went on to co-found various Twin Cities "new wave" food co-ops throughout the 1970s and 1980s, including North Country Food Co-op, People's Company Bakery, the New Riverside Cafe, West Bank Co-op Grocery, West Bank Co-op Pharmacy, Mill City Food Co-op, People's Warehouse, as well as the Twin Cities Women's Union, Haymarket Press, and KFAI-FM aka Fresh Air Radio, among other community enterprises.