Samisdat (zine)
Encyclopedia
Samisdat debuted as The Berkeley Samisdat Review in June 1973 and over a period of two decades published 244 issues. Samisdat was from the beginning an anti-war
, anti-establishment
, anti-communist, anti-nuclear power, pro-animal, and pro-vegetarian literary magazine. Over 1000 authors appeared in Samisdat, and for some it was their first appearance in print; some of these authors went on to successful careers as authors or poets.
Samisdat was published by self-described "Gandhian
anarchist" Merritt Clifton. Clifton and Samisdat were influenced by the Gandhian philosophical newspaper Manas Journal
, published by the late Henry Geiger
. Like many publications from the Underground Press
, it was spurned by print shops because of its content. As a result the publisher obtained his own offset press which he operated himself.
Clifton eventually published The Samisdat Method which described the practical aspects of purchase and use of an offset press by authors with no background in the printing trade. The book went through several editions and eventually saw publication and distribution by the book trade. It is now out of print
.
Anti-war
An anti-war movement is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts. Many...
, anti-establishment
Anti-establishment
An anti-establishment view or belief is one which stands in opposition to the conventional social, political, and economic principles of a society. The term was first used in the modern sense in 1958, by the British magazine New Statesman to refer to its political and social agenda...
, anti-communist, anti-nuclear power, pro-animal, and pro-vegetarian literary magazine. Over 1000 authors appeared in Samisdat, and for some it was their first appearance in print; some of these authors went on to successful careers as authors or poets.
Samisdat was published by self-described "Gandhian
Gandhism
Gandhism is the collection of inspirations, principles, beliefs and philosophy of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , who was a major political and spiritual leader of India and the Indian Independence Movement....
anarchist" Merritt Clifton. Clifton and Samisdat were influenced by the Gandhian philosophical newspaper Manas Journal
MANAS Journal
MANAS was an eight-page philosophical weekly written, edited, and published by Henry Geiger from 1948 until December 1988. Each issue typically contained several short essays that reflected on the human condition, examining in particular environmental and ethical concerns from a global perspective....
, published by the late Henry Geiger
Henry Geiger
Henry Geiger was the editor, publisher, and chief writer of MANAS Journal which published from 1948-1988.He “had been variously a chorus boy on Broadway, a journalist, a conscientious objector in World War II, a commercial printer, and a lecturer and leader in The Theosophy Lodge in Los Angeles.”...
. Like many publications from the Underground Press
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....
, it was spurned by print shops because of its content. As a result the publisher obtained his own offset press which he operated himself.
Clifton eventually published The Samisdat Method which described the practical aspects of purchase and use of an offset press by authors with no background in the printing trade. The book went through several editions and eventually saw publication and distribution by the book trade. It is now out of print
Out of print
Out of print refers to an item, typically a book , but can include any print or visual media or sound recording, that is in the state of no longer being published....
.