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Kinesis
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i m WMMM •'"•:T^K;'the Shame the Johns vigilante campaign directed at forcing prostitutes from their neighbourhood has been gettttig a lot of attention. West Ender Rosemarie Rupps gives the feminist perspective. 5 The Labour pages feature two complementary perspectives On the recent CLC convention in Montreal. 6 ,|Patty Gibson and Punam Khosla journey to Oakalla prison to ask Ann Hansen the questions that never got fU^J/IU^t4$t" B4- 18 the Slits, The Raincoats and the Belle Stars... Who are they and what do they do? Know more about them by turning to Connie Smith's Beginner's Guide to New Music. 24 Music has it all over talk. At least that's the message from singer, songwriter Pat Davitt as she writes about making music to fight by. 26 Local artist Cheryl Sourkes' photography exhibition receives the recognition her work deserves in a review by Jill Pollack. ^pcred cuts won't stop us! fi KMMMS i|$E VANCOUVER STATUS OF WOMEN WeVe both alive and kicking JS&d, subscribe, join, support women's news and views I Published 10 tlnrtos a year by Vancouver Status,of,Women ippOA West 5th Ave,, Vancouver, B.C. V$gwj?)''. lll|plitW members!!® - }no(udfS:,'&jhesis subscription 'J^T$20 (o/ wftart 'you can affjoiiF% »?Kinesis sufcSGriptlon>0riIy «!$% - ^tonatltutJons - $40 Jp^ustainers - $75 BKy^ IE: —- j||&«ss_ ,;«. ■ Sine PPPWPlrvelosed _l O Is (0 3 SO >< m Mm < o • Si 1 S3 w Classical saSM m also this issue: Photography insen ?i^3r|ftitta|^l^dv. v"! ^^^^gL^o%er,. ^^^W.- trials of the Lower Mainland indi- |S!^^ft known as the Vancouver Five came to a^rt?tl1;"vtil 4une when each of the five pleaded guilty to charges ranging from possession of weapons to bombings at the Litton Systems plant in Ontario, the Cheek^e-Dunsmuir nuclear substation, and three Red Hot Video pornography stores. ||§||||||ve' s case has been the target of - ^^Rpolitical attention, due to the nature of the charges, the nationwide ^riJsHRby media*, .that followed their arrest (see"-Kinesis February '83>, and the extensive, ■|j§opth3.sti£ai:e*IT and frequently |1||§|1||1 gaily ^t^la'ed'^,'U^wei.llance evidence" fcjsnaf> * was allowed in c&urlh^*'' MoreontheFiVe Interview witfi j&ftrt %)%>< B;-1{ B^s£ma.s.1t >Aen Jfensfen,, Gerry Hannknj,^.';! §1^ja&V%'' XtiAjiteist. Tj|ylor,, wirta^ ^-it^mselv^^DirJect'!^tc6f6n, were.•; tit^^ta0-^tai&r^Z^i^^^>y police fibers posing- as highway flagpersons on tffe S^tamiltbl&lighway. T^ey jire?e.;fodxcted ^Bl^^^^^^^^^^p^^wt charges y $§mEssm thfe*'£&$fc£' otv^fe"£irst'*Qf tnese' induct- _*"- ^p||p^^fflg*in Septeal|l|||i>r' last year. M^M& entered i^^feguilty plea ifC'Vang -->.. |B; i^£^-^eixtSanped.'i'jt:o 20 years in prison ?<&£* dftarijes* 'trta^'^lncluded the Litton ^^g^K^^&is appealing her sentence. Hatutah received 10 years.- on related charges ^^^^^^^^^Uatcing - .M^k-t came in early Jiiiie«."'f.ollowed by Stewart's and Taylor's. Stewart will be in j aiX*#j||||6 years, Taylor for 22. Taylor was convicted with Hansen on conspiracy to-rob a Brin^^^^^ guard and other charges, and-;^^»;"-faces trial in Ontario on the-Litton charges. B^tfjh-jHansen and Taylor, well respected activists in Vancouver's alternative community, presented political statements ttXjtfae, court outlining their reasons for taking action when and how they did. Hansen's statement was supplemented by the testimony of women and men organizing legal protest around the issues Direct Action worked on, making her sentencing the major political focus of the trial. Fifty people attended a rally preceding the .-/court proceedings, and in the courtroom Ken Hancock spoke on the campaign against Litton; Carl Rising-Moore on the Cheekye Dunsmuir substation; anti-porn acti- vist Pam Blackstone on the work against Red Hot Video; and Nilak Butler on native rights. Butler and Ed Progar also spoke as character witnesses for ton* . All of the testimony addressed the frustration activists have sensed in working legally. Blackstone pointed to the justice system's.persistent inaction on Red Hot Video, and the farce that was Red Hot's triaL when the case finally came to court. continued on p. 4 Wamm photo by Kim Irving by Rosemarie Rupps On June 21, hookers in Vancouver's residential West End voluntarily moved enmasse into a commercial and retail area east of Bur- rard Street. For years an uneasy situation has existed between West End apartment residents and hookers, many of them juveniles. who gradually filtered into nearby residential streets from Davie Street, a strip of restaurants and bars. As relations deteriorated, hookers felt themselves blamed for many of the problems of any high-density neighbourhood, and residents felt all levels of government were unresponsive to the: The move out of the West End comes as the culmination of a war on prostitution, which involved a local citizen's neighbourhood patrol, "Shame the Johns"(STJ), and an attempt by the Attorney General to ban hookers from the West End by a court injunction. Provincial Attorney General Brian Smith announced May 29th that he was making an application to the court to grant a civil injunction to stop "activities on the streets of the West End which amount to a public nuisance," by naming 30 defendants in a writ. A further clause citing "persons unknown" allows the court to add other names at a later date - on the list could be anyone the police or courts may wish to harass. Lawyers, acting for some of the prostitutes, have argued that prostitution itself is not illegal, that authorities have allowed existing laws to be "flagrantly abused", and that the Attorney General is trying to use the injunction to invade federal jurisdiction. Alliance for the Safety of Prostitutes (ASP) spokespersons, Sally De Quadros and Marie Arrington were alarmed about the implications of this injunction. "This could be devastating for hookers," said Marie. She went on to explain that those named can be charged with contempt of court at anytime for violating the writ, should the injunction go through, by simply being a 'public nuisance'." This could include such activities as working the street, creating noise or loitering. Injunction on hookers The discretionary powers allowed in the writ permit a maximum 2 years imprisonment or $2,000 fine for violation of the injunction. In effect, this means that those named in the injunction must stay entirely out of the West End, the area specified in the injunction, whether they live there, work there, want to shop there, or visit friends. Sally sees frightening consequences. "It will drive hookers underground and make them more vulnerable to violence," she said. It holds women more strongly In the prostitution trap because, by publicly naming them, it is almost impossible for them to get other jobs. Women also risk losing their children, being cut off welfare and U.I. and losing their housing. Sally pointed out that, "Hookers are also residents of the West End, and this injunction is trying to throw them out of their homes. Where are they to go? continued on p. 3 Women fired for unionizing by Nichola Martin Until recently, 11 women were picketing Hoss Farms in Langley over their dismissal for trying to form a union. On Sunday May 27, just hours before the Canadian Farmworkers Union applied to the Labour Relations Board for the right to represent Uppal's 16 employees, 5 of the women were fired. Six more women were fired the next day for their union involvement. The union immediately filed unfair labour practice complaints against Uppal. The reasons for unionization at Hoss Farms are many. Conditions at this and many other farms in the Fraser Valley are intolerable: up to 15-hour days with no overtime, no toilet facilities,md pay at piece rates amounting to $2-$3 per hour. The women at Hoss Farms had had enough. They phoned the union. After three days of picketing at Hoss Farms the union extended its efforts to the Fraser Valley Mushroom Grower's Co-operative plant in Langley, which processes and packages mushrooms. The Grower's Co-op has assisted Uppal with legal consultants and an immediate supply of scab labour for his farm. The union's secondary picket was honoured by Co-op employees, members of the Retail aid Wholesale Workers Union, and the plant shut down. But the Co-op immediately applied for an injunction against the pickets. The Labour Relations Board moved quickly. On Monday, June 4, it ruled that the secondary pickets were illegal. Meanwhile the farmworkers were still out of work, waiting for the Board to approve the union's application for certification and for an investigation into its unfair labour practices complaint. The Co-op's complaint was urgent, the women's case was not. This dispute occured in the middle of the Socred government's campaign to amend the I B.C. Labour Code (see Kinesis June '83). The new amendments outlaw political strikes and secondary picketing. Tactics that the CFU has used in the past, for example the strike against Country Farms and the secondary picket at Naam Restaurant in Vancouver, are now illegal. It seems the new Labour Code may be enforced at Hoss Farms, even though the union applied for certification before June 8, when the code came into effect. It is obvious that the revised legislation, which also affects certification, will frustrate the aims of the women at Hoss, who joined the union to gain some control over their working conditions. In the end the union had to trade off the worker's right to picket their workplace for an earlier hearing date from the LRB. On June 14, picketting was discontinued, June 21 GFU began its hearing, and at press time the case was still before the LRB. 2 Kinesis July/Augusts MOVEMENT MATTERS Media Watch acts on ad by Tova Wagman Sometimes it's not enough to wait for the Advertising Advisory Board to take action against an offensive ad. In June, the Media Watch staff got together to discuss how we would remove the Sergio Valente/ Thrifty's ad that was on every bus in the Lower Mainland, and succeeded. We started making phone calls and writing out complaint forms right away. The chain of events went like this: I called Metro Transit and asked who was responsible for ads on the bus. I was told to call Trans- ad where I spoke with accounts executive John Marshall. I informed him of the ads' message - 'violence against women'. He told me to write a letter to Metro Transit. I replied that this was serious and I wanted something done right away. He said he would speak with the managing director from Calgary who (it just so happened) would be in Vancouver tomorrow. This managing director is responsible for selling ads on buses but the Transit Authority has final responsibility. I told Mr. Marshall to call me back. Then Lucy Alderson got on the phone to B.C. Transit and asked to speak with Larry Ward, Assistant General Manager. She was told to write a letter, but insisted that that was not acceptable. After four tries she got through, told him she was calling from Media Watch and had just received six complaints concerning the ad. Lucy explained the dangers of using such an ad particularly on a public KINESIS is published ten times a year by Vancouver Status of Women. Its objectives are to enhance understanding about the changing position of women in society and work actively towards achieving social change. VIEWS EXPRESSED IN KINESIS are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect VSW policy. All unsigned material is the responsibility of the Kinesis editorial group. CORRESPONDENCE: Kinesis, Vancouver Status of Women, 400 A West 5th Ave., Vancouver, B.C. V5Y 1J8. MEMBERSHIP in Vancouver Status of Women is $20/year (or what you can afford), this includes a subscription to Kinesis. Individual subscriptions to Kinesis are $13/year. SUBMISSIONS are welcome. We reserve the right to edit, and submission does not guarantee publication. WORKERS THIS ISSUE: Libby Barlow, Jan DeGrass, Vicky Donaldson, Cole Dudley, Shari Dunnet, Michele Edwards, Dorothy Elias, Anne Grace, Linda Grant, Nicky Hood, Judy Hopkins, Punam Khosla, Emma Kivisild, Suzanne Kredentser, Cat L'Hirondelle, Claudia MacDonald, Evie Mandel, Susan Mcllroy, Rosemarie Rupps, Cy-Thea Sand, Terri Roberton, Judy Rose, Joey Schibild, Ivy Scott, Lily Shinde, Pam Swanigan, Swee Sim Tan, Valerie van Cleef, Lindsay Whalen and Michele Woll- stonecroft. Typesetting and camera work by Baseline type & Graphics Cooperative. KINESIS is a member of the Canadian Periodical Publishers Association. transit system. Larry agreed to look into the matter and said he would seek a copy of the ad immediately. Lucy then called Thrifty's and asked them why they were using such an ad. In the course of the conversation she got the name of the ad agency in Toronto (Saffe, Kravitz, and Friedman), who took the photo for the ad. Susan Cook, Accounts Executive, was surprised that the ad offended anyone. She said it was a "mood shot" and the phrase on the ad "Change into" is a catch phrase only. Lucy told her we'd asked the transit commission to remove the ad. Susan said that would be expensive as they had booked space on all buses in Vancouver until the end of July. As well, a similar ad was running in Toronto. The next morning, we received a phone call from Larry Ward of B.C. Transit. He said they would be removing the ads starting that day (Friday), and they would be off all buses by Monday. Lucy called Susan a few days later to ask if the Toronto ad was still running and, if so, when it would be off. Apparently the other ad. did not contain the same mes sages of violence. Susan was noticeably upset at the situation in B.C. and was not sure what they were going to do. Media Watch offered their services in explaining the Advertising Advisory Board's guidelines on sex-role-stereotyping. All this fuss for one little ad? One little ad that shows a woman lying on sand with her rear end raised, covered with a man's hand. His other hand: clenched into a fist, pointed at her; his face: angry, watching her. Her face: unconcerned, looking at the camera. "Change Into" the script reads. Change into what? A bully? A cool macho, angry man with your fist clenched ready to strike a woman? Certainly they're not advertising clothes. With all the twisted body postures, fists and clenched jaws is it really the clothes they want us to buy? Or do they want us to buy a violent, brutal image? This ad is not accurate in its portrayal of women. We are told by ads like this that we want to be violated, and that violation is acceptable. From now until the ad space is re-sold, you can see a white space on the buses where an ad used to be. This space is reserved for us to rest our eyes and allow our imaginations to run and create pictures. Pictures where women are given the decency and respect we deserve. W.I.T. looks back There were women at the annual general meeting of Women In Trades that had attended or taken part in the women in non-traditional work workshop in 1979. For those members who were newer to the association it was fascinating to listen as these women spoke of how the association was formed. In 1979 as part of a weekend on women and work there was a workshop on women in non- traditional work. It was an original experience for the tradespeople in the room. As women spoke of being a shipwright, a welder or a truck driver they realized that although they might be solitary in their trade, they in fact were not alone in their struggle to work in a man's world. It was the general consensus that a meeting should be called just for tradeswoman. Every woman has the right, in fact as well as in principle, to a full and equal place in society. Icoolition | That was the beginning. From that time to the present Women In Trades has offered to women a place where women never have to explain why they want to do tradeswork, and a place of mutual support and common For tradeswomen the issues, the barriers and the concerns have not changed significantly in the last five years. Women are still being sexually harassed, and still running into counsellors, vocational instructors and employers trying to keep women out. Yet women like Janet Lane, avionics mechanic, and Kate Braid, carpenter, who have achieved journeywomen status state that "it does get easier and you do get accepted." The association is currently involved in expanding its outreach to community colleges, highschools, and community groups in an effort to provide women of all ages with an overview, of the work options available to them. Women In Trades has a highly committed membership which donates much personal time to attending meetings, presenting themselves as speakers and role models, and writing briefs. Women In Trades is a strong group whose voice is slowly and gradually being heard. It is the voice of support for the few who now work in the trades and the voice of advocacy for more and more women to consider this kind of work option. Women In Trades Groups in B.C.: Vancouver Women In Trades, 400A W. 5th Ave., Vancouver, B.C. V5Y U8/Powell River Women In Trades, 11A 7050 Glacier Street, Powell River, B.C. V8A lR5/Women In Trades Kooten- ar Council, Box 3651, Castlegar, B.C. VIN 3W3. press gang press gang • press gang • press gang • press gang • press gang press gang • press gang • press gang • press gang • press gang 603 Powell St. 253-1224 July/August "84 Kinesis 3 ACROSS B.C. Porn catalogue stopped Feminist pressure convinced a Lower Mainland press not to proceed with a contract to design and print a catalogue of pornographic videos. When a female camera operator at Cancom Media Consultants, Ltd. informed local women's groups that her bosses were intending to begin work on Red Hot Video's newest catalogue, concerned women began calling the company. After one day of phone calls every, five minutes, Cancom decided not to do the catalogue. Cancom has done two similar projects for Red Hot Video in the past two years, but under different management. On both occasions, women who had to work on the catalogue objected, but were told to do the work or lose their jobs to someone who would. This time, two women expressed their concern as soon as they were informed they would be doing the Red Hot Video work, and attempted to discuss their reasons with the management, Their bosses' response was that if Cancom didn't print it someone would, though they were afraid of reprisals connected to the women's movement - especially that their insurance would go up because they were likely to be firebombed (!) They decided to print the catalogue anonymously, and went so far as to tell the women that this would be the last time they would print one of Red Hot's publications . One of the camera operators felt that the compromise was not good enough, and called women's centres throughout the Lower Mainland. Calls began first thing the next morning, (the day work was scheduled to begin), and didn't let up until the afternoon, when Cancom finally capitulated and cancelled the deal with Red Hot. Hookers continued from p. 1 If the injunction is successful in the West End, then it will be used in other parts of Vancouver, and other parts of Canada. This is just the testing ground." In an effort to stop this legal intimidation, hookers have been organizing. In an interview on CBC radio, lawyer Ray Chouinard, defending some of the people named in the injunction, talked about a meeting of the West End prostitutes. About 60 hookers decided by consensus to move to the east side of Burrard, out of the area named in the injunction. They plan to stay out of the West End indefinitely. . Sally confirmed, "Yes, the hookers are moving out, but it is not a capitulation, we are not being intimidated by Shame the Johns, or Brian Smith. It is a gesture of goodwill, to show that we can be negotiated with." This injunction is only the latest event in a history of harassment against hookers in the West End. For three months, STJ, a West End citizens' vigilante group, had been conducting walks through the neighbourhood to protest the presence of prostitutes. The major tactic of STJ has been to gather on the streets in groups of 15 to 20 and stand near the prostitutes to intimidate "Johns" or customers from stopping. According to STJ organizer, Don Odegaard, they had been conducting an average of two half-hour walks a day, had been noting car license plates, and had threatened to make public the names of suspected Johns. The next step in their campaign was to be a group visit to the homes of repeat offenders, though ASP believes they did not follow through on this action. Possibly another outcome of STJ's campaign has been to sensitize the media and public to the problem and create an appropriate climate for the A.G.'s injunction. According to Sally and Marie, the actions of STJ have not always been peaceful. They have compiled a list of violent acts by talking to hookers - STJ have physically pulled women out of cars, they have punched hookers, they have thrown bags of dye at passing cars. Police have refused to lay charges even when there have been witnesses. No one doubts that the West End has many problems: traffic congestion, noise, littering, and verbal harassment of area residents, particularly women. Some residents - those involved in STJ, and those willing to sign an affidavit for the A.G., see the presence of prostitutes on the streets as the source of all problems. Sally De Quadros denies these accusations. Women fight law Vancouver feminists concerned about a City by-law that proposes to ban the sale of all sexually graphic material (see Kinesis June 84) have been meeting to discuss possible alternatives to the legislation. , At press time the group had developed an adaptation of an ordinance passed in Minneapolis. It attempts to define pornography in terms of misogynist images, and restricts its sale, production, and display. They say the Vancouver by-law legitimises the sale of porn as long as it is not prominently displayed or sold to minors. They hope to present their proposal to City Council at a public hearing preceding the second round of Council debate on the by-law Council will be meeting again to look at 'Ģthe legislation, even though it was passed in May, because letters sent to all commercial retailers in the city were immediately criticized on the vagueness of their definition of "sexually graphic." The by-law is being re-worked in the City's Legal Services Department. . "The physical set up of the West End, with its high density housing, nocturnal businesses, many drinking establishments, and inadequate parking provisions, all contribute to traffic problems." The complaints of residents about noise and disturbances are legitimate. However there is some evidence that existing bylaws are riot being enforced. Sally explains, "Noise - bylaws are enforced elsewhere in the city. Complaints about noise are dealt with by the police within 10 minutes. This could be done in the West End also," she said. "A sympathetic policeman told us that they are deliberately ignoring complaints. They hope to see the situation escalating until the federal government intervenes. What the police want are tough laws designed to keep hookers in line. Then they can keep all women in line." As VSW pointed out in its brief to the Fraser Commission on Prostitution, women are harassed on the street everywhere, not just in the West End, and everywhere, it is men, not hookers who are responsible for this harassment. And how effective are the STJ? The hookers have voluntarily left the West End. However, STJ have given the A.G. the ammunition he needs to proceed with his action. Sally says that such confrontational groups make life on the street even more dangerous for women, because "it gives others ideas about verbally and physically attacking VSW survives! The struggle continues. While a federal grant for $63,500 saved the Vancouver Status of Women from extinction, the organization remains grossly underfunded. The grant,xwhich was confirmed in June by the Ministry of the Secretary of State, Women's Programs, represents only slightly more than half the amount asked for as a minimum in VSW's funding application. It will be retroactive to the beginning of June, and cover a ten-month period, paying for three salaries rent, supplies, and most office expenses. $22,000 from the City of Vancouver will supplement the Secretary of State money, and the combined funds will enable VSW to keep four women on staff. One position vacated in February will not be re-filled, and the organization has had to lay off another staff member. A full-time paid staff member for Kinesis will be hired in July. The Kinesis position has been vacant since the beginning of March due to lack of funds. At the Annual General Meeting on June 28, staff and volunteers paid special tribute with bread and roses to the outgoing Board of Directors, who endured the unprecedented workload and stress of VSW's most serious funding crisis ever. Two '83-'84 Board members who have put years of volunteer service and dedication into the organization will be leaving the Board this year. Jan Berry has been active at VSW since 1974, working on the finance committee, the Board (as Treasurer), and Kinesis. JB was responsible for Bulletin Board, in-town distribution, mailout, and out-of-town bookstore distribution for many years. Her moral, and gastronomic (.'), support have been invaluable. Nancy Keough has served as VSW's B.C. Federation of Women representative for three years, since attending her first BCFW convention on behalf of VSW in 1981. She has been a member of the Board for two years. Nancy and JB were given special recognition at the meeting. The '84^'85 Board was elected: Jean Bennett, Patty Gibson, Barbara Findlay, Gail Meredith, Susan O'Donnell, Vicky Donaldson, and Susan Higginbotham. Congratulations ! Reports from the various groups and committees active in VSW were an important morale booster at the AGM. They served to reaffirm that the organization has managed to achieve many of its goals in the past year, breaking ground on a variety of issues, including pornography, prostitution, and pensions, and maintaining a high level of service despite serious financial difficulties. It is clear that VSW has managed to survive. hookers." The real solution to forcing women into prostitution may be a major societal overhaul offering all women viable economic options and challenging the role of women as sexual commodities. Meanwhile, an intermediate step would be the decriminalization of prostitution (see Kinesis May '83). Sympathetic individuals can help now. Prostitutes named on the A.G.'s injunction are retaining lawyers to challenge it. Letters of support and financial contributions to the defense fund are crucial. Donations may be sent to: Tony Serka for Hooker's Defense Fund, Alliance for the Safety of Prostitutes, MPO Box 2288, Vancouver, V6B 3W5. Letters of support, addressed to whom it may concern, may also be mailed to ASP at the above address. Rosemarie Rupps is a West End resident',, former VSW board member, part of the Kinesis working group. 4 Kinesis July/August *84 ACROSS CANADA Students protest DES graphic by Terry Koberton TORONTO - Members of the Ryerson Polytech- nical Institute's Women's Centre are learning to pronounce diethylstilbestrol (DES) without stumbling. They are also learning how to use "guerilla tactics." That's what the Ryerson administration is calling their efforts to stop campus doctor from pres- scribing DES as a morning-after pill. DES is the drug that was widely used between 1941 and 1971 to ineffectively pre- mis-carriages. DES caused various medical problems for some of the children whose mothers took the drug. Its use during pregnancy was banned in 1971. Toronto's birth control clinics do not use DES because of it's side effects.The federal government's Health Protection Branch has warned physicians against prescribing the drug as a morning-after pill. But Ryerson's Dr. Donald Barr likes to use DES. His reasons were broadcast by CBC on April 4. "I have another little quirk. Most women who take it are quite nauseated on it, in fact, some go to vomiting. That, to me, helps drive the lesson home that responsible contraception is preferable to an easy morning after." Similar comments have been made to the campus media. The Women's Centre has registered a complaint with the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons, which is currently circulating petitions and has met with the Ryerson administration about DES. The women have won a small victory. Dr.. Barr will not prescribe any morning-after pills until he conducts a review of the medical research. Ryerson women will now be referred to city birth control clinics. The Ryerson women thought that Dr. Barr might have read the research before prescribing DES. "But the fight is far from over," say the Ryerson Women's Centre Collective. "Br. Barr's attitudes are judgemental, moralisti and unacceptable. These attitudes drive the lesson home that women at Ryerson do not receive adequate health care." The collective needs help with this issue: Address Complaints to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, 80 College Street, Toronto M5G 2E2. And send a copy to: The Ryerson's Women's Centre, c/o SURPI, 380 Victoria Street, Toronto MRB 1W7. For more information on this issue contact Women's Issues director Kelle Dunlop at 597-0723. Vancouver Five continued from p. 1 The pornography outlet was convicted on three counts, but only fined $300. Butler presented information on the condition of native people in Canada, and stated that it was not Ann who was the terrorist, Jsut the Canadian government. Carl Rising-Moore, a member of the Cheekye- Dunsmuir Alliance, gave a detailed history of the years of futile community protest against the line and substation. Concerned citizens began by lobbying and writing letters, and were forced to escalate their actions to include pulling up surveyors' stakes, and civil disobedience to block bulldozers attempting to enter the site. He also outlined the effects the project, which is going ahead, will have on the people and the environment of the area. In talking of his experience working against Litton and the cruise missile, Ken Hancock raised questions about the legality of the cruise testing agreement (it should have been a treaty), and spoke of the United States' historic willingness to use nuclear weapons. He emphasized that the peace movement is not discredited by the actions of Direct Action, but rather by those who do not do enough to prevent nuclear war. At the end of his questioning, Hancock suggested Judge Samuel Toy imagine himself in Nazi Germany, trying someone acting against the Nazis, and said,ilIou have a chance to say no, to indict the real criminals." Toy continued to take notes, and did not raise his head. The Crown's presentation prior to sentencing stressed their opinion that Ann was the ideological leader of the group, and her disregard for other human life; the latter because the prosecution had taken the liberty to assume that she was prepared to shoot to kill. Their recommended sentence was life, and they also asked that the sentence be exemplary, a deterrent Stan Guenther, Ann's lawyer, gave the judge two alternatives: to "serve her up as a scapegoat, and submit her to a slow death in the prisbgEsystem," or "refuse to perpetuate a society which eats its young." He brought up the precedent of two members of the FLQ who were sentenced to two years for the kidnap of a diplomat, and recommended that the sentence be a light one. Hansen was nonetheless sentenced to life imprisonment, which in Canada makes her first eligible for parole seven years after her arrest. Ann and Julie will serve their sentences at Kingston Penitentiary in Ontario. At press time Julie had already been transferred, but Ann was still at Oakalla. Support for the Five has been widespread, with support groups active in Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, San Francisco, New York, Philadelphia, London (England) and elsewhere. The. families of the defendants have been instrumental throughout the past seventeen months. Doug Stewart's mother participated in organizing support, and both Ann's and Julie's mothers testified on their behalf. Many of the parents also put up their property at the unsuccessful bail hearings last year. Supporters in Vancouver and Toronto have suffered police harassment. Though the trial may be over, events surrounding it continue. Senior Crown Prosecutor Jim Jardine said in an article in The Sun on June 27th that he knows others were involved at B.C. Hydro and Red Hot Video. Support for the Five is crucial now, as they wil be separated from each other to serve their sentences. Write them at the following addresses: Ann Hansen and Julie Belmas: Prison for Women, P.O. Box 515, Kingston, Ont., K7L 4W7 Gerry Hannah: Matsqui Prison, Box 4000, Ab- bottsford, B.C. Brent Taylor and Doug Stewart: c/o the Free the Five Defense Group, Box 48296, Ben- tall Station, Vancouver, B.C. V7X 1A1. Senate stops native bill by Pam Swanigan Amendments to discriminatory sections of the Indian Act were blocked by the Senate this week, before their passage through Parliament. After years of native and . feminist lobbying,parliament was to make changes to clause 12 (lb) which strips a native woman of her status upon marriage to a non-native man. The proposed legislation, Bill C-47, stated that no one shall lose or gain native status by marriage. Women who have lost their status due to the discriminatory clause would now be able to apply to regain status By criteria as yet unspecified, women who applied to regain their status would be accepted first onto a federal "General List' and then onto a local "Band List", with the final decision on reinstatement being left to the band councils. The Bill implies that non-native women who marry native men will no longer acquire Indian status, although there is speculation that non- native husbands will be granted the same reserve residency rights that non-native wives have historically had. It is the bureaucratic procedure of the application which has drawn the most unified criticism from native groups. Bill Lightbown of the United Native Nations says, "the right of all aboriginal people ! in this country is a right by.inheritance based on their blood," and he predicts the government will be "very surprised" at the number of women who will refuse to apply for reinstatement until the procedure becomes automatic and non-exclusive. The further trick of passing the job of discrimination to the band level does nothing to minimize the government's control over Indian identity, Lightbown feels. Ardyth Cooper of the Professional Native Women's Association points out that the procedure would also immensely burden the band level of government whose resources are relatively limited. Cooper is also concerned that the "Band List" might become just another name for "non-status" perpetuating the. distinction which it claims to eliminate. There was not enough consultation of native women and non-status groups on the bill, she says. "It was a case of the government asking those on the inside whether the outsiders should be let in." Unlike Lightbown, however, Cooper feels that native women will be relieved to have equality sooner than later. While not.doubting that Indian leaders would make equality a priority in any future self-government, Cooper feels that inherent chauvinism in the band might complicate the issue. As an example, she points out that non-native wives have been living on reserves since the Indian Act was first passed, but the idea of non-native men given the same rights has caused an immense flurry of protest'among native men, even to the point of lobbying against the bill. Cooper's major concern is that the provision of reapplication only extends to the first generation, which may cause legal rifts within families. Lawyer Louise Mandel explains that the legislation was being proposed because clause 12 (lb) was made illegal by the new Canadian Charter of Rights equality clause. The bill would also amend sections of the Indian Act distinguishing between legitimate and illegitimate children, and would allow native children to register as members of either their mother's band or their father's, where previously they and their mothers were automatically members of their father's band. At press time there is only speculation as what might happen to the ill- fated bill in the immediate future. July/August "84 Kinesis 5 CLC CONVENTION Women's issues by Susan Mullan and Lou Nelson The. Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) held its 15th biannual convention from May 28-June 1, 1984 in Montreal. There were more than 2100 delegates and a significant number were women. The convention ran for five days and delegates could easily put in 15 hour days, in caucuses, lobbying, and other types of meetings. For five dollars you could buy a guest pass and watch the activities. It required an additional forty-five dollars to get the reports and resolutions package, which would have made things more comprehensible. There were certain things of particular interest for women: the types of policies passed that would/could directly effect the women in the CLC; and the role played by women at this convention, particular-, ly in the Women's Caucus and the Action Caucus and on the convention floor. CLC POLICY AND WOMEN This was an important convention for women in that the report from the Women's Committee of the CLC focussed on an affirmative action programme which, if used by the member unions, could have important implications for union women. The programme identified areas where unions should focus their efforts in gaining advances for their women members.. Three areas were highlighted: the job training programmes; the apprenticeship programmes; and contract clauses. The report also recognized the need to educate employment counsellors so that women would not be streamlined into job ghettos. Bargaining strategies were included in a 21 point programme which included such issues as childcare, equalization of base rates, flexihours, etc., which would facilitate the inclusion of women into the workplace and into the activities of the union. The Women's Committee's report paid a lot of attention to the need to educate union members, especially the elected officials and the staffers who are instrumental in so much of the negotiation process and the day-to-day union operations. The report emphasized the need for education programmes and schools, at all levels, to sensitize members to the needs and demands of women so that women's demands are not the first ones to be dropped at the bargaining table. The report also identified the need to combat those structures within the unions which prevent women from participating equally at all levels of the union. It proposed that the CLC increase the number of women executive members and that an analysis be done to determine the status of women in the CLC and pinpoint more clearly the barriers women face. The report suggested that women staff be hired to deal specifically with women's issues and nothing else. The affirmative action programme gives women within the CLC something upon which to base their demands when they next raise them in their union meetings. However, the programme is only a guideline and member unions are not obligated to do anything with it. In fact, the only concrete action taken at the convention was the constitutional change which saw six new vice presidential positions established for women. A very frustrating aspect of the convention was the severe time restrictions placed on the debate of the affirmative action report. The Women's Caucus had stacked the micro phones ensuring that women would control the debate, but after only eight speakers the question was called. This in itself is acceptable but there had been no critical analysis provided regarding implementation, accountability, and the restrictions of an affirmative action programme. Thus, even though the report and the subsequent constitutional amendment passed unanimously, one felt that the issues had not been given adequate attention by the delegates. The CLC also adopted a strong position around a shorter work week. This combined with the affirmative action programme continued on p. 8 m n%- \Ti K& Not a turning point by Marion Pollack The Montreal Centre in which the 1984 Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) Convention was held looks surprisingly like a high tech cave. In a sense, the structure mirrors the essential dilemma of that section of the labour movement. Should it move away from the old methods of working which have failed to bring the labour movement into the eighties? Should it just adopt more flash and "new methods"? Or should it develop a genuine fightback programme? The five days in Montreal showed us a trade union central that by and large is reluctant to One of the most significant debates centred around a new economic policy. One problem with the CLC programme is that while it accurately pinpointed the problem, it failed to provide a way out. For the first time in over 10 years the CLC delegates overwhelmingly rejected this platform. Finally, the CLC was forced to bring in a new programme centring around the fight for shorter working time with no loss in pay, opposition to concessions (givebacks), retention of Medicare, and support for the NDP. In fact, one of the key issues of the convention was reduced working time with no loss in pay. It's probably the issue of the '80's, but for six years the CLC has had positions favouring the shorter work week and never acted on them. In 1982, CLC President Dennis McDermott publicly spoke against it. This year the CLC acknowledged that shorter working time is the only way in which jobs can both be protected from technological change and have a hope of becoming accessible to the unem ployed. For women it also begins to open up the possibility of a more equitable sharing of housework. Affirmative action was another major focus of the Convention. A programme was adopted calling for the CLC to fight for affirmative action on both the legislative and collective, bargaining fronts. Included in the latter are: equalization of base rates, protection from sexual harassment, childcare subsidies and/or workplace daycare, pro-rated benefits for part-timers, and broadening the seniority base for workers. The resolution also committed the CLC to carry out an education programme on affirmative action, and again urged all affiliates to develop women's committees. This policy paper passed. The second aspect of the CLC's affirmative action programme was a constitutional change allowing for the addition of six women vice-presidents. This resolution, engineered by the CLC women's committee, recognizes that women are excluded from the power structure in the union movement. Even though it required a two-thirds majority in order to be implemented, it passed. Clearly this resolution is a victory. It's a testament to both the organizational and political skills of women. It gives women unionists a sense that they have the right to question the male domination of their unions. However, there is no accountability forum for these newly elected women VP's. They are neither chosen by the women's caucus nor responsible to the women's caucus or biannual CLC women's conferences. This reality raises the uneasy spectre that we may just have elected six more bureaucrats. A resolution was passed that threatens to withhold financial support from voluntary agencies and charitable organizations if they persist in contracting out jobs performed by public sector employees. This decision reflects the essential weakness of the CLC. Instead of embarking on a massive campaign against privatization aimed at governments, the CLC chooses to avoid the issue by threatening voluntary organizations. It fails to address the major question that if there is no fightback against governments who privatize, this resolution will only result in much needed services going down the tube. The leadership didn't allow certain resolutions to come to the floor, for example, the CLC's participation in the Labour Productivity Centre where CLC reps meet with big business reps to discuss the state of the economy'. Many people feel that the CLC should be organizing the unemployed and fighting for shorter work weeks instead of meeting with employers, but the issue was not allowed to be debated. The issue of affiliation didn't come to the floor. Currently a number of organizations, including the Hospital Employ ees Union, have applications in to join the CLC. However, many unions oppose this because they want to maintain their "jurisdiction". B.C. Federation of Labour President Art Kube urged us to be "sensitive1 on the matter. In opposition to Kube many people were arguing let the unions who want to join, in, and then work out the problems. This issue wasn't resolved. Jean-Claude Parrot, President of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, was defeated in his attempt to retain his seat on the CLC executive council. The result was not a rejection of a fightback programme, but rather a clear indication that when it comes to arm- twisting, McDermott is a pro. Joy Ohorkelson, a fisherwoman from Prince Rupert, ran against Jack Munroe for the position of executive VP. Her programme was a fightback one, and contrasted with Munroe's activities in Kelowna, and his statements on the pulp workers. She received 45% of the vote. The 1984 CLC convention did not mark a turning point for labour. However, if we unite together and fight around both shorter working time and affirmative action, we may still be able to develop an effective rank and file movement. The CLC is calling for a boycott of the Canada Trust Company. This is to support a group of Cambridge, Ontario women who have been on strike against this company since March. If you or your organization has money in this company, please withdraw it. Marion Pollack is a member of the Canadian Union of Postal 6 Kinesis July/August'84 VANCOUVER FIVE by Punam Khosla and Patty Gibson The trial and recent sentencing of two Lower Mainland feminists - Julie Belmas and Ann Hansen - has not gone down without a significant level of support from Vancouver's feminist community. Much of that support was for the Red Hot Video actions carried out in November of '82 by the Wimmins Fire Brigade. The illegal nature of the actions was a source of debate amongst some women working against pornography, but most under- stood that the feminist community in some way benefitted from them. In the year and a half since their arrest, Ann and Julie have been through endless court proceedings, lawyers sessions and media speculation. Vancouver's political community has been abuzz with questions unable to be answered within the circumstances surrounding the trials. Patty Gibson and Punam Khosla visited Ann Hansen xin Okalla In retrospect, are you frustrated at not having been able to make a unified politi- )cal statement right at the time of your arrest? No, not frustrated. We couldn't have because everyone was in a slightly unique situation. There were so many charges. Some people were innocent on a legal level and others weren't. You always have to weigh whether it's worth it to take a total non-collaborationist stand with the legal system. .There's no point in just laying down and dying. You don't owe it to anyone to be punished for things you don't necessarily believe were wrong. If you can avoid being in prison by going through the Nlegal system then I think you should. You're more useful out there than in prison. On the other hand, if the odds of actually gaining anything by going through the legal system are very small then I think sacrificing your political integrity by going through it is a very degrading and depoliticizing process. There's not a simple answer as to how to deal with the legal system. Every situation is different. Some sections of the political community have stayed distant and fairly critical of your case. Criticism seems to centre on the isolated nature of the actions and their apparent disregard for the needs of the broader based movements. How do you respond to that? We never had an attitude of total disregard towards the building of the movement. The way we saw it, you don't just suddenly end up one day with a militant movement without any kind of militant activity beforehand. We didn't see ourselves operating in opposition to the legal movement, and we did consider it when we carried out our actions. In our minds the only way this system will change if it does, is through the development of a very strong resistance movement. But it has to have some militant aspects to it, and that just doesn't suddenly happen. There is a dialectic that goes on in any society, in any country, that involves people acting, people talking, a variety of actions going on out of which things evolve...But I don't think people can say, "We're not going to do anything illegal until the masses do." What are we going to do? Wait for headlines someday that say that 300,000 workers are tearing apart B.C. Hydro...like suddenly, in a vacuum, 300,000 people are going to run out and start tearing apart megaprojects? I think that's a very unrealistic assessment of how movements, or how history develops. ...I don't think what we did was necessarily perfect and if I was going to Interview with Ann criticize what we did I would say that if people are going to do illegal actions they should do things that don't necessarily involve the use of explosives or weapons because either of those two things involve consequences that mean you are either going to go to prison or get killed. And at this point I think its harder for people to comprehend really heavy actions. How did you come to the decision to pick the targets you picked? Well, we did take into consideration the legal movement. We didn't just wildly go out and blow up things randomly. We had a political analysis that included a lot of issues. The first action, Cheekye-Dunsmuir, was chosen because we saw that in Canada the whole trend toward mega-projects and resource extraction was going to be the economic trend for the future and would become one of the real bulwarks of our economy. We chose Cheekye-Dunsmuir for a lot of reasons. For one thing it was a project where the legal struggle had failed and was no longer going to be effective. The same was true for Litton and Red Hot Video. In all three cases the people involved did analyze the effectiveness of the legal struggle and whether or not an action would interfere with it. We wouldn't have done an illegal action if there was still an active legal struggle that could have been effective. The Red Hot Video action received a response in the community that neither the Litton nor the B.C. Hydro actions received. Why do you think that was? Do you make a distinction between the Red Hot Video(RHV) action and the other two actions? First of all, the RHV action was not carried out by all five of us. Regardless of what they say, it was a women's action and there were only women involved in it. I think it was more successful because, for one thing, the issue of pornography is more understood by the women's community than Cheekye-Dunsmuir, mega-projects, or industrial development in B.C. is understood by people in general. The women's community has a higher consciousness of their oppression and of what pornography means to them. There is a very strong feminist community in B.C. that can support and understand things like that. I also think the use of firebombing as a technique is more easily understood because the average person can identify with being able to do that. It didn't involve the stealing of explosives and knowing how to deal with them. And I think that people feel less threatened by firebombings than they do explosives and having to make a commitment to going underground or having weapons. Where does your particular choice of tactics fit into the building of a broader based political consciousness? I think there are a variety of ways for people to deal with these things. I still think sabotage is a valid form of protest, but at this point in history people are not prepared to do that... 'Ģ There isn't just one particular strategy or tactic that is valid and all the rest aren't I do, however, draw the line myself at trying to interact with government or business forces. I don't see that petitioning, or being involved in government parties, or lobbying the government, or having discussions with business leaders in private is going to come to anything. Once people realize this, they can develop politics that are extraparliamentary. There's quite a spectrum of political tactics- and strategies that are, as far as I'm concerned, valid and supportable, whether a person is involved in them or not...I think the strength of the movement is in overall support within the community of different kinds of tactics and strategies. Within that unity there can still be debate and criticism which is what produces growth and change. Your heaviest sentence was not given for your inveolvment in the Litton, B.C. Hydro or RHV bombings. You received a life sentence for a crime you had not committed - the plan to. murder a Brinks guard. Was that decision settled in your own mind? I don't think you ever settle a decision like that in your own mind.Obviously,any-y- one who is involved in a robbery of an armed guard has to be prepared to shoot, otherwise they will be killed. The planning of that robbery was very very extensive to try and ensure as much as was reasonably possible that there would not be any shooting. I still believe there wouldn't have been. Do you think that was understood by the judge and jury? I think the judge understood it but refused to recognize it officially, because he wanted to be able to justify giving us a lot of time. There is no way he couldn't have picked that up because he must have heard it (on the tapes)...There were about five hours solid of just us going over and over the hold-up scene itself, which we went over many, many nights, over and over and over handcuffing the guard. Handcuffing a live guard obviously. The judge isn't that stupid not to have picked up that those scenes were being rehearsed tn that extent so the guard wouldn't be killed. Those scenes were never dealing with' a dead guard, we were always dealing with a live guard. But I think in order to justify the sentences he gave us all he had to make it sound like we were planning to out and out kill the guy...which we weren't. People have said that the kind of actions you took increased the amount of heat on the political community. How much responsibility do you accept for that? Obviously, what we did resulted in increased repression. We were responsible for it to a certain degree. The way you phrase it isn't necessarily right, it doesn't bring out the real nature of repression. Repression was there way before any of us did anything. I think that throughout the whole western world all the tools of repression - rubber bullets, bugging devices, methods of surveillance - are all shared from one country to the next. When it's used and which community it's used on depends on what's happening. If people are relatively obedient and are simply stating that they don't like the way things are and are not acting on that in any serious way, there's July/August '84 Kinesis no need for them to use repression. I think they're smart enough to realize there's no point in shooting people who are peacefully demonstrating. Once there are riots that are threatening the order then you find rubber bullets and water cannons being used. They did use us to justify more repression, particularly on the anarchist and the feminist communities, but I'm sure there has been a fair amount of information gathering and surveillance used on other groups, like the labour movement. I think they probably have more extensive files on labour people than they have on either the anarchist or the feminist communities because there's been a more ongoing, long-term struggle within the labour movement than there has been within the more marginalized communities historically. ...One useful aspect of the voir dire and the Brinks trial was that a lot of modern day police methods were exposed. The only problem is that I think people can overreact to it and assume that the kind of surveillance, both electronic and physical, that was put on us will be used against anyone who just expresses radical ideas. Do you think you have been misunderstood by the broader left-community? We didn't have time to communicate our ideas because we were arrested so soon. Once we were arrested we got into this horrible problem of being gagged because we had taken a legal route. You can't go through a legal trial and admit that you did what you did, and you can't really talk about it because what you say may jeopardize other people's chances of being acquitted. We were essentially gagged up until the time that we decided to plead guilty. Now that we can talk we are doing interviews to try and reach people. It's not good for us, at all, to be doing any interviews. Not even this interview is in my best interest. We'll be writing more. People's ideas are in a constant state of change and evolution and we don't even necessarily agree with every little thing we wrote or said before we were busted. So we'll write about why we did the actions and a critique of our methods, sometime in the next year, dy|pf|l| Was it ever possible for you to make a clear decision as to whether to go with a strict legal defence or a political one? It was never totally clear, because of the number of charges against us. There were 21 charges against each individual, more than 100 charges in total, and five different people were involved. Some people were innocent of some very serious charges. What we tried to do was participate in the legal system and bring out our politics as much as possible, within those limitations. But it's very very difficult. Your lawyers are constantly telling you never to make one single political statement. When you want political questioning to be carried out in the courtroom, the lawyers are reluctant because it jeopardizes their professional image in front of the judge and continued next page m Trial by media #2 by Jan De Grass (Jan Degrass is a freelance writer, Kinesis editorial member, and print media devotee.) Seen in the window of a Vancouver bookstore: the word "terrorist" dripping in newsprint blood, clipped neatly from a Sun front page headline reading "Julie, 21, TERRORIST", and attached instead to the smiling face of Ronald Reagan who is featured on the first page of our national newspaper. Had the Sun's front page headline read "Ronnie, 73, TERRORIST* we would scarcely have been as shocked. The decision to ban media coverage during the trials was made in the interests of a fair hearing for the accused. At a pre*- trial hearing during which the media ban issue was discussed, a U.S. psychologist Dr. Jay Schulman, told the court that his studies showed that 59% of New Westminster residents had formed an opinion of guilt based on what they had heard or read about the case: "Words like 'extremist' were attributions and labels, buzzwords if you like," he said, "that have for most people a negative emotional impact." A Sun May 24th article captioned, "Jailed Couple Traded Punk Rock for Terror", parades a bevy of buzzwords and labels. The seven-word headline manages to encompass no less than four strong words - words that elicit powerful emotional reactions: "Jailed" - (why not 'sentenced' or 'convicted'?), "Punk" and "Rock" (convey images of rebellious acts, strident youth, loud noises - Why not the word 'music'?), and "terror" (conveys images of fear and violence. Why not 'political action'?). The article is bylined Jes Odam and Terry Glavin. The co-authors exhibit skill with the journalistic techniques of innuendo and baseless speculation. The first sentence runs: "The anger of punk rock was not enough for Julie Belmas." How does the reporter know this? Did Julie tell him? Didn't she and Hannah ever play any other kinds of music? "Was not enough" - the words imply greed or thirst. Is she insatiable? "So she laid down her guitar, picked up a gun" - haven't we heard this hackneyed phrase on last night's B-western? "And . started reading books with titles such as How Terrorist Kill." No doubt she also read Joy of Cooking and Easy Ways to Compost Your Garden...but these weren't mentioned. The object, of course, is to discredit not only Julie, but the forces that supposedly shaped the "urban guerilla soldier1,' lest readers be enticed to similar acts. "From helping organize benefit concerts by punk bands, she went into a magazine calling for radical activism, the feminist movement and El Salvador protests." One implied result of her contact with the feminist movement is revealed in a later paragraph: "...Belmas filed a grievance against her supervisor on the road crew, charging him with sexual harassment. The man later committed suicide." The juxtaposition of the two points implies that one is cause and the other effect - surely faulty logic by any philosopher's definition, and condescending to the Sun reader's intelligence. The editorial style used in this article: the monosyllabic catch words and phrases, the sensationalized revelationsjare more typical of the morning paper The Province. For evidence, turn to coverage of the Five by Province reporter Bonni Raines Kettner. The opening sentence of her June 8th article: "Ann Brit Hansen was armed and ready to kill in cold blood to get her hands on $40,000.", should leave no doubts as to the editorial thrust of the article. Between the Lines, a book on how to detect bias and propaganda in the news and everyday life (Eleanor MacLean, Black Rose Books) offers a practical check list for monitoring the print media's coverage of such important events as the trials of the Five. What is the angle of the story?, it asks. What is the percentage of straight factual reports in the news item? What part of the article is opinion, either the reporter's or the person quoted? Where is the point of view or bias of the reporter? How should we examine the piece for character slurs or reverential treatment? Looking at the June 9th Sun 4-page feature on the Five in light of these questions proved interesting. The front page story by Robert Sarti avoids innuendo and relies heavily on Julie's own quotes. The 'angle', right up front in the first two paragraphs, where it should be, points up her resistance and commitment to her ideals: "She is more firmly convinced than ever that strong political action is necessary to head off war, environmental devastation and injustice." So far so good, for an article that starts off under the blood-drenched 'Terrorist' graphic. I A page 11 story about the injured survivors of the Litton blast does not display similar favourable treatment. The headline, set in larger type than any J other head on the page, states baldly "The Victims." Following a description of the Litton blast, survivor James Taylor is quoted as saying: "He harbours no bitterness toward those convicted. They did something they believed in." This quote - certainly interesting - is not used in the 'call out' (a subhead or quote set in bold type often used to draw attention to a point). Instead the callout features another victim's quote. According to him the j bombers were "a bunch of idiots " and*he's glad they got severe penalties." To underscore this point, page 11 also features an eye-catching grey-screened box headed "Acts of a Criminal". Here the pronouncements of Judge Martin Toy are recorded for posterity, including his most damning prophecy: that if the Brinks guard had attempted to draw his gun, the three convicted Would have shot at point blank range. This speculation, that has added years to both Belmas' and Hansen's sentences, has been enshrined in centre page, but its ramifications have not been analyzed as one would expect from good journalism. The words of Judge Toy are again used to open and close a Maclean's article by Tom Hawthorn describing the courtroom scene at Ann Hansen's sentencing. The journalist guides the reader through an article which mingles factual reporting with selective impressions. We learn that the B.C. Supreme Court Judge's voice was breaking as he pronounced Hansen "a menace" and "a real'Ģ threat to our Canadian way of life." In the 400 word article Hansen is referred to twice as "defiant" and once as "proud". This comes after describing her as looking "tired and drawn" just four days earlier. The intended portrait is one of a rejuvenated and unrepentant sinner who need be continued on p.~12 8 Kinesis July/August'84 VANCOUVER FIVE Hansen interview continued from p. i prosecutor to be asking political questions that the court sees as irrelevant. And it takes a hell of a lot of energy to get your lawyer to do even that. On top of it all, we only had two hours a week to talk about a hundred charges and a million little complex issues. If we had been out on bail it would have been totally different...The set of circumstances made it impossible, even if I personally wanted to decide not to collaborate with the legal route. I couldn't just think of myself, and I don't think it would have helped the movement in any way for any of us to do that. You have to understand how complicated our situation was to know how difficult it was to develop a trial stretegy that was unified... ...Pleading innocent isn't any more honourable than pleading guilty, when neither plea is valid and when you don't think you've really committed a crime. On one hand, you feel hypocritical pleading innocent. It's like saying, "I wouldn't do that...somebody else must have done it," when you did it. And then at the same time you feel hypocritical for pleading guilty because you don't feel guilty of anything. And you don't feel you should be punished for it. It's a very hard position to be in when there is absolutely no harmony between your values and your perspectives as a whole and the perspectives and values of the legal system. Given all that's happened and the position you're now in, how are you seeing this ' ase in your life? We're all going to be in federal penitentiaries and we'll just continue living. The prison becomes your community and your life and most of us will learn some skills or do academic study and be involv- ed with the other people in prison. How's prison life been so far here in Oakalla? Really really good. The other women are really fine. They understand our struggle pretty much on a gut level. Most of the people in here don't have an academic or theoretical political understanding, but I'd say that most of them have a much quicker heartfelt understanding of politics than many people I used to know on the outside...and it's more real, in a sense. Once they understand their oppression then their anger and their opposition to it is much more sincere. Most of these people have actually lived out their oppression. About 75% of the people in here are native people who have seen their families pushed off the reserve or driven into alcoholism. When you talk about something like the Indian struggle it is very real to them. The white people who are here are basically from very poor backgrounds and have experienced sexism in its most brutal forms. Every woman in here I know understands that completely. We get along well with other people here and we learn a lot from them too. It's a relationship of equality. The women in here have a lot of things that they can teach people who have only learned things through books. I'm talking about the women's prison actually'ñ†> because things are different for the men. Are you looking forward to being transferred to Kingston? I am definitely looking forward to being Patty Gibson is the former editor of KINESIS. Punam Khosla is a writer and Co-op Radio broadcaster. transferred. This is a remand centre. A lot of the people here are just awaiting trial. In Oakalla there are virtually no programmes whatsoever. There's no skill development, you can't learn anything. There's no passes. There's no interaction with the community. You can't earn any money in here. There's no drug treatment facilities. It's overpopulated. You don't have any privacy. It's an extremely transient population. It's super hard to settle down. If you make friends with people they're usually gone in a couple of months. It's not set up for long- term imprisonment. I'm looking forward to going to the pen because you can take programmes, you can work toward getting passes and you're doing time with other women who are also doing longer lengths of time so they have a different attitude. Basically, it boils down to the fact that you can do more with your life in the federal penitentiary system than you can in the provincial remand centres. Is there anything you would like to say to Kinesis readers about this whole experience you've been through? We're all o.k. We're all fine. I don't think any of us have been broken by this in any way. We all feel fairly strong in that. The hardest part is when people only focus on the negative aspects of what we did and all you feel is criticism from every single community, when we feel there were valid things that we did and valid things that we tried to say politically. You get your strength from your interaction with your own community and when you don't get anything from it, that's when you start feeling weak. But in the end you get most of your support from knowing that people are still going on and they're not using this as a reason or justification to stop struggling. CLC Convention continued from p. 5 should be an encouraging sign for women looking for a job. If the unions are serious about both of these programmes of action, then women stand to be the main beneficiaries. The final policy/resolution of concern to women that the convention passed dealt with pornography. They moved to "support groups fighting against pornography and oppression of women and children in pornography and lobby to have the Broadcast Act amended (to include women in the list of groups protected in broadcasting)." There was very little debate on this point, so it is not clear what "support" means in concrete terms. THE ROLE OF WOMEN Women have made inroads into the union hierarchy and this was noticeable, both in the Women's Caucus and on the convention floor. When the Women's Committee presented their report to the Convention these women controlled the microphones. No rank and file women spoke. The six speakers in favour of the report were union presidents, and vice presidents of provincial and national federations of labour. The one surprise was Shirley Carr, vice president of the CLC, who had not supported the report when it was brought before the CLC executive council meeting just prior to the Convention. (The two opposing speakers were women who sounded remarkably like the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist- Leninist) [(CPC)(ML)] with their line that this tvpe of policy only serves to divide the working class.) The women who spoke at caucus meetings better represented the different types of women at the convention, as some were rank and filers. They discussed the report in concrete terms, raising issues which women face every day; childcare (there was none organized for the convention); the difficulties faced by women in non-traditional work; and endorsement of women candidates for CLC positions. This final point developed in an interesting manner. A woman from the Fishermen's union (UFAWU) was running as an independent candidate against Jack Munro for a vice presidential position. The Women's Caucus chair ruled that endorsement of this candidate was out of order. It turned out that the Women's Committee had organized an un- publicized slate for the six new vice president positions for women. It seemed that only establishment candidates could get the endorsement of the Women's Caucus. Rank and file women in caucus received little validation from the chair. They were told to raise the issues the next day on the convention floor. Howeveri next day the only speakers were the women union leaders. They spoke in the abstract, of 'putting our house in order' so that the corporations and the governments could not criticize the unions when the unions asked them for affirmative action programmes. But the specific issues raised in caucus did not get to the floor. What better time to raise the issue of childcare than when speaking in favour of an affirmative action programme? The lack of women's participation in the Action Caucus surprised me. This caucus is an ad hoc left caucus, and is supposedly progressive. The one meeting I attended left me cold. The steering committee was all male and they had even arranged for a man to be the liaison with the Women's Caucus. More annoying was George Hewison who twice made an appeal to the caucus to vote for the UFAWU delegate who was running against Munro, emphasizing the fact that she was a woman. At one point he asked her to stand up so the delegates could see who she was but made no attempt to introduce her so that she could explain why she should be support d and why she was running. 1 ,e stink of paternalism once again. Talking with other delegates I found that I was not the only one who felt this way. It certainly seems that the Action Caucus has a long way to go before women can participate as equals in this 'progressive' union caucus. The Women's Caucus met Monday afternoon and evening and Tuesday morning. The debate on the Women's Committee Report took place on Tuesday afternoon. The election of the officers, including the six new vice president positions, took place on Thursday. The total amount of time the convention spent on this report and the constitutional change took just over one and a half hours. The Action Caucus met regularly throughout the week of the convention working on other issues such as international policy, social, political and economic policy programmes and the health and safety issues. For whatever reason the Women's Caucus did not do this. CONCLUSION The CLC convention can play an important role in advancing the rights of working women in Canada. The important thing to keep in mind is that resolutions mean nothing unless the rank and file within the unions are involved in the discussion and the decisionmaking process, and unless the leadership promotes action on these resolutions. There were ,efforts made to change the structures at the top while the changes at the rank and file were placed under study and further investigation. The most Immediate results were to benefit those who already had power or access to it (i.e. the six vice presidential positions for women). It will take work for rank and file activists at the local union level to make these policies meaningful for all working women. Ex-Vancouver feminists Susan Mullan and Lou Nelson recently moved to Montreal. July/August *84 Kinesis 9 VANCOUVER FIVE Statement to the court A lesson re-learned by Ann Hansen When I look back on the past year and a half, I realize that I have learned a lesson. Not the kind of lesson that some people would hope I had learned, but rather, through direct life experience I have re-learned what I once only understood theoretically - that the courts have nothing to do with justice, and prison is where they punish the victims of this society. In Oakalla, where I have spent the past 16 months, I have found that 70% of the prison population are Indian womyn, even though Indian people make up only one per cent of the total outside population. Everyone I have met in prison is poor. No one owns cars, homes, land or anything. They are there because they were forced to commit crimes to survive in a society that has no place for them. In the beginning, when I was first arrested I was intimidated and surrounded by the courts and prison. This fear provided the basis for the belief that if I played the legal game, I would get acquitted, or perhaps less time. But the past eight months in court have sharpened my perceptions and strengthened my political convictions so I see that the legal game is rigged and political prisoners are dealt a marked deck. From the beginning, in January '83, the police illegally orchestrated press conferences that became the basis for nationwide news stories convicting us as terrorists, as dangerous, as psychotic criminals without politics. Theri~6uf'Ñ¢cKafges 1were"separat"ed~into four indictments, of which the first was the Brinks conspiracy, so that we would be criminalized. This would make it harder for people to understand us as political people for our future trials. During the voir dire, it became obvious through police testimony that the different police departments had committed illegal acts during their investigation. The Security Service in all probability watched the Wimmin's Fire Brigade (WFB) do the fire- bombings, since Julie and I had been under intensive 24-hour surveillance by the SS for days prior to and during the day of the firebombing. The Co-ordinated Law Enforcement Unit(CLEU) had committed illegal break-ins to plant the bugs in our house and in Doug's apartment, among other illegal activities. Despite this, the judge permitted the wiretap evidence. This taught me that there is one law for the people and none for the police. But the event during the court proceedings that had the most politicizing effect on me was Julie's sentencing. The judge ignored the fact that she had plea bargained, and slapped her with the maximum prison sentence suggested by the Crown - 20 years. During the sentencing, the judge said that this case is criminal, not political, yet the 20 year sentence was justified as a necessary social deterrent, which indicates that the court is so threatened by the potential of social upheaval that it takes a 20 year sentence to deter others. This is political. It seems that the severity of the prison sentence is in direct proportion to the perceived level of discontent in society. In retrospect, in order to be honest to my political principles, I should have refused to collaborate in this legal sham and instead simply stated my political reasons for doing what I did. Since I didn't then, I have the opportunity to do so now. Over the last couple of days we have heard witnesses who are activists around the different issues. I think it has become fairly obvious through their testimony that in each case they had exhausted all the legitimate channels of social protest,. It was because there was no legal way to stop these crimes against humanity and the earth that I felt I had to use illegal actions to do so. I didn't just feel that I should, I felt I had a duty and responsibility to do everything in my power to stop these crimes. At this dangerous point in human history, we have a moral responsibility to stop the arms race, violent pornography and the destruction of the earth. This moral responsibility far over-rides any obligation to adhere to man-made laws. I felt I had a duty and responsibility to do everything in my power to stop the arms race, violent pornography, and the destruction of the earth. Even though I knew that a few militant direct actions would not make the revolution or stop these projects, I believed that it was necessary to begin the development of an"underground resistance movement that was capable of sabotage and expropriation and could work free from police surveillance. The development of an effective resistance movement is not an overnight affair - it takes decades of evolution. It has to start somewhere in small numbers and whether or not it grows, and becomes effective and successful, will depend upon whether we make it happen. I believe these direct actions of sabotage complement the legal radical movement and serve a purpose that it can't fulfill. Not that the legal movement is ineffective, because although their efforts often fail to stop a project, their work will increase people's consciousness. The important thing is that the aboveground and underground support one another because our strength lies( in unity and diversity. Although I did do these three political actions, they were not the result of the culmination of a legal struggle around the respective issues. In fact, the point of an underground resistance movement is to develop a strategic political analysis and actions that are based on an understanding of the economics and politics of the corporate state. Instead of reacting to every issue that pops up, we carried out actions that were based upon an analysis. This way, if an effective resistance movement does develop, we can be subjects who determine history instead of reacting to every singularly obvious symptom of the system's disease. The politics of Direct Action saw the inter-connectedness of militarism, sexism, environmental destructon and imperialism. We saw that all these problems are rooted in the value system and way of thinking called capitalism and patriarchy. These values are passed on from one generation to the next through the institutions of this society. The main value of this society can be boiled down simply into one word - money. All life on this earth is reduced to its profit value by the capitalist economic system. If some living being is of no economic value in relation to the capitalist system then it is valueless. So the Litton action, Cheekye-Dunsmuir action and WFB action, at least for me, were not issue oriented actions but were our resistance politics transformed into action. Contrary to the theories of the police and others, Direct Action and WFB were two different groups. Of the five of us charged with the Red Hot Video firebomb- ings, only Julie and I did the firebomb- ings. The WFB was not an ongoing underground group, it was simply a group of womyn who came together for the purpose of firebombing Red Hot Video because we felt there was no other way for us to stop the proliferation of violent pornography. Direct Action carried out the Litton and Cheekye-Dunsmuir actions. I do sincerely regret that people were injured in the Litton bombing. All precautions were taken to prevent these injuries and an apology to the people injured and an explanation as to why it happened was released almost immediately after the bombing. I must also add that I criticize the Litton action itself because it was wrong for Direct Action to place a bomb near or in a building that people were working in, regardless of the number of precautions taken to ensure that nobody got hurt. In carrying out actions, revolutionaries should never rely on the police or security guards to clear out buildings and save people's lives. There is no excuse for these mistakes and I will always live with the pain that I am responsible for, but these mistakes should never overshadow the incredible amount of pain and suffering that Litton contributes to everyday and the potential for planetary extinction that the Cruise missile embodies. Everyday, millions of people are slowly starving to death because so much money and human effort is diverted into the international war industry. In Canada, essential social services are cut so that the government can pour more money into the war industry and mega projects. (For example, the federal government has given Litton $26.4 million in subsidies to build the guidance system of the Cruise). I am called a terrorist - one who tries to impose their will through force and intimidation - by the court and press. But I am not a terrorist. I am a person who feels a moral obligation to do all that is humanly possible to prevent the destruction of the earth. Businesses such as Litton, B.C. Hydro and Red Hot Video are the real terrorists. They are guilty of crimes against humanity and the earth yet they are free to carry on their illegal activities while those who resist and those who are their victims remain in prison. How do we, who have no armies, weapons, power or money, stop these criminals before they destroy the earth? I believe if there is any hope for the future, it lies in our struggle. Ann Hansen presented this statement in . court, prior to her sentencing, on June 5. 10 Kinesis July/August'84 peas: Seneca Falls .nam reopens for summer by Mary Martin Two women walked across a muddy open clearing to the black fence. Beyond the fence a paved road ran off into the distance in either direction. One Woman bent down to dig a small hole in the muddy earth, and with help from the other, planted a few vegetable seeds. By the time a big green car shot past the spot where they had planted the seeds, the women had already begun to fade back into the woods. The car stopped a quarter of a mile down the road, but when it reversed to investigate, the women were gone. This was my first acquaintance with the Seneca Falls Army Depot in Upstate New York. The land on which we planted the vegetable seeds is part of the year old Women's Encampment for a Future of Peace and Justice. I visited the camp in early June before its official opening, to share news from women in Canada and to find out what has been happening at the Encampment. The Women's Encampment is a fifty acre farm bordering the Seneca Falls depot. Women purchased the farm last year, and since then thousands of women have visited "the land" (see Kinesis Feb. '84) and have staged various civil disobedience actions including repeatedly going over the depot fence. During the winter women decided to maintain an ongoing peace camp, and are now planning events for the July 14 re-opening. The women chose Seneca Falls for many reasons. The Depot is where nuclear weapons, or "explosive devices" as the military calls them, are stockpiled for airlift overseas. Herstqrically Seneca Falls has equal importance; in 1590 the women of the Hotinon Sionne Iroquois confederacy met at Seneca to demand an end to war. In the 19th century Seneca county was a major station on the underground railroad; Harriet Tubman's house used to stand near the place where the depot is now situated. And, in 1848 the first women's rights convention demanded the vote and equal participation for women in all areas of life at Seneca Falls. From the moment of our arrival it was impossible to mistake where we were. The barn is decorated with a giant mural of women and webs, there is a board walk offering wheelchair access to the outlying camping fields, one of which is known as Amazon Acres. On the road there is a huge sign decorated with women of all colours, and of course, there are women working everywhere. We were given a quick tour and then left on our own for a while when we first arrived, while the women of the farm met and worked frantically on the final details of this summer's programme. Later, in the evening, some of the women explained to us how the camp was run. Every morning at nine they hold work meetings to allocate the days chores, and every night they have meetings to discuss issues. The camp itself is run on a web system, with different co-ordinators responsible for different areas, such as security, maintenance, and food. Larger direction for the camp comes from regional meetings, which interested women and support groups attend. Various fundraising groups from surrounding areas raise the money for the camp. Last year fundraising ^S^g^l^'-S^d^sful that.there was a $30,000 ''i-SU-r^LOg-'.atiS&e end.aof-jfctoja: summer. This summer tB&Sinortgage is paid off, wiring has been installed.':and's^l.'ans for a sewage "sy^mjand a series of drinkijji^wells are underway, although the .surplus' is long gone and the camp is once again working more or less hand to mouth. Last year the camp was able to truck in water and rent porta-janes to take care of the basic needs of participants. This year the town council has become much more strict, and is requiring the camp to meet the standards of a regular campground. The strictness of the town council over regulations does not mean that the town itself is entirely opposed to the camp. Interestingly, when the local paper interviewed residents about their feelings on the camp, the men were negative and wanted the camp to go away, while the women ranged from being non-commital to being openly supportive of the camp. In addition to maintenance work and preparation for summer, camp women have also been involved in many educational engagements, as well as several actions. They walked from the depot gates to the town of Seneca Falls this spring in a March for "Peace With Justice" and "Jobs with Peace" and also joined the Rochester Women's Action for Peace in the annual Memorial Day Parade. The summer programme has three.major "days of focus." The first is July 16, two days after the camp opens, which is the 39th anniversary of the first atomic bomb ever detonated. The second is Hiroshima Day, August 6th, in solidarity with women internationally. The final day is August 31st, labour day, and the theme is jobs with peace and the conversion of the depot to peaceful purposes. Throughout the summer they also plan a series of theme weekends including women's herstory, resistance, and empowerment. Civil disobedience workshops will be held every Monday and Friday for those contemplating civil disobedience, although camp organizers advise women to prepare before arrival. During our visit I spoke with some of the women about why they had joined the peace camp. Valerie Brower had just finished a year at college and come to work at the camp. "I think it's about time women have an opportunity to put the innate power we have into action, a power which can be used to attain peace," she said. "I see this place as the principle force that can achieve that action." As Brower explained, the camp is not run hierarchically. Everyone assumes responsibility whether or not they have had experience with a particular task, which makes them aware of their own creativity and abilities. Valerie said that at first she was- always asking other women how to do things, and now she just goes out and does what needs to be done. This, she 'said, is empowering. If you are interested in supporting the peace camp, or just want to find out more, you can write to: Women's Encampment, 5440 Route 96, Rpmulus, New York, 14541, U.S.A. News from Cole Bay, Sask. News from the Kipichisichanisik Women's Peace Camp in Northern Saskatchewan presents a bleak picture of conditions in the area. , - Recent events include: cruise testing, (including the mysterious appearance of a B52 flying over at 4:30 a.m. two days after the "official" testing); multiple spills of radioactive waste from the Key Lake uranium mine; beginnings of construction of a new uranium mine - including plans to dynamite a large lake for waste storage (which has been the home and means of survival for a northern native community); massive clearcutting of the forests by pulp companies...April 1, 1984 was also the 30th anniversary of the signing away of the native land which is now the Primrose Lake Testing Range. As guests in Cole Bay, the women of the camp see some of the injustices that plague the people of the area: racism, continual testing-bombing very near the villages; jets flying 500 m.p.h. at tree- top level over native villages that border the Primrose range (this has been happening since the 1950's); human suffering caused by the loss of land (and livelihood); continued destruction of the area... The women's camp celebrates its first anniversary this August and women will be gathering there again this summer (see Bulletin Board). Women from the camp will be travelling to Wollaston Lake in support of the people there to stop the planned blow-out of the-lake and the construction of a new uranium mine. let the sun bless us in our struggle for peace/let the moon give magic to our mind and heart/and let the earth wrap us around in her wis.dom/so that our spirit can rise above this place and dance in joy. Camp against nuclear production Women Against Military Madness are sponsoring a Women's Peace Encampment near the Savannah River Plant in Georgia USA. This plant is the main American producer of plutonium and tritium for nuclear weapons. Organizers invite all women and their children who believe that living and learning peace is essential to join them at this camp, which opens July 1, 1984. While WAMM admits that currently their group is largely composed of predominantly white¬a middle class lesbians and heterosexual women, they hope to become a more broad based group. "We know working for peace means working for justice as well," said WAMM in a recent statement. "As we seek to eliminate military madness, we work also against domestic violence, lesbian oppression, violence against women, imperialism, and any other threat to the wholeness and peacefulness of all living things." The camp is dedicated to non-violence as the only way to attain nurturing, life- giving power. This camp is specifically a women's camp because of WAMM's awareness of women's inferior position in society and the need for women to be free of gender defined models so they can reach their full creative potential. "This truer sense of ourselves, our own interactions, and our actions empowers us as peacemakers." PEACE by Shari Dunne! Last fall, the first of Britains's cruise missiles arrived in Greenham Common courtesy of the United States, and surrounding the event was much shady government policy concerning its secrecy. Sarah Tisdall, a 23 year old woman who was working for the government as a Foreign Office clerk, took the risk of exposing the truth to the public. She is now serving a six month sentence. In October, the British Defence Secretary, Michael Heseltine, wrote a memo to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher regarding the arrival of the cruise missiles. The memo detailed plans to cover up the scheduled arrival of the missiles until they were already delivered to Greenham Common, leaving no time for the Opposition or the Peace Movement to react. Heseltine later stated that he was confident that people would forget all about the cruise missile once it had arrived. A copy of this memo was sent to the office of the Foreign Secretary. It was Sarah Tisdall's job to photocopy it. She made extra copies of it, and delivered one to the Guardian newspaper. The Guardian published the memo in full, and .after much investigation Sarah was arrested. The marks on the photocopy traced it to the machine in her office. Sarah was sentenced under the Official Secrets Act - an Act that is 73 years old and widely discredited. There has been much controversy over the use of this Act and the severity of her sentence. It is obvious that she was made an example of. A person working with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) described her action as "a courageous example of personal integrity standing against an increasingly militaristic and secretive state," and said that her only "crime" had been to expose one more aspect of the governmental manipulation, propaganda and deception surrounding the whole cruise programme. An interesting point is that Sarah is not anti-nuclear nor a peace activist. She simply felt that the public had a right to know that cruise missiles were being delivered to Greenham "by the back door." Before Sarah was sentenced, she appeared on ITV's World In Action programme. Part of the script reads: Sarah: I felt it was immoral. The Secretary of State for Defence, who was accountable to Parliament, had decided he was not going UK women against cruise to be accountable to Parliament on that particular day, the day that the cruise missiles arrived; he was going to wait until after they were there, at the end of his allotted question time tell the House that they were here, and then get up and leave before the Opposition had time to react in the House, and go off to Greenham to have his photo taken. J.T.V.: He was going to evade proper parliamentary scrutiny? Sarah: Yes, he was. I.T.V.: Why did you take it on in person, wasn't that a bit risky? Sarah: Yes, it was a bit risky, but I took it round on the evening of October 21 and I was aware that there was a big CND march planned for the next morning and to have full impact that memo needed to be published in the paper on the Saturday morning. I.T.V.: Do you have views not only on ministers' proper scrutiny by Parliament but also on matters concerning Britain's nuclear armament? Sarah: Yes, I do. I.T.V.: What are they? Sarah: My business. I.T.V.: What do you feel about the Guardi- Women encircle Boeing by Shari Dunnet On Monday, June 18, 350 women joined hands to encircle the Boeing plant in Kent, Washington. The celebration/demonstration marked the first anniversary of the Puget Sound Women's Peace Camp, located a few blocks from Boeing. The action began with a dawn ritual, and the encirclement itself took place from 2-6 p.m., beginning with an informal rally, and ending with a mass release of helium balloons into the sky. Women came from Portland, Seattle and Bellingham, and there were about 25 women from Vancouver. One of the organizers was Diana Siemens, an ex-employee of the Boeing Commercial Airplane Company. After working for the company for 10 years, Diana quit her job on May 14 of this year. Siemens said that when she first started working for Boeing, although she knew they had military contracts, she thought that the airline part of the company was separate. She was shocked to learn that the technology developed in a programme she had worked on five years earlier was being used for the cruise missile. She also said that in the last three years, Boeing has dramatically increased its military contracts in order to continue making a high profit during a time in which airlines are not buying airplanes. Diana said she left Boeing because the internal conflict between her moral beliefs and working for the company has been building up for the last year and she could no longer stand the tension. Although she has been trying to "work from the inside", speaking with other workers, she said that she reached a point where she couldn't do that any longer. Boeing manufactures two cruise missiles every day. If you're interested in further information, actions or sending support, contact: Puget Sound Women's Peace Camp, 7604 S. 212th St., Kent, Washington, U.S.A. 98032 (206) 872-3482. Jafr/AagsfM Kinesis It an's action in handing back the memo? Sarah: I still don't think they should have handed it back, but that's a personal opinion because it resulted in my arrest. I.T.V.: What do you think the Guardian should have done? Sarah: I think they should have broken the law. Now that's a fairly hairy thing to say on television. I think they should have destroyed the document and then told the Government that they had destroyed it some time previously. I.T.V.: What do you feel about the possibility of going to prison? Sarah: It is a possibility; I think it would be rather absurd to send me to prison for leaking a document which is meant to be a state secret. It was a party political document essentially. I don't feel I damaged national security in any great way by releasing that document. I feel I can cope with prison, it wouldn't be easy but you just have to grin and bear it. Meanwhile, in Greenham, the women who would have been taken by surprise had Sarah not released the document prepared for the last 'Hallowe'en Party' before cruise missiles arrived. The women emerged from the woods and climbed on each other's shoulders to form pyramids along the fence. Equipped with bolt cutters, the women on the top of the pyramids cut the retaining wires on the fence. A 70 foot section of fence was brought down after a tug of war between 12 women and 25 soldiers. As final preparations to move missiles into Greenham began, more than 1,000 women gathered. They wore witches' hats and painted faces and circled around fires in the woods near the perimeter fence designed to protect the missiles. Once the women had pulled down the fence, the soldiers had to listen to a lengthy rendering of "there's a hole in your fence, dear major, dear major, there's a hole in your fence, dear major -m a hole". Then the women sat on the fence to keep it down. As one section of fence after another was dismantled, the women let out war cries and left written statements on the coils of barbed wire behind the fence. The women said they had "taken up tools to cut down this chainmail fence of fear and destruction." In spite of arrests, the atmosphere between the police and the women was good-spirited. White wire cutters were confiscated, one woman addressed the police, "You've got them now, you finish the job for us." One officer told the women, "It would be the same if you cut down your neighbour's fence." A woman replied, "What if my neighbour had a savage dog he could not control - would it not be my duty to make a protest about that?" Harassment of the Greenham camp has increased since the arrival of the missiles (see Kinesis March '84). The main gate camp has been forced to move its permanent facilities, though daily activity still takes place there, and camps remain at the other gates to the base. It will be interesting to see if Defence Secretary Michael Heseltine is correct in his assumption that the public will forget about the cruise now that it has arrived. A good guess, is that the Greenham women won't forget - not at all! Carrie Pester, one of the Greenham women seeking a court injunction against Ronald Feagan, will be speaking at the Carnegie Centre on Monday July 9th, at 7:30p.m. 12 Kinesis July/Aug. W INTERNATIONAL Women's lives in the Sudan by Eleanor Knight During the seven weeks I was travelling in the Sudan last year, in general I was treated as an honourary male. That meant that I sat on the same mat and ate out of the same dishes as the males at a meal, while the women and girls who had prepared it waited on the other side of the walled courtyard to eat what was left. Traditional Arab hospitality towards travellers is particularly gracious in the Sudan, the largest and geographically most diverse country in Africa, wherever we travelled, city or countryside, north or south, my male friend and I were received with open generosity by the Arabs. Consequently, only three times, once in Khartoum the capital, the others in the north country, was I allowed to go to the female side of the house to eat. I was taken aback by the tiny windowless smoke-filled kitchens in all these homes. Most of the activities of eating, sleeping",1-and socializing were conducted in courtyards similar to the men's but while working these women had to put up with the conditions in these black infernos. Sudan is one of the least developed countries in the world. Little has changed in this country since the turn of the century. The picturesque traditional pump and flood irrigation along the Nile still exist, as do traditional methods of trade in the old towns, livestock farming and subsistence agriculture, especially in the South. Attempts at modernization of agriculture have created a strong geographic concentration of development in the centre of the country's cotton growing area. The development of education, health, agriculture, power and transport has been con- entrated in the higher income areas of the centre, creating severe regional disparities . Transportation through this land of vast deserts, rain forests, grassland and swamp has been developed only for military and administrative reasons. In Sudan, the cultures of Black Africa and of Arab meet. The meeting has not been amicable. A legacy of suspicion and hatred left over from the slave trade plus the Arabs' dominant position adds fuel to the already-strained cultural and economic domination of one people by the other. These two cultures, however different in other aspects, are both patrilineal and have succeeded in subjugating women to an inferior status, a similar position to many other pre-Industrial societies. Non-muslim Southern women are more extroverted and are not sexually segregated in the home, although, like their neighbours in the north, they are also trained to be submissive and obedient. In both societies marriages are arranged between families. A woman marries young and has no status until she has produced a son. The suitor 'ñ† Media Coverage continued from p. 7 shown no mercy in the hands of a tortured judge (Remember, his voice was breaking as he sentenced her.) At least the tomato didn't get top billing as it did in a June 8th Globe and Mail article (and everywhere else) that describes the same incident. According to the CP wire service story the 'defiant' -(that word again)- Ann Hansen bared her teeth(!) as "she threw a tomato and shreds of paper at Judge Toy." The Globe records that Hansen's supporters in the gallery screamed epithets at the man who had "branded Miss Hansen unremorseful". WordsXlike 'branded' and 'epithets' are perjorative of Ann Hansen and her supporters. They contrast sharply with the reverential pays the bride price. In the north the dowry is considered the women's personal property while in the south it is divided among the woman's male relatives. Polygamy is common in both areas especially in the countryside, and divorce until 1969 was solely a male prerogative, gained as simply as publicly denouncing the wife three times. North Americans would have a hard time visualizing the extent to which the Muslim woman has suffered in seclusion because of the man's fear of loss of family honour, honour which is dependent on female behaviour . Possibly the most difficult thing for us to understand is the continuing practice of Pharaonic form circumcision practised thoughout the country on young girls about seven years old. The clitoris, the albia minora, most of the labia majora are removed and stitched leaving a small opening for urine and menses passage. Should the family honour be questioned many a woman has lost her life to her father's, brother's, or uncle's vengeance. The pressures that keep women in those black infernos are physical as well as psychological. In spite of this grim reality some defiant have been labouring to change things. In 1907, against much opposition the first private school for girls was opened in the north and embroidery, dressmaking, Arabic arithmetic and the Qoran were taught. Encouraged at the thought of having more marriageable daughters, fathers began giving permission to enroll. That success led to the opening of the first government elementary girls' school, a training college for girls' elementary teachers and finally in 1940 the first intermediate school. It was not until 1954 that the first woman graduated at the university entrance level. The story in the south was quite different. There was no educated elite from which to treatment accorded the two police officers who testify in Larry Still's June 9th article. RCMP officer Spooner is described as a "white-haired man in the late 50s dressed in a dark blue suit." Officer Vennor apparently "sported a very conservative looke." The two are dressed "in the manner of bankers". How could we doubt their testimony? The coverage of a major news story, as illustrated in this article, far from being discreditable to the newspapers that print it, has actually attained some reward. In 1982, a large spread, similar to the Sun June 9th pages, that 'probed' the life of convicted murderer Clifford Olsen won a nationally recognized award for two of its reporters. petition economic support for daughters. There was no feminist movement dedicated to improve women's lot by organizing night classes for women and going out to the countryside to start schools as had happened in the north. Until Sudanese independence in 1956 (freedom from British colonial rule) education in the South was available only on an irregular basis through Mission societies. No schools for girls existed at all until the 1930s. During the 1940's the northern Sudan Independence movement recognized the need for more trained personnel to run the government once the British left, and facilities were increased for both girls and boys. Just as education became a little more accessible the seventeen year long north-south civil war disrupted the underdeveloped Southern Economy and closed all schools. It was not until.1974 that the first girl's secondary school was finally established. The literacy rate is still very low for both genders in the country today. The lack of teachers and materials, as in any third world country, is a grave problem that worsens the further one travels from the more developed urban centres. In Sudan, the cultures of Black African and of Arab meet. The meeting has not been amicable. There is a legacy of suspicion and hatred left over from the slave trade. Khartoum Market from Sisters Under the Sun Today, communicable diseases and malnutrition, especially in the south, have been the focus of medical teams. Because of poor sanitation, waterborne infections - malaria, belharzia, gastro-enteritis and tuberculosis - are national problems. These affect women's lives as bearers of children and providers of food. Unfortunately, monumental transportation problems, a foreign exchange deficit which prevents buying drugs and supplies, and lack of trained personnel allows for only the most basic care. It is only since 1924 that Sudan has graduated nurses to deal with some of these problems. As Sudan is affected by worldwide inflation, more and more women have become wage earners to try and support their families. Women produce and sell handicrafts, food, and drink or they may work for the government, the single largest employer of women. As the men go further afield in search of money - to the cotton zone in the centre of the country or to Saudi Arabia's oil fields - women are becoming increasingly independent and resourceful. The most oppressive customs restricting women's movement in the communty are losing their grasp, and with education there is hope for the next generation. Eleanor Knight has recently returned from two year employment as a hydrotherapist AFRICA. Our time is now "Our Time is Now, " the first Canadian Women's music and cultural festival, will be held in Winnipeg on September 1st and 2nd. The festival will bring together Canadian women performers and writers from across the country. This celebration of women's culture was dreamed up by SDB Manitoba (Same Damn Bunch), a group of women who have been active in the feminist community for years. They felt it was time for a women's festival in Canada, but the women at the initial planning meeting last September had not realized.the extent to which the festival concept would grow. Festival organizers (the staff has recently grown to five) have been overwhelmed by the support the event has been receiving. Calls and letters are coming in from across the country, volunteers are signing up, mailings are going out, and the Winnipeg women's community is looking forward to the networking potential the festival will offer. Even though the festival will feature upward of forty musicians and writers, many excellent performers had to be turned down. Rainbow Stage, a covered open air theatre in a city park, will be the site of the main festival program. A second stage for children's concerts and workshops on dance, writing, and music, will be set up in a large tent. Plans are also underway for a children's activity area and an arts and crafts tent where Manitoba women will display and sell their work. Musicians and writers from a wide variety of regional, cultural, and musical traditions will be enjoyed. Many of the performers are well known in feminist and folk music circles - Holly Arntzen, Heather Bishop, Marie Lynn Hammond, Connie Kaldor, Rita-MacNeil, Nancy White. Advertising these women generates a lot of enthusiasm. The organizers are equally delighted to present some lesser known performers: Lillian Allen (Jamaican Dub poet); Baker Lake Throat Singers (traditional Inuk chanting); Suzanne Bird (country and western); Suzanne Campagne (chanteuse Francophone); Beatrice Culleton (Manitoba Metis writer); Ezzel (dancer/interpreter); Janice Finlay (woodwinds); Four the Moment (acappella voices of struggle); Beverly Glen-Copeland (original jazz and blues); Maara Haas (Winnipeg writer); Viviana Himojosa (Chilean folksinger); Karen Howe (Manitoba singer/songwriter); Moon Joyce (Yellowknife singer/songwriter); Marilyn Lerner (pianist); Catherine Mackay, Maureen Brown, Sherry Shute, Gwen Swick (rock and roll); Mairi McLean (flute and keyboards); Arlene Mantle (songs for social change); Alanis Obomsawin (songs of native people); Kris Purdy (jazz guitar); and Ilena Zaramba (vocalist). The festival is is open to the general public. Although access to the festival site is free, there will be a charge for entrance to Rainbow Stage, with rush seating for 2300 people. The cost for the weekend is $20, $11 per day, and $6 per half-day. Tickets at the gate, if any remain, will be slightly more. Group rates are available for groups of fifteen or more. By the time you read this article, brochures and posters will be out across the country Order your tickets now. Don't miss out on this event! All events wheelchair accessible. Signing for the hearing impaired on Sunday evening. On site childcare will be provided during the day for those who pre-register by August 1st. Contact the Women's Festival, 745 Westminster, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3G 1A5 (205) 786-1921. July/August *84 Kinesis 13 FESTIVALS Rural women's festivals West Kootenays The West Kootenay Women's Association (WKWA) was founded in 1974, two years after the Nelson Women's Centre came into being. Its original purpose was to be the agency through which funding was obtained to operate the Women's Centre. Over the years, the WKWA has acted as a sponsoring and supporting body for a variety of projects, (Images Newspaper, the Nelson Women's Theatre Group, Every- woman's Moneymaking and Manufacturing \l Association or EMMA, and the Pro-Choice group, to name a few). At present, the Women's Centre is the project with the longest history (12 years) and perhaps the highest profile. The WKWA has sponsored an annual women's festival during the past six years. Proceeds from the festival go back into the Association for the purpose of maintaining the Women's Centre. The theme of the festival this year is the 10th Anniversary of the WKWA. The festival will be on August 11, 7 - 12 at the Vallican Whole. A variety of topics related to the her- story of the WKWA will be covered at the festival. Vita Storey, one of the founding mothers, is co-ordinating a herstory presentation of the Association. Other topics will include; ovulation method of birth control, singing, reproductive rights, women's theatre, dance, guided fantasy, the women's peace movement, and a discussion group on women's art, including a display by local artists. The festivities will also include guest speakers, an auction, a potluck dinner, a dance, a foot contest, and an anniversary cake cutting ceremony. Daycare will be available for children, with an interesting and exciting list of activities. Camping space will be available at Vallican Whole and public campgrounds in the vicinity. Admission for the festival is $10 for a weekend pass, $7 for Saturday only, including the dance, and $5 for Sunday. For more information contact the Nelson Women's Centre, 307 Vernon Street, Nelson, B.C. V1L 5R4 or phone 352-9916. Okanagan The 6th annual Okanagan Women's Festival will be held on August 25th and 26th at Camp Ida Arbuckle near Winfield on Okanagan Lake. The theme this year will be Wholistic Health. In keeping with this theme, the Vancouver Women's Health Collective will be presenting workshops on breast health and menopause. Plans are alsp being finalized for workshops dealing with the spiritual, physical and emotional well- being of women. Some of these include meditation, addictions, massage, belly dancing, self defence, music, birthing and aerobics. Children have always been an integral part of the festival and this year will be no exception. Activities for the children plus daycare will be provided in the same fashion as previous years. Plans are to have a lifeguard on duty for water play and there will be other co-ordinated events such as face painting, clowning, races and relays, and craft activities. The location this year will add to the activity and gathering together. It is situated right on Okanagan Lake, in a quiet surrounding. We can look forward* to fun in the sun (we hope), in the water, and around the campfire. There is a large grassy area for camping and in case of rain there is a lounge area with fireplace in the main building. We have full kitchen facilities and a dining hall. At a recent planning meeting we were treated to the appetizing menu plans of our cook for this year. Mealtimes promise to be a delightful, vegetarian experience. In past years the Okanagan Women's Festival has been held in Vernon, Falkland and more recently at Squaw Valley, The first festival was in 1979 and was a one day event. Since then they have been held over a two day period and have attracted the participation of a diversity of women. Women from the smaller communities and the larger centres have gathered together to celebrate. The festival provides an opportunity for women from various walks of life to gather in the unity of the spirit of our sisterhood. ALL WOMEN WELCOME'. BIENVENUE A TOUTES LES FEMMES! For information and registration for this year's festival please contact the Okanagan Women's Coalition: Vernon: Box 1242, V1T 6N6, 542-7531: Kelowna: Box 1137 - Station A, V1Y 7P8, 762-2355. Northwest At press time, about 300 women from Prince George to Queen Charlotte city were expected to attend the fifth annual Northwest Women's Festival, being held in Prince Rupert June 29-July 2. The first festival was held in Terrace, conceived and organized by the Terrace Women's Resource Centre. In following years established women's groups in Hazel- ton and Smithers took turns organizing this yearly summer event. What makes this year's festival unique is that the organization was assumed by 10 individual women in the Prince Rupert community, who met for the first time last continued on p. 17 14 Kinesis July/August "84 Women have always been encouraged as musical amateurs and rarely as professionals from All Our Lives Songbook Lost composers by Victoria Fenner When the name Schumann is mentioned, most people think of Robert. And Mendelssohn is the man who wrote the single composition familiar to just about all women - the wedding march. But there is a Schumann who is rarely performed in concerts. And there is a Mendelssohn whose works were originally published under her brother's name, plus a lot of other female composers whose works are either lost or forgotten. A few works by women have survived down through the ages in spite of the fact that in many cases, the odds were against their work ever being performed beyond their front door. A simple genralization about the problems women composers face in a field dominated by men for one thousand years would be too much of an oversimplification. The reasons are as complex as the combination of individual women and men against the backdrop of the society in which they lived. As a suggestion, find a recording of some of the following women's works. If you can't find a recording of these specific artists, put on some music by one of your favourite contemporary women musicians. Chances are that you find some of the same circumstances. belj 'ñ† During the Romantic era (late 19th century) women had varying degrees of freedom. Fanny Mendelssohn's father encouraged her brother Felix as a composer, yet he told her that she must become more steady and collected and prepare more earnestly and eagerly for her real calling, the only calling of a young woman ... the state of a housewife. At the age of twenty-four, Fanny married Wilhelm Hensel, a painter. She continued to compose even though she intended her compositions for use and performance at home. Her brother dissuaded her from publishing her music: he believed that, once published, a composer is obligated to continue publishing and he did not believe that Fanny could ever be a prolific, professional composer. But in 1846 when Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel was forty-one, two Berlin publishers persuaded her to issue a collection of her best works. This encouragement spurred her to create her largest scale composition, a piano trio. Shortly after its first performance, she died. Six months later Felix Mendelssohn also died. Clara Wieck, on the other hand, was an established pianist on par with Rubenstein and Lizst before she married Robert Schumann. Her father would not agree to their marriage because Robert's career was not yet well-established and- he doubted that his daughter would be adequately supported. They were married despite his lack of consent and were happily married for fourteen years. Their lives complemented each other and strengthened each other's artistry. His compositions influenced hers, and she frequently premiered his new works. In Clara's writings there is evidence of ten- " sion between her personal life as a wife and mother and her artistry. In a letter to Robert: "Am I to neglect my own talent 'in order to serve you as a companion on your journeys." Together they had eight | children. Yes, She wrote, "vt" %s mosv necessary that we should find some means by which we can both utilise and develop our talents side by side. Clara Wieck Schumann's earlier compositions were short piano forte pieces, saved from triviality by their unique rhythms and melodies. Her later works were larger in scale and contained definite traces ot Robert's music which was rich in emotional expressiveness. She composed only one work after Robert's death, probably because her performing schedule became more hectic as she was the sole provider for her family. Robert's death had a great impact on her life and her writings suggest that she was happier when he was alive. Today, she wrote, Johannes (Brahms) set the stone over my dear one 's grave - my whole soul went with him. She continued to promote and perform his works until she died in 1896. Women have always been encouraged as musical amateurs and rarely as professionals. During Mozart's time (the late 18th century) music was considered a necessary social accomplishment for Women of a rising middle class. Evidence suggests that there were female composers whose works were lost over the years, dismissed as "amateur.". But women were more often encouraged as performers rather than composers and were given instruction on "feminine" instruments such as fortepiano, flute, guitar and harp. Vocal study was also considered appropriate for young women. Even so, they found few professional opportunities. The patronage system of the Baroque era (roughly 1600 to 1750) also provided very few opportunities for professional female musicians though the rise of opera was a major factor in paving the way for female vocalists in professional life - eventually operatic composers realized that it was ludicrous to have young boys perform female roles. Eventually the churches also admitted women as musicians, especially late into the 18th century as the use of castrati became an unacceptable way to achieve a soprano sound. France was the only European country where the concept of the castrati received no support in artistic circles. France was progressive in another way - the court of Louis XIV (the Sun King) employed a female musician and composer. Elisabeth Claude Jacquet was born in Paris in 1664. She rose to prominence as a harpsichordist, gaining prestige at the age of ten. She presented herself at the Court of Versailles at the age of fifteen and was engaged as a performing musician for four years. She then married Marin de la Guerre, organist of the church of Saint Severin in Paris and returned there with him. She quickly reestablished her reputation, her fame spread throughout the city, and she was constantly in demand as both harpsichordist and composer. Her compositions include one opera, three books of cantatas, pieces for harpsichord, a collection of sonatas and a Te Deum for full chorus. She died at the age of seventy as a highly respected composer, particularly in the field of instrumental music. Italy also had one female composer-singer: Francesca Caccini, the daughter of a well- known musician at the court of the Medici. She officially entered the service of the Florentine court in 1607 and was known primarily as a composer of vocal music. It is ironic that the Renaissance produced no female composers whose works have survived.;This era (1400 - 1600 approx.) is usually thought of as a time of enlightenment where intellectual accomplishment in a woman was highly prized. Women were encouraged to be musicians, but in the amateur sphere only. Performances of compositions by women in court and chapel were extremely rare. It is sad that much women's music through the years is lost. There is no doubt that there were female musicians and composers and the problem that plagues every musicologist is evident here: a lot of the music is lost simply because it was not written in understandable notation. The problem of preserving ancient manuscripts is also huge: for every manuscript found, there are countless others which have disintegrated or burned. For women, however, the problem is a bit more complex. There was no need for them to record their compositions on paper because quite often they were convinced that there was no intrinsic worth to their creations. As is usually the case, only the best and outstanding have been remembered . Victoria Fenner is a Vancouver broadcaster who hosts "Radio Antiqua" heard Mondays on Co-op Radio (102.7 FM). by Carolyn Bell Vancouver audiences now have the pleasure of hearing women whose material encompasses all aspects of music. Ferron's latest album, Shadows On A Dime has a sophisticated up tempo sound that doesn't get in the way of the "go for the bone-marrow" philosophy of our favourite local poet-composer... Kathy Kidd, Renee Rosnes and Glenna Powrie, three inspired jazz-pianists who can often be seen at the Classical Joint and other Kitty King, stand-up bassist and vocalist who majors in the Blues and bluegrass has toured with the Robin Flower Band... Barbara Fisher and June Katz, both local singers (Barbara also composes and plays keyboards) have albums out this year... The Animal Slaves and Moral 1 sent the "Women in New Wave" or "This Change is Permanent, Boys" (as I like to refer to it)... In short, the musical climate is ready for you to listen, to play, to sing. (You don't even have to do it in public). Most of the outstanding women involved in music in Canada are composers as well as performers: Joni Mitchell, Buffy Sainte Marie, Carole Pope, Edith Butler, Lisa dal Bello, the McGarrigles...the list really does go on and on. - ^ v Much of their material combines a concern for the preservation of the planet and human rights along with a healthy dollop of female egoism. In the early part of the sixties, Joni Mitchell played the Fourth Dimension Coffee House which actually was a real basement in Regina. And I with my black turtleneck was there. It was good to hear a woman singing about travelling and being an artist. Especially because that year the summer hit in Regina was "I'm Sorry", by Brenda Lee... Buffy Sainte-Marie played at a potlatch at Piapot Indian Reserve outside of Regina in 1968 and I heard her do my favourite "folk" songs of the time; "Country Girl", "Piney- wood Hill", "Now that the Buffalo's Gone". Recently, that particular Prairie Flower ran off with one-half of a 1983 Oscar for the best song, "Up Here Where We Belong."... Another prairie woman of the independent stalwart tradition is Connie Kaldor. Her live performances are sheer delight. Theatrically trained, she mugs and kibbitzes through her song "Jerks" as she satirizes all those fellows who hang out in the streets and make their most intimate desires loudly known. And of course she can move you to tears as well... Heather Bishop does beautiful covers of some of Connie's songs, as well as those of other composers such as Nina Simone and Dory Previn. Heather has written a tune or two herself... Farther east we find the likes of Nancy White, satirist-songwriter extraordinaire and one of the favourites of the Vancovuer Folk Festival. Her songs are many and varied, some poking vicious but subtle fun at the working of world politics or addressing such issues as young people in prostitution. .. White is one of those thanked on Jane Siberry's second and most beautiful album No Borders Here. Siberry played universities in Ontario and according to the Globe and Mail opened for Joe Jackson and did a commendable set... There's Beverly Glenn-Copeland who has been in the Canadian Music Scene for years. She's got a new EP called At Last, (as is her new record company). For those who like jazz and the blues... Rita MacNeil. Nova Scotia. I was most fortunate to see her at the Soft Rock and was impressed by the woman's comic wit, sense of delivery and timing, not to mention her somewhat above average voice. She writes her own tunes, too... I must confess, I sometimes buy record albums for their graphic beauty or fun. That was how I came to possess Horse of a Different Feather by Canadian Diana Marco- vitz. There she is smiling on the cover, boot deep in a bunch of white geese who look like they are enjoying themselves as well. The back cover shows Ms. Marcovitz hitchhiking with ail her worldly goods (an ouija board, trunks of funky clothes, books a piano...) so I figured how could I lose? Her songs are most eccentric and amusing. Especially the classic, "Hymn to Canada" where she says of her boyfriend, "I'll tell him I"ve come back, addicted to smack, that's just the thing he'd love to hear.".. And of course, the rockers; Nanette Workman Toronto, and Heart, all of whom have been digging in for years and coming out with most tolerable rock and roll... Classical guitarist Liona Boyd must be mentioned as well, although I must confess my ignorance re. classical music scene in general... Edith Butler, Acadian chanteuse, has been steadily producing one quality album after another. I wish Queen Ida could get her hands on "Paquetteville" a Cajun anthem that really moves... Our Country stars are, of course, the aforementioned Buffy Sainte Marie, multi- award winner Carole Baker, and Sylvia Then there are francophone singers Monique Lerac, Patsy Gallant and Montreal singer Lucy Tremblay who has been singing Ferron's "Ain't Life a Brook" en francaise... It is obvious that Canada has spawned a truly new wave of women in music who have learned to handle their success and be relatively sane in their private lives. Remember the old days when the wonderful and talented Grace Slick would quip, "Saying I was drunk is like saying there was a Tuesday last week." And oh the trials of Marianne Faithful when she and Mick broke up. She disappeared for years (except for that classic French film, "Naked Under Leather", but in a way, those two women (and others who didn't survive - Joplin, Marilyn Monroe) made a lot of women realize that they had to take care of their own business or be (pardon my street-ese) royally screwed. Lisa dal Bello (remember her hit from a few years ago, "Pretty Girls")? She has ^decided to oversee her own business^" I which thank goodness, includes writing more of her own material. Her family used to "protect her interests". It is, as Carole Pope, would say, A Jungle out there. Carole Pope. ("Oh, Carole, we are but fools...") Anyone who is intolerant of Ms. Pope's charming exuberance, no matter how outwardly hip they might seem must hide, and I quote Lily Tomlin here, "a dried-up peach p'it of a soul." To continue with Ms. Tomlin's monologue, Carole Pope truly does "think of herself as a chicken, and Life as Shake'n'Bake." She thinks "of herself as a chip, and Life as a dip." Pope's lyrics can be challenging and provocative (thought-provoking, yet) as in "Race Music", on her new album Weapons when she warns us "get rid of your spoiled, western ways" or extremely hilarious as in "Paisley Generation", a hymn to the burn-outs of the sixties. (Lyrics inspired by her sister, L.A. writer Elaine Pope). Carole Pope epitomizes the thinking-person's woman. Her friend, Kevan Staples, the musical brains of the outfit (although Ms. Pope has been doing more composing of late) compliments the powerful effect of her lyrics. The key word is power. And Carole Pope and Rough Trade have laid the groundwork for other writers, musicians and singers who want to do relevant material with style and sensitivity. Quoting from "The Canadian Composer", June, 1984, Billy Bryans, drummer from The Parachute Club, says, "I don't think Parachute Club would have had a chance if Rough Trade hadn't persisted for so long." Parachute Club is another lovely success story. Lead vocalist Lorraine Segato, Billy Bryans and Laurie Conger met in Toronto on the Queen Street scene, when they all played for Mama Quilla, a feminist band circa 1981. Parachute Club's single, "Rise Up", one of those let's-get-it-to- gether songs that really means it, was number one for quite some time, and lead singer Segato has been accepting awards left and right. Locally, watch out for a band called, Bolero Lava, and dance to the heady sounds of a five woman band who really know how to get those feet moving. I enjoyed them recently at the Savoy (so did local singer/ songwriter Diane Levings...she's sounding great, incidentally) and singer Vanessa Richards tells me they have just finished recording a single called "Inevitable" with "Click of the Clock" on the flip-side. They will be at the Luv Affair in August and then will grace Calgary and Edmonton with those wonderful original tunes (written by the whole band). When they have rested up from their recording session, they will talk to this reporter over cheesecake about their most original sound. You will read it here, soon. And, of course, I must mention in closing Anne Murray, classical and jazz flautist Kathryn Moses, Martha and the Muffins (now M & M), writers and vocalists Shari Ulrich and Ann Mortifee and the late Jane Vasey of the Downchild Blues Band... Well, there's a few role models for you, in case any of you needed that extra push to get the house guitar out of the basement where you stored it with the camping gear. I would like to give kudos to Karlene Faith, Connie Smith, and Province columnist Jeannie Read for redefining the meaning of "critic" and for their constant support of women in music. Carolyn Bell is a composer who will teach you music for money. She recently performed in the cabaret "You Can't Hold A Gun To The Head Of The Muse" with Diane Levings. 16 Kinesis July/Augusts ^^^^^^^^^^H by Jill Pollack Ingrid Yuille is a Vancouver-based photographer who has been working in large- scale photo-murals and photo-cut-outs for the past five years. When she was approached to do an album cover, it presented: an opportunity to incorporate her own style or art-making into a commercial venture, a rare occurrence. I spoke with Yuille about the work she did for the group, Blue Northern, while she was busy preparing for her next exhibition, URBAN AMBIGUITIES (Presentation House, North Vancouver, August 2 to September 2, 1984. Ingrid, you've done two album covers, which ones were they? One for Blue Northern, which was the more interesting one because it involved incorporating my own work, my own concept. The other was for "The Little Ladies", a group of young girls (12-14) who sang popular music and did performing. Did Blue Northern approach you? Actually, Share Corsaut got them in touch with me..They asked her for a group of artists or names of people dealing with photography so they could go around looking at work. It was kind of neat because when Jim Wilson came over (he was the leader of the band), he looked at my work and it was nice talking with him. He was not just interested in a concept for the album, he was also interested in the actual artwork. We got to talking about different things you can do with cut-outs, about different directions I wanted to go. He wanted to \ ''ñ† cut-outs? He really liked my artwork initially^ and we talked about it, and he said would I mind if he brought back Maureen Jack, who was the manager of the band, because he wanted to show her my work. At that point nothing was decided. I guess in looking at my work he started to see possibilities for himself and his group. So then he brought over Maureen Jack and we talked about the work. They verbalized how it might be interesting to make actual photo- cut-outs of the various people in the band and re-photograph them in an environment in a similar way to what I had been doing in my work at that time. So it was decided that you would do the cover-. Did you take each individual band member and do a photo shoot? No, a woman who does a lot of rock 'n roll photography, Dee Lippingwell, did the initial portraits of the band. We had the negatives blown up and laminated professionally, which was really good because it is a lot of work and a lot of manual labour to go from the negative to the cut-out. Even though you did not do the printing for those cut-outs, did you make the decisions of which negative to use? Maureen Jack and I picked the individuals that we though would work best in relation to their personality and the kind of music they play. Then we cut them out [from the large, laminated murals] and hand-coloured them. Maureen knew what colours they wore a lot and the general ambience of the band. We then went around to various places - including Wreck Beach, Kits Park and Spanish Banks - where we set up different shots and I photographed them, using a 35mm camera. You took the band members and the cut-outs all around the city? Yes. We even did a couple of shots in a record store. We grouped them together and re-photographed them as one image. Then the record company looked at the various shots I did and they decided on the one done at Wreck Beach. Since the group was rock-a-billy and called Blue Northern, they picked the one that had the ocean and the mountains in the background. The cut-outs were photographed amongst the rocks, and it had an interesting effect because the rocks just flattened right out and it looked like everything else was flat and the photo-cuts were three- dimensional. The cover had ten images - the five cutouts and the five band members? No, just the cut-outs. Later we did a studio session where I got the band members to pose with their cut-outs and we made mor_ photographs, in colour. I did all that work, including the printing. Although the cover is just the cut-outs, the back has smaller prints of each band member interacting with themselves. Some members used the instrument they played as props. But there was one guy, Billy Cowsill, who really didn't like his cutout. He did a parody of how he hated his photographic image and literally buried it. He did a requiem, using a lit candle and a Beatles' album while he was putting himself in a garbage can. What did you actually give the record company? At first, they got a print, but later on they asked for negatives. They made all the final decisions about which image to use and I really didn't have anything to do with them. Did you get paid? Yes, but not very much. I did get recognition on the album cover. I was more interested in the experience than the financial aspects at that time. They gave me three or four copies of the record. It was a good experience and I had no problems even though it was a verbal contract. I retained the copyright to the negatives and in fact, two of the images were shown at the Viennese Sessetion. Is -it different photographing for < sion, like an album cover, than doing your - own work? The interesting part of doing the Blue Northern album is that I am not a commercial photographer and I have a pretty high opinion of my work. I was dealing with other artists and whatever conflicts we had were due to the kind of egos that were involved. The group was used to dealing with commercial photographers, someone who has a set pattern down, and I don't. I am more free style, into, "let's see what happens and take a chance". I think that made things a little sticky at times because of the lack of guidance on certain levels which I was just not prepared to give them because it would take away from my own creativity. , In my own work, when I have people interact with their cut-outs, I don't give them any directions. I think that made a few of the band members a little uncomfortable because when you're dealing with your own image, even though you are in the world of entertainment, all of a sudden you are dealing with yourself. It was interesting and it really taught me a lot about myself and my own ego. It showed me that I'm not a commercial photographer, I'm an artist; I've chosen to be an artist very consciously. I think that I would do it again, as long as I could have some creative control. by Janie Newton - Moss On Monday, July 2nd, Womanvison featured an interview with Alison Seddon, who is staying in Vancouver for the summer. At home in England she is a vocalist in an eight piece reggae band called the Plainsmen, who perform largely original material. Before Alison left for Vancouver the Plainsmen had put down a demo tape at Flexible Response, Co-op Studios in Bradford. Alison explained that one of the reasons they did few covers is that as a white reggae band they have a different slant on the black culture and politics that is so central to reggae music. The following article is a series of selected highlights from the show in which interviewer Janie Newton-Moss asked Alison about the type of music women are producing in July/August'84 Kinesis 17 We 're listening to Altered Images at the moment "Don't talk to me about Love". Is this fairly typical of music in England at present? As far as women's music is concerned, no. You will have heard of the Au Pairs and Poison Girls where there's a very positive female input backed by male musicians. Claire Grogan who is Altered Images ' lead singer is involved in movies directed by Glaswegian Bill Forsythe suxh as, "Gregory's Girl". There are also bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees but there's not a particular women's music movement as such. . This record sounds very poppy. I like it, but I don't think it does too much to take us beyond the type of sound of the 60's where you had a front singer, usually a "girl", usually attractive with a nice voice who was quickly picked up by the media. Do you think this is what's happened with Claire Grogan? Absolutely. Let's talk about the next artist we're going to feature, Hazel O'Connor. I remember seeing her in a movie called "Breakin Glass" just before I came to Canada in 1980. Before that she had a band in Coventry with her brother. Is this another story like Claire Grogan: pop star turns film star? In a way, although I feel Hazel O'Connor is more dynamic and has had more time to develop her ideas. She's currently doing a T.V. show in which she plays a disco personality who's extremely wayward. Everyone seems to like the show and she seems happy doing it. In "Breakin Glass" she played a woman getting a punk band together. Some guy comes along whom she falls in love with, he wants to make her a star and to leave the punk scene alone. Do you think Hazel O'Connor is representative of the sort of women who were making music in the late 70's? Very much so. She was very avant garde in certain respects, but not as popular as Siouxsie and the Banshees, who still have terrific strength in the English music scene. We then had a discussion about the differences between commerical radio and television stations in England and Canada. Channel 4 which is the new commercial channel on T.V. has done a lot for women's activities and minority issues with shows like "Black on Black". The presenter is Pauline Black who use to be the lead singer with The Selector and is now doing a lot of theatrical work with Janet Kay. That's interesting. I know when Pauline Black left Selector she tried to carve a career for herself and made a solo record but she didn't seem to get anywhere. I think that may have been because her interests lie more in theatre and T.V. She's been doing a lot of work within the London Boroughs with a black youth theatre. Can you tell us about Janet Kay? We're going to be playing her single "Silly Games." She was discovered back in the 70's by Alton Ellis who was involved in the early Jamacian music scene, at the conception of reggae in the 1950's. "Silly Games" was the only real hit she had. We 're going to be playing that back to back with "Free" by Denice Williams. In a way they contrast and compliment each other well. "Silly Games" is quite roots, rockers, backyard beautiful music. Denise Williams does fantastic things with her voice and she's moved so fluidly from reggae to gospel to pop as you've heard on Festivals continued from p. 13 February and have been meeting once a week ever since. Chief organizer Cindy Cunliffe says even before the festival is held she can call it a success. It- has meant the creation of the Kaien Island Women's Society, a group which plans to continue. The committee was concerned by the low attendance by native women at previous festivals, and made a decision to include workshops of particular interest to e -ive women. They also invited a Cree In'' .an women, Martha Many Grey Horses (an instructor at the University of Lethbridge, Alberta) to be Saturday evening's keynote speaker. She will speak on the theme When We Learn to Come Together We are Whole; Women working together for positive change. Her workshop title is Understanding the nature of human beings from a native philosophical perspective. Other workshops geared to native women include a discussion of Section 121B of the Indian Act, with Mildrid Gottfriedsbn, president of the British'Columbia Native Women's Society, and a native cultural awareness workshop with artist Marion Hunt- Doig from Prince George. The festival is for all women and with this in mind the committee attempted to keep the 24 workshops varied and interesting: a practical workshop on understanding gasoline motors; women and peace; pensions; women in the labour force; an explanation of the social policies of the Fraser Institute; child sexual abuse; and relaxation * techniques. The festival is also a place for women to take pride in their skills and accomplishments. Audrey Dudoward-Okabe plans to give a basket weaving demonstration and there are about a dozen artisans from across the northwest setting up display booths. Information booths by special interest groups will also be set up and topics range from pornography, wife battery to childbirth associations. The weekend festival ends Sunday with a film festival and a panel discussion. The topic is Feminism: is it relevant for the '80's, and what direction should women be taking. Let's Hear if for the Boy", her current single. She's into gospel in a big way and hopes to do a gospel album soon. Halfway through the programme we got into a discussion about reggae music and Alison 'i experiences as a white woman producing music for a predominantly black audience. One of her current favorite artists is a Jamacian dub poet called Sister Breeze. "Aid travels with a Bomb" by Sister Breeze. Talk about politics and music coming together! This woman I really admire. I don't know whether you know that dub poetry was inspired by a Jamaican woman called Louise Bennett. She spoke in Creole which of course was frowned on by the British colonists and was banned. More recently it's an area that's been dominated by men so it's refreshing to see women like Sister Breeze coming back on the scene. She's an extremely talented sportswoman, teacher, social worker, political activist and she's just published a book of poems called Answer. Lillian Allen, a dub poet from Toronto will be here at the Folk Festival. She should be interesting to see. You said that you'd recently been turned on to gospel music by Sweet Honey in the Rock who are often at the Folk Festival. They are another of black women who have put music and politics together really well. That's important, as you have a double minority, being black and being female. So the more their music is aired and the more they are accepted the better it must be for music and for politics as a whole. Have any particular songs been written about Greenham Common? There are jazz bands such as The Guest Stars, a six piece women band based in London who have done songs about peace but not specifically about Greenham Common. I have a tape of a women's reggae band called Amazulu who do a piece on Greenham Common but I don 't know any of their other material. I've not heard of them. So now we arrive at Style Council featuring Tracey Thorn. Who are they? Paul Weller left The Jam, a three piece men's band and formed Style Council with Mick Talbot. They are politically aware, a forceful, dynamic group who do huge benefit rallies for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. They encourage young musicians to play in a professional atmosphere. Most of the band are under 23, and Tracey Thorn is one of Paul Weller's discoveries as such. She also couples up with a guy called Ben Watts to form Everything but the Girl. Do you have any recommendations of women musicians we should listen for? Hopefully Tracey Thorn will develop more. She's the woman within the music scene that I'm most interested in because of the political content of what she writes and the fact that Style Council, are committed to non-sexist, non-racist forms in their 18 Kinesis July/August *84 Jmith >5j^*^ , • , • they lived in cit S^?,' becau*e their * July/Augusts Kinesis 19 —-~ kucii songs packed with subtle inspi£Sf| tailor-made f|JC*siip by the ^^^^^^ and reach the jEemale psyche dut in radio land. If onlv'wIi^iB*!»S!ls is a bon- re jam- messages ^^^ned ear by Connie Smith ^^^^^^^^^^^^ When I was a little girl, my favorite toy was an old radio antenna that I found near a pile of abandoned cars. It provided me with hours of entertainment, serving as my stand-up microphone, as I mouthed inaudible sounds to an imaginary audience, in the field behind my house. I wanted to move. I wanted to sing. I didn't have a clue how. As a teenager, I was lucky. I could live vicariously through my radio. Every night after the local station went off the air, I tuned in to the sounds of K 0 M A in Oklahoma City. And I learned very quickly that there were groups of singing girls out there. I don't remember if I knew that most of those girls were black or that . But I do remember they lived in cities. But I do remem that they made me feel and they made move and they made me want to try. Then, in what seemed like a moment, they were gone and this group of guys from England took over the world. But it was ■ too late. I already had the sickness. And the first time I heard The Beatles sing "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean", I thought what's the big deal. My mother must have agreed because she traded in her green stamp books and got me a guitar. I never achieved the stature of my dreams.. but in later life I had many good women t inspire me. There were the guitar playing women of heart and mind, the flamboyant gutsy singers of San Francisco psychedeli the great blues women who broke my heart yet built me up, and the women of the movement who redefined love and started their own recording companies. History has taken these women and divided them into categories: victims, radicals and stereotypes. Victims? Unfortunately, too many. Radicals? Every one of them. Stereotypes? Forget it. They did the best they could with what they could take. They all paid and it all paid off. Because one fine day, women went farther than they ever had be fore. Perhaps they were inspired by Fanny, The Runaways or Patti Smith. Perhaps nWb. Mo&fc likely, they -' ^^a^SrJane Owen (lead and wah wah guitar); g^^^M McKeown (lead vocals) j^Sanda Joyc< Joyce (al||||pax);"Penny Leyton (piano) replaced by Clare Hirst (tenor sax and kev- boards);^|p§ila Barker 'vppyr.hm and acoust |&|§^uitar); Lesley Shone (bass) ___,,____j$P||5|Bey had ti§ff||jp&ice. This brings me*-to the nea^afK&ject. Since the media fails to notice The Belle Stars' musicianship, you can imagine' how little is written abp^^^RCba^J's politics. Sarah-Jane, Stella, Judy.'.'Tenny and Miranda, along with Rhoda Dakar and'Nicky sons (drums). w!rf"nately' the Belle Judy Par- , • ~ - fernaps nzrv. MoWP likely, th&y warn »no\. tad many good women to ed by their om ^ire. But it happened. >e the guitar playing A somd emerged from ths punk movement i .nd, the -flamboyant _ Britain and it belonged to us. Francisco psychedelic,-—" rrr-: i \ b^fil vear old ArrJ \M T TheyVroke ^^'^U beauty I ground. They conventional I women who re3e g^gg ^"les «omen Egg ThS mn T^They6-?6 com- ■ pletely uns,f ..wfc nam> J themselves by fw* ... Men 5 th.emsel.ve* -* Men 1 vas too -*• "—\SSl~ "T^ these «~°0fal^ng the "'"f^ti-ty- mmms Ihey were <j ;way men did. . ^ was a cross between Palmolive (drums) replaced by Ingrid Weiss; Vicky Aspinall (violin, piano, acoustic guitar); Gina Burch (bowed bass, bass, guitar); Ana da Silya (guitar, hand drum, bass); Shirley O'Loughlln The Raincoats are a wonderful contradiction. Their music is clamourous, yet the women sing in perfect harmony. Their lyrics are powerful declarations of anger, but delivered without emotion. Whatever image this conjures up, one thing is clear. The Raincoats are a feminist band. Although Shirley O'Loughlin is technically their manager, she participates as a non-playing member of the group. All decisions are made collectively. Shirley carries them out. The women take turns singing and they trade instruments as much as possible. Having an all-female band has always been important to the Raincoats. However, when Palmolive left the group in 1979 to study tablas in India, they had a difficult time replacing her. Eventually Ingrid Weiss was incorporated into the group, but occasionally the women record with a male drummer. The Raincoats, like their sister Slits have tapped into that ancient female rhythm. But I swear some of their percussion is made from household objects. On their 1981 album Odyshape, I hear bicycle bells, water dripping and someone scraping a pan. No one is credited for these effects the album cover; nonetheless they are sounds that are all too familiar. Because the band has a political base, the women translate everyday experience into political questions. Again, they do it with nonchalance that when the lyrics surface, they sting. Their most deliberate attack comes in "Off Duty Trip", a song which tells the story of a soldier in Belfast who receives a minimal punishment for* committing a rape. The Raincoats do not mince words. They purposefully inject feminist principles into their operations and into their art. id Arri Up were % I of fi^een year old Ar lg_ «-^<-^xrs"id i "•iSS *s *****the" headed the door. md || % Von* <o»ale «£ £■£» TM£?i. '"deWea «l»olive O0°eie?e«e«ted The Mo-dettes. wtl up re6 Vi, ttteltme aoo a Polll" £lt, "ith 8»>-»2d ltte en? 8>«°e0"J- "l^s" W" Pal Sort—* el II ed vith ase.h an a»aor —| The SI"9 '"bet they never oo«P || Mle,ta^oV their o.iBiae^^_J| the legacy^ ^q-i ^S"^fi ,,.,_j,. Liie.oeue Stars seem to have more presspjjSan they had hits. This k is a reality for the majority of female W bands and a problem without a solution, ^ short of a full scale radio revolution'."*' '■ ■ Tlie most^alked about aspect of the Belle TM Stars is their appearance. They are inter- ^ esting looking and they like to dress up. W Some people might consider them cute. So cute, in fact, that there is gg£.need to M call.attention to their talent. The most talked about Belle Stars record- m ing is "Iko l^K^^a traditional New ^ Orleans call and response which was orig- | inally recorded by The Dixie Cups. The f Dixie Cups learned the song from their grandmothers so it definitely deserves a I place on The Women of the World's Great-' est Hits Album. But it is a safe song ; and using it as an example of Belle Star ' material ^£ves the impression that this seven-woman band is really a group of teenage singers. Had The Dixie Cups and »>jt|ji|Vjpther young singers of the early sixties received the respect they deserved, this comparison might not be so b; though The Dixie Cup* But that is written, so to write off 'ere not , band. iiSBBr*!*!*- " !,°Lh°?_,,7he history "book were k»*w ' Decomes a reasr •atibther^U-womeri group. ^^ . »*frf J English beauties pl»> african IS1 Summers were originally The Bodysnatchers, ^;^2l||irly threatening band that rose from / .jfie^lits/Raincoats deluge. Fellow musicians and movement members were hardpres- sed to''t^H'5he Bodysnatchers seriously. And then Rhoda Dakar wrote "The Boiler". This is one of the mas^p^rrifying songs I have ev^Sheard. A boiler is a deroga- jf^^^gotd used by men ^jpite music b^^- ■.£j$Qg$ijgr describe women. In this song, the boiler is raped on a date,, and the story ends with .piercing screams that never seem to end. The Bodysnatchers performed this ularly, alt^^|h they did not r However»|l|p,>'song was not lost. In October of 1980, the group broke over musical differences. Within five of the women ran " "■*"'*' name The Belle Sta: song reg- not record it. ..>,, »iuw- inde- ]tecorded "The Boiler with the group Special A.K.A, It's promotion was dubious -fKij^ the reaction was predictable. "The.Bo:^^*' was banned by the B.B.C. although disc jockey and music historian John Peal played it anyway. How many times,-;|piiSj|'*t know. In Vancouver, the CBC didn.'t do much better, However,k tKere^ was a twist. On one music program, the music producer and the host, both me^^^y were prepared to air the song. But 't|ifev^3 executive producer, who was a woman, would not agree. This is understandable, I suppose, considering "The Boiler" .■- shatters.everyone's illusions of safety. J The women of The Belle Stars axe-a.'t.y^^'^ afBsWS^®*^. - "r former incarnation, | obvious as the: they make their point > • • • < bu£- » • • • soul, new wave. A^gihey play it with^^B### in New Women in Rock, Delilah/Puti ^nst-inct and^kiU^wV;' must have something -to €o ity to have'babies. & the €xi$l£ of their St^rs wri although tht>v' ij^i_w_» ■ ■ I »_■_■.■_■ ■ i • • • » i* *************** 1 • • / • •-•-•-•»•••»•»•«•«•«•«•-.•'• ' '»• V / Debora Lyall (vocals); Peter ti '. \Jr^ tar); Benjamin Bossi (sax); Fi prrriri Woods (gui- *« ^^^ Frank Zinca- *« vage (bass); Larry Carter (drums and per-% cussion). « Perhaps one day this group will be called « Debora Lyall and Romeo Void. She is the ,« center, the singer, the lyricist and cat-,' alyst. Debora is also the spokesperson ,' and the one the media wants to get at ,' most. »' Debora is a poet and a graduate of the \ San Francisco School of Art. For years < she didn't believe rock and roll had any-< thing to say to her. Patti Smith changed « •'•'• •"•"• •"•"• •"•"• • •"•"• •'•"•"« all that. ,' When Romeo Void went to work in 1980, ", Debora chose as her mandate the difficul-* ties between women and men - particularly i in the bedroom mode. The response? On a ■ < good day, Romeo Void is described as a ' highly acclaimed dance-think combo. Gener-j' ally critics say Debora is pessimistic. m' Debora says realistic and the band sup- »' ports her point of view. •' Debora is also criticized because of her < weight. The more restrained rock writers < call her ample. And I've seen for myself ' .•.••••V.V.V.V.V.V.VtV.V.-.'c • •••••••••a************ • • • • •••••• ••••••••••»••« . peers.»-'SK'|felle*#*# majority of their" mat^SX* more ostg^liHNP.V Marian Lydbrooke (vocals, percussion, t lyrics, synthesizer); Rachel Melas (bass,> vocals, lyrics); Conny Nowe (drums); ', . . Elaine Stef (guitar); Bonnie Williams ', ^^^S.»*» (guitar, vocals, lyrics). ', To the casual observer in 1980, it might / have seemed that The Moral Lepers dropped* out of thin air. Where else but from ano-> ther planet could five women accumulate > over fifty years of musical experience *t between them. *t certain"; i^_ with-their abxl-VJ Their Vancouver history, alone, is worth diagramming. In the latter seventies, these women, in various configuration, played in The Visitors, The Courage of Lassie, Magic Dragon, Perfect Stranger, The Singing Cowboys, Junco Run, The Zel- • lots, Twin Twist, Rebel Planet and *'c Animal Slaves. Individually they made big*#| changes. Together they were pioneers, Their music displayed strong British roots, but when the mood suited themj they would switch into funk, hard rock or** something completely experimental. And • their lyrics were the stuff revolution is*( made of. »( The Moral Lepers were an intelligent, #* animated, hard working band. They were »' loved on the west coast, across Canada, #' and in New York. I'm certain they were • feared as well. The women stopped perform-* ing as a group th:Ls jrear. the crowd reaction at the Commodore when Debora rocked and strutted across the stage singing in her deep smokey voice about sex. Judging from the people aroundl me that night, unless a woman is under size eleven, she is supposed to keep her sexual feelings and opinions to herself. Naturally, Debora is not impressed. In a generous moment she said, "I feel I broaden their idea of what sexuality can be; of what kind of person can be attractive But in a more candid state she remarked, "What's it to me if some jerk can't get a hard-on." I"ll dance to that. ■THE SLITS Singles: Typical Girls Brink Style, I Heard it Through the Grapevine, Liebe and Romance, (September 1979), 12", Island, 12 SWIP 6505. In The Beginning There Was Rhythm, reverse by The Pop Group, (March 1980), reissued on Rough Trade, RT 039. The Man Next Door, - second version, (June 1980), reissued on Rough Trade, RT 044. Animal Space, Animal Spacier, (November 1980), Human HUM 4. Earthbeat, Begin Again Rhythm, (September 1981), CBS A 1498. Albums: Cut, (1979), Island, ILPS 9573. Untitled, (official bootleg retrospective), (1980), Y Records Y3. The Return of the Giant Slits, (1981), CBS, 85269. ■THE RAINCOATS Singles: Fairytale in the Supermarket, In Love, Adventures Close to Home, (January 1979), Rough Trade, RT 013. Animal Rhapsody, Version, No One's Little Girl, Honey Mad Woman, Rough Trade, RTT-153. Albums: The Raincoats, (1979), Rough Trade, ROUGH 3. Odyshape, (1981), Rough Trade, ROUGH 13. ■THE BELLE STARS Singles: Hiawatha, Big Blonde, (June 1981), Stiff, BUY 117. Slick Trick, Take Another Look, (July 1981), Stiff, BUY 123, Another Latin Love Song, Miss World, Stop Now, Having a Good Time, (October 1981), Stiff, BUY 130. Albums: The Belle Stars, (1983), Warner Brothers. ■THE BODYSNATCHERS Single: Let's Do the Rock Steady, Ruder Than You, (1980), Two Tone Records, CHS TT9. Albums: Soundtrack from the movie Dance Craze (Compilation), Easy Life, (1981), Two Tone Records. ■RHODA DAKAR Singles: The Boiler, Rhoda with The Special A.K.A., (1982), Two Tone. Also available on: This Are Two Tone (compilation album, (1983), Two Tone Records. ■ ROMEO VOID Albums: It's a Condition, (1981). Never Say Never EP, (415 Columbia) (1982). Benefactor, (415 Columbia, CBS), 1982. ■THE MORAL LEPERS Album: Turn to Stone, (1982), Mo-Da-Mu, MDM 6. In the past seven years, hundreds of all- women bands have formed, reformed, exchanged and dissolved. On a second front, women have united with sympathetic men in mixed groups which write and perform from a female point of view. Not all of these musicians consider .themselves part of a women 's community, but their music is saturated with a strong women 's consciousness. However, it's important to remember that there are an equal amount of women musicians working in isolation without any sense of history. Our popular culture has yet to acknowledge the contributions of women and act accordingly. Until this is done, each individual musician will have to repeat that tired old battle for recognition above and beyond the call of duty. We can help by repeating the stories of the thousands who have gone before her. Because they never really went away. Connie Smith hosts the Rubymusic show cm Co-op Radio, CFRO, 7:30 p.r 20 Kinesis July/August "84 Whafsnew in women's music? by Gayle Scott Plenty. This has been a busy year for musicians and songwriters of the female- identified persuasion. The support for women's music has grown at an incredible pace, as illustrated by the fact that there are no fewer than seven major women' music and cultural festivals being held across Canada and the United States this summer, and well-represented women's stages and workshops at most of the big folk festivals. For your home enjoyment, a fingertrip through the "Women's Music" bin at your local record or bookstore should yield something to satisfy the most varied in consumer tastes. In the past decade or so women's music has been on the scene as a specialized category addressing itself to the needs and concerns of listeners looking for something outside the male-defined and dominated industry. The genre has grown, from a few pioneering white middle- class lesbian acoustic folksingers who came out on record with a voice and a vengeance, to a wildly diversified and seasoned assort ment of musicians representing a broad sweep of cultural, ethnic, and musical backgrounds. There are numerous albums brimming with excruciatingly correct and current lyrics, guaranteed to get you revved up and out the door for your next political meeting; lively jazz and pop-rock excursions into the soggy realms of lesbian love and lust; lyrical accounts of spiritual odysseys, and mellow instrumentals suitable for soaking in the tub. There's even a live comedy album out by a woman who calls herself a "fumerist" which is to say, a feminist humorist. But let's start with the serious stuff. Redwood Records has released two Holly Near albums in the past year. The first, Lifeline, was recorded live in concert with Ronnie Gilbert, formerly of the Weavers. Holly and Ronnie together comprise two generations of politically outspoken singer/songwriters, each having contributed unabashedly to the poli-folk legacy of her time. In this album they sing out the history and heroism of people like Harriet Tubman, Sacco and Vanzetti, Stephen Biko, soldiers at the Gandeza front, migrant farmworkers of the dustbowl era, and Chilean political prisoners. One song, written and updated over the years by Holly, called "No More Genocide in My Name" manages to chronicle no less than twenty-one serious crimes and inhumane offenses currently being committed by the powers of Western Civili- For thematic relief there's a medley of vintage love songs like "People Will Say We're in Love" and "For Me and My Gal" which are teased into eliciting the contemporary ambiguity of sexual identity. If you hanker for a more straightforward approach to the obvious and germane, never fear. Holly has written "Perfect Night", romantic sketches of lesbian nightlife, in which, "All the rules are broken/They're not talking about the weather/A gentleman asks, "Are you ladies alone?"/They smile and say, "No, we're together." My personal favourite cut is a squeaky- cute song written by Ruth Pelham and sung by Ronnie, called "The Activity Room" which involves the conversations of some ambitious senior citizens foisting their plans for the day's recreational activities on their timid or reluctant partners. All in all, Lifeline is an enjoyable buffet of right- (that's left-) thinking songwriting performed with gusto by two women who possess a clear vision and strong grip on the ways and means of socially motivated music. Holly's newest album, Watch Out!, is a continuation of relevant musical entertainment in the service of social welfare. On this studio album Holly is accompanied by the stringband Trapezoid as she moves through her topical agenda denouncing the evils of poverty, oppression, warmongering, the nuclear threat, political imprisonment and torture, and child abuse ...to name a few. And if that isn't comprehensive enough to appease your political palate, there's Sweet Honey in the Rock's new release, "We All... Everyone of Us", on Flying Fish Records. Combining traditional folk music forms of the Black church and community with gospel, rhythm and blues, and jazz, all delivered in exquisite harmonies of soulful a capella, Sweet Honey never fails to provoke and surprise. Their previous album was called Good News. The latest album is a combination of news both good and bad. The good news is delivered via songs of active self-determination and coalition, such as "I'm Gonna Stand!" and the traditional "Study War No More." The bad news is that there's so much apparent struggle and hardship ahead, given the current state of things. But, as Bernice Johnson Reagon says in "Ella's Song,"..."Struggling myself don't mean a whole lot,/I've come to realize/That teaching others to stand up and fight is/ the only way my struggle survives/I'm a woman who speaks in a voice and I/must be heard/At times I can be quite difficult, I'll bow to/no man's word." I believe her. To see Sweet Honey in the Rock in concert is to be awed and inspired by the frank authority' and quiet dignity of these five Black women whose music, to quote Susan McHenry in Ms magazine,"pulls at you, demanding some deeper response, a more conscious commitment than applause." Listening to their albums allows for a steadily deepening appreciation of their work (en every sense) over time. And, if you thought you'd wrung dry the meaning and melody of Ferron's best-known song, "Testimony", Sweet Honey's version can elicit an entirely new response. Yet another version of "Testimony" (it has become something of an anthem in certain circles) can be found on Ginni Clemmens' new album, Lopin' Along Thru The Cosmos, also on Flying Fish. Ginni Clemmens is a real good ol' gal with a warm Southern smile who now lives in Chicago and sings, writes, and plays guitar with a big heart and a generous spirit. She calls this album "Songs for the human potential in us all," and it includes original material as well as cover tunes by Si Kahn, Peter Aslop, Amanda ("The Rose") McBrown, and an engaging rendition of Judee Sills' "Ladyo" accompanied by Kay Gardner on flute and featuring Miss Saffman's Ladies Choir on vocals. If you're in short supply of music that helps you feel good while scrubbing the kitchen floor, Ginni's gentle, upbeat tunes just might do the trick. Another artist lopin' along on a cosmic path is Meg Christian, whose new album on Olivia Records, From The Heart, is dedicated to Guruyami Chidvilasananda, who is also the subject of tracks such as "Darshan," which is Sanskrit for "being in the presence of a great being." In the decade since the release of her now classic first album, J Know You Know, Meg has remained one of the most interesting, witty, and self-revelatory voices in women's music. At a recent concert in California, where Meg seemed more expansive and self-assured than ever, someone remarked to me that she feared that since Meg had "gone religious" she'd forgotten how to write a good song. My interpretation of that comment was that Meg can probably no longer be counted on to titillate the senses of the more cynically inclined with woeful accounts of pitiful frustration and pain carved out of her earlier, less enlighte True, her current themes display a less sensational, more positive outlook, and isn't that the goal of most spiritual training? But Meg can still write beautiful music, and she's not above admitting wryly to the most human of foibles, as in "Living in the Moment", in which she says, "I'm always falling/For someone who's falling/In love with somebody/Who loves somebody else." Well, some things never change, no matter how much you meditate. One of the highlights of the 1982 Vancouver Folk Music Festival, for me, took place on a day stage when Jane Sapp, a young Black woman from Augusta, Georgia, sat down at the piano and in a voice rich with passion and determination, riveted July/August '84 Kinesis 21 everyone to the grass with "I'm Listening to What You Say (but I'm Checkin' What You Do)". Now Jane has released her first solo album on Flying Fish, called Take A Look At My People, (see album review, p. 31) which contains original material, including "I'm Listening..." as well as some traditional Black gospel songs. "The songs selected'"^ says Jane, "represent the roots and synthesis of my cultural heritage and my commitment to social justice. (They) celebrate and pay respect to people everywhere who struggle for peace and freedom." They also make for a fine debut album from a very talented singer. One of the most-listened to new albums in my women's music collection is Unexpected by Teresa Trull and Barbara Higbie on Second Wave Records, a subsidiary of Olivia Records. Teresa and Barb have combined their various production, musical, vocal, and songwriting talents to produce an album of mostly original material that skips smoothly from R&B and funk to mellow pop and romantic ballads. Teresa's famous 'white soul' voice is in command of all these forms. She does an exceptionally moving version of Carol Beyer Sager and Melissa Manchester's "Ruby and the Dancer." Barbara Higbie's 1982 Whydham Hill instrumental album with violinist Darol Anger showcased her sensitive piano and compositional skills. On Unexpected she reveals a lovely untutored voice that lightly hovers just this side of innocence. Her song "Sunken Gold" is a gem. Another entrant in the field of slick pop rock is Tret Fure, whose debut album, Terminal Holdwas just released, also on Second Wave Records. The sound on this album suggests a combination of Cris Williamson's music arrangements and Shari Ulrich's vocal style. Tret has been touring and playing electric guitar with Cris Williamson's band for the past while, so it's no surprise that Cris' influence can be heard. (Cris also co-produced the album along with Tret and engineer Leslie Ann Jones, and contributes.some piano and vocal work.) June Millington, another guitar-wielding pop-rock performer, has followed Heartsong, released in 1981, with Running, her second solo album on Fabulous Records. Rock her- storians will fondly recall June as the singer and lead guitarist of "Fanny", one of the first all-female rock bands to achieve prominence in the sixties. June and her sister, bassist Jean Millington, co-founded the band and toured extensively with Fanny while promoting four albums produced on Warner Brothers Records. June later dropped out of the rock scene to re-emerge in 1975 on Cris Williamson's legendary The Changer And The Change. Running is an upbeat blend of electric rock and R&B with lots of catchy tunes. Sister Jean plays bass and contributes back-up vocals on most of the tracks. Also featured are percussionist Vicki Randle, Mary Watkins on synthesizer, and Linda Tillery on background vocals. On the inner sleeve is a beautiful black and white photograph taken in Manila in 1949 of baby June, in the arms of her mother, a native Filipina, standing under the palm trees with eight of her mother's sisters and sisters-in-law. The picture is worth the price of the album. Meanwhile, on the Canadian front, the development and output of our own singer/ songwriters and musicians has been no less remarkable. Vancouver's hometown-girl- makes-good, Ferron, has released her fourth album on Lucy Records, called Shadows On A Dime. She has just completed a ten-week, 30-city concert tour to promote the album, which has been receiving unanimously rave reviews from audiences and critics everywhere. Considered to be one of the most skilled lyricists in women's music (while constantly being compared to Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Bruce Springsteen!), Ferron is best known for her achingly articulate tales of struggle and sorrow, and her chiseled excavations of personal relationships. Shadows On A Dime, her first album since 1980's Testimony, is about the pursuit of change within the limitations of destiny, and is her most accomplished and well-produced work to date. Produced with the help of Terry Garthwaite, the album 'ñ†features the work of several Vancouver musicians heard on Testimony, as well as some fine contributions from Barb Higbie, Adrienne Torf, Vicki Randle, Nena Gerber, and Mary Fettig. Kate Walter, writing in the Village Voice, says, "She plays with syntax, strings similes galore, turns everything into a metaphor, and somehow pulls this off in 1984 without sounding like a stilted '60s throwback. Her brooding, mystical lyrics come off thanks to her deadpan delivery and catchy arrangements - Ferron's clean guitar strummed over melodic bass lines and her judicious insertion of eerie violin, pedal steel and mandolin, jazzy sax, or wailing back-up vocals." Although Ferron has not played in Vancouver in a while, you can catch her Saturday night on the main stage at the Vancouver Folk Festival when she'll be closing the evening's performances with a five-piece band. If you've been listening and dancing to "Rise Up" or "Alienation" by The Parachute Club, a six-piece co-ed rock band out of Toronto, you've been listening to the words and music of (among others) Lorraine Segato and Lauri Conger, both veterans of the Canadian women's music scene. Lauri also lends her considerable keyboard talent to Heather Bishop's later album on Mother of Pearl Records, called I Love Women... Who Laugh. Heather is a down-home prairie woman who has been singing the praises, struggles, and triumphs of women and working people for many years. She has a warm, gutsy rhythm and blues style voice that continues to deepen and strengthen oyer time. Lately, Heather has begun writing her own material, and this album marks a significant step forward in her ability to claim and complement her own voice. I Love Women,..Who Laugh contains a progressive mixture of songs about friendship and freedom, songs promoting social awareness and responsibility, and of course, one or two about love won, lost, and traded in. If it's easy listening you're looking for - nice quiet music with no words at all to clog the brain, Marcia Meyer's Oregon Summer on Rana Records is just the album for you. Marcia is a Vancouver composer whose somewhat eclectic work swings easily from the festive to the pensive. The opening cut on the album "Cinq Canards sur L'eau" lists the instrumentation as "piano, violin, viola, cello, flute, oboe, vocals, ducks and friends on location from Stanley Park, Vancouver, and the birds from Lighthouse Park in North Vancouver." What more could you want? I find this album to be especially pleasant in the mornings when I'm open to being moved by music but not yet ready to listen to anyone's problems or messages. The album features some nice string and woodwind arrangements by Mary Watkins who also plays synthesizer on several cuts. Marcia herself plays the classical guitar and piano that sets the tone for most of the pieces. Enough music. If what you need now is a few good bellylaughs, it's time to put on Kate Clinton (or, let her put you on.) Kate has been cracking 'em up at the music festivals with her emcee schticks and doing concert tours out of upstate New York, honing her ribald feminist humour on gaggles of women in need of some witty, intelligent comic relief. Kate and her partner Trudy Wood have produced two live comedy albums on their WhysCrack record label. The first was Making Light, and now there's Making Waves. A former high school English teacher and "recovering Catholic", Kate illuminates the pratfall potential of fast foods, feminism, Catholic school slumber parties, lesbian-TV shows, women's music festivals, mastectomies and word processors. One of her favourite topics is "the new Feminist Man." Kate says, "Dustine Hoffman is a new Feminist Man, and the whole point of^^- the movie 'Tootsie' is that, whyv-men just make better women than women ever could. I think that, movie would have been completely different if just once Dustin Hoffman could have felt what it's like to sneeze and blow your tampon out about a quarter of an inch." As you might have discovered, not all of these albums are readily available in local stores. If you're having trouble finding them, there are several mail order options. One is Festival Records, 3271 Main Street, Vancouver V5V 3M6. You can call them at 879-2931 for a copy of their 1984 catalogue which lists many of these records. Another good source is Genevieve Productions, 2616 S. Judkins, Seatlle, WA. 98114, (206)324-1978. Genevieve carries most women's labels including many of the independents. They have continued on p. 34 22 Kinesis July/Augusts MYTHOLOGIES photographs by Michele Wollstonecroft IDEAS SACRED & PROFANE JULY 21-AUGUST 3, 1984 opening July 21, 8 p.m. 1310 Government St. Victoria Thurs.-Sat. noon-4 p.m. MacLeod'; |lg>f£ OLD 80GKS ART LITERATURE HISTORY CANADIANA H55 WEST PENDER VANCOUVER. PHONE 681-7654- Producing an album: Harder than you think by Marcia Meyer There were times in the past three years I wanted to throw my master tapes off the Burrard Street Bridge and say 'forget it' to this idea of making an album. Don't get me wrong - there were fun times during my last two album projects - but there were also a lot of unexpected challenges and twists of fate. Let me share with you some of the business of making a record. When a person decides to put out an album, from the moment of its conception, they are alone with that idea. In order to carry out that idea they must gain the credibility of others. So it was with me at the beginning of my two album projects. Think of it. There I was with a bundle of compositions (which I, my friends, and a few small and scattered audiences thought were wonderful) but so what! There are hundreds - even thousands - of musicians trying to tell us how wonderful we'll find their songs. It was not long before I realized that people were not going to be jumping for joy about my recordings until I proved myself competent. And along with trying to prove my competency. I had people (and my logical conscience) advising me against my backward marketing process. Market research? Not me - I just had faith in my music. Some of my friends were getting as excited as me - and that was enough to keep me going. My engineer once told me that in order for a musician to work well in the studio they have to hang their ego in the lobby with their raincoat before they enter the studio. It makes sense. If you want to do a good recording you have to accept the fact that, yes, you might be told "That's not good enough - do it again." There were times I wanted to push a pie in my engineer's face (and that's being polite!) for telling me, "I just don't think it makes the grade." (Although now when I listen to the final products I'm glad I had that "quality control" bug around). And an artist's ego doesn't necessarily find relief when it leaves the studio. Once the album is released, there are always critics in the media who love to trash records. You just have to pay your ego back into shapetand move forward again. I've always shuddered a little at the word responsibility. Maybe that's why it took me so long to fully understand the word producer. It's not easy for me to tell a musician I'm working with that perhaps they should try their part again, "playing a little sharper!" It's hard to accept the fact that friends are not always the best musicians for the job. Taking on a record project meant I had to learn to make decisions and quickly!! If all your musicians are in the studio and you're trying to decide whether a take should be done again - later at home is too late. If you find you have to do it again you will have to call all the musicians back, pay them again and pay for more studio time. I.had to learn to accept the role of producer and in doing so accept the responsibility for the final product. Once out of the studio and onto vinyl an . album own't do very much sitting in storage. The next logical step is to get as much media coverage as possible for it - and then perhaps it might sell. So I had Therapy links women • • • BECKWOMAM'5 "la 3T0REfRDWT ART >TUDhO-&lrT SWY >«? 0 CARDS + CWrrs I • Helium Sallooms 1 ?R£E LANCE ART WofcK- u gSgL ANYTHING MAPg IN CLAV-gfett/oufr [MUgft You were young and you suffered abuse At the hands of those who said they/ loved you So you hid, round the corner of your/ mind In a place where no one could find you -"Emma" Therese Edell "Women's Faces" Music has always, for me in my life, been the means and the way to my own self expression. Experiencing abuse as a child, believing in me was the hardest thing this woman child could realize. The moments in my life when music was there to hold me, to nurture me and to allow myself a means to express the pain, the loneliness and the joy of living were the moments when I truly lived and breathed. Women were preeminent in the creation of music and have been musicians since the beginning of civilization. Recent research and findings show more and more evidence that women were successful as musicians, as dancers, as singers, as composers, as healers. Greek legend states that women created music. The Muses, from whose name the term 'music' is derived, numbered three: Invention - "She who invents the words and musical phrases" Song - "She who sings" Memory - "She who remembers" Through remembering, through the words and musical phrases, women are singing. Women are recapturing their past, their hidden power. When they discover a truth about themselves, their world and their very being, it inspires them to create new truths, new energies, new strength. This is what the music of women today does for the woman of today. In the last few centuries, women have made great strides in gaining social acceptance in all fields, though women in the field of music are still largely subverted by social habit and prejudice. Female socialization and societal attitudes towards women combine to undermine women's abilities, opportunities and aspirations. Music is intimate with personal experience. Through my own experience, surviving life's crises, I have come to that intimate place, a place in my life where through the music and through my women friends, I can share in the skills that I have as a woman, as a musician, as a music therapist. The healing begins with the music. Music Therapy is the use of music to aid the physical, psychological and emotional integration of the individual, and in the treatment of an illness or disability. It can be applied to all age groups, in a variety of settings. Music has a non-verbal quality but offers a wide opportunity for verbal and vocal expression. The Music Therapist should be a well-rounded July/August W Kinesis 23 to force myself to contact specific media personnel. In order to get an interviewer, critic or producer to listen to your music you have to be persistent, especially if you're still trying to gain credibility. ^.Remember - there are thousands of musicians out there telling us about their wonderful music. Media people are very busy and their desks are usually crowded with hundreds of records daily. I have constant paranoic thoughts that my persistence may be teetering on the edge of bothersome. But having forced myself to be assertive and having drawn the line between that and irritating, I've managed to make quite a few rewarding contacts. Getting an album out of your basement and into the hands of the media means that you place yourself in the midst of the competitive world of the record industry, on both a national and international level. I found my little personal projects being held up beside big name record companies and artists, even though that wasn't my original plan. All this for the sake of gaining credibility! An album won't go very far unless the artist becomes known. This means performing. I have found that since my music is not exactly mainstream, the choice of places for me to play are relatively few. Often I have had to produce my own concerts where I try to set my admission prices at a minimum yet high enough to cover hall, sound and artists' costs. I've never even considered trying to recoup my advertising costs. (Still I sometimes get complaints about the cost of admission being too high. Expenses are expenses and halls with sound equipment don't come free.) And even after two albums, broadcasting coverage and extensive reviews in the local papers I am still grappling with, the feelings of not "being there" yet. Last, but not least, is the problem of money when one is recording. Fortunately I found a studio with good rates and I managed to do my projects in a highly unorthodox way - that is, over an extended period of time. Both of my projects were done at scattered times throughout the period of about a year. This makes it easier to pay the bills - they don't come in one clump! There are many ways to cut recording costs - four track home studios, direct to two track recordings. One friend had his album cut from a cassette recording he did at home on a four-track cassette machine. Another friend of mine put a black and white photocopied picture of himself on his album to cut his cover expenses. There are lots of ways to cut costs. There were also many great things that have happened to me since I began my recording endeavours. I've learned a great deal about recording and mixing, and about production and promotion. I've met a lot of fantastically talented people, and I was fortunate enough to find a great engineer/co-producer to work with. In taking on my own record projects I have been able to keep my artistic identity in a "Commercial AM Radio" dominated world. (And still gained some recognition for my work). I consider this an accomplishment . Marcia Meyer has produced two albums of her own work: Phases (1982), by Happy Onion Music, and Oregon Summer (1984) by Happy Onion Music and Rana • 11 with musical self musician with a broad musical background plus extensive preparation and experience in the behavioral sciences, counselling or psycho-therapy, working with groups, and educational methodology. Using my music as a means to grow, to change and to use that growth in a positive way is what brought me to my search for musicians who had also experienced through their own music, their own awareness of their talents, strengths and weaknesses - that ability to heal themselves and to take that ability to share with others. The search started for. me years ago and through that search, I lost sight of my purpose and goal, yet time and time again I would come back to that place where I knew music and I could share with others. That search brought me to Capilano College, where they have a two year diploma course offering the student indepth group experience and music therapy skills training. Music Therapists are trained to work in various settings dedicated to helping children and adults with special needs. They are involved with the intellectually impaired, the elderly, the emotionally and socially maladjusted, the terminally ill. They are found in large hospitals and institutions, private clinics, day care facilities, community mental health centres and the public school system. The Canadian Association of Music Therapists is an accrediting organization dedicated to the work of qualifying future music therapists in Canada. The present structure is young - in its tenth year - and the majority of the members are women. Music therapy can help to calm anxiety, stimulate body movement, promote spiritual growth, recall comfort and security, focus attention, feed the imagination, counter irritation and facilitate personal expression. It can also simply provide enjoyment and pleasure. Therapy is creating a relationship of trust and through that relationship growing and sharing and evolving, creating new relationships to self and to others. In my work and through the programme, I have learned many new skills. Through my experience as a woman, as a musician, as a lesbian-feminist, I obtain a perspective that allows me to continue in my growth. The second meaning of the Greek translation of the word therapy - "therapeia" - "attendance" - which means being present, stretching, giving heed to, looking after, listening to, waiting for, directing attention to and watching over the working of. This translation gives meaning to my work. My own life's experience gives concrete evidence for the music as being the therapy that has been present and attendant throughout. Music creates patterns and is a process creating images and symbols. Patterns of tension-build-up-release are so typical of life situations. The qualities of music are many and diverse. Through the use of improvisation (spontaneous creativity), rhythmic styles, or just in the listening for relaxation, a music therapy session can open us up to new experience. Allowing ourselves to respond freely to music will tend to generate less of the inner struggle and conflict that other methods of change might produce. ,1 cannot possibly share with you all that music therapy is to me. The emotional impact that music has had in my life and the skills I have learned in my life all combine to affirm my abilities, my aspirations, and the opportunity to share with others my experience, my vision. This summer I will be planning and facilitating workshops, as well as performing for the Northwest Women's Cultural event. Music will attend with me and though at times we separate, when She is with me, we are truly intimate and once again I live, I breathe, I sing. Yes, there are women, Yes, there is music and the therapy is in the holding, the sharing, the healing. Dis-covering self-rightness Dis-closing creative likeness Like times come before Still being...free "I Am" Donna Lee '83 24 Kinesis July/August ^ byPatDavitt For Grade, Grade and all of her group Bill Bennett and company, let them eat soup! But we can't afford brisket or even a bone So we'll make *em a soup out of pebbles & stones. (To the tune of "It's Organic" Words: Euphonious Feminists) ir''_ In the fall of '83, the women of WAB (Women Against the Budget) gave a luncheon at Grace MacCarthy's house. Hundreds of people flocked to the quiet, tree-lined Shaughnessy street to eat stone soup out of styrofoam cups and to attend yet another rally in the continuing fight-back against the Socreds' 1983 budget. The people came partly out of curiosity (so this is where Gracie lives, eh?) and out of political conviction and need. They were prepared, out of political duty, to listen to the usual roster of speakers recounting the familiar litany of horrendous legislation wreaked on the poor, the sick and the disadvantaged. Instead, people stood at the mikes and sang song after song, mostly written or rewritten for the occasion. People sang along. Then came the speaker, the one and only speaker: two minutes. Then more singing; people went away singing. Was this heresy, or political smarts? What the women who organized 'Luncheon with Gracie' had come to realize, through years of attending rallies and demos, is that speakers tend to be redundant, repetitive and ultimately boring. They tell us things we already know (or why would we be standing out there in the rain?), and each successive speaker feels compelled to say it again, lest pur memories can't span a 15 minute time period. What's worse, few have any talents at all at oratory. That's why music has it all over talk. With music, talent (while useful) is not mandatory. Boredom is seldom a factor. People feel good. Music: the universal panacea for the rally blahs! Why does it work? First there's the melody line. Think of the tune to "Gentle Angry People" (Holly Near) Without the words. The tune alone is enough to set you swaying, and that's before a single word is heard. "Solidarity Forever" Turn-te-Tum-te-Turn-te-Tum Turn: stately, confident, compelling. Music creates a mood or emotional tone quite apart from the words, and appeals to feelings that only the most brilliant orator can evoke. Now think about the words. You can say things directly and simply in song, repeat yourself a zillion times and still come away feeling exhilerated and satisfied. "Oh Sing and Fight no, you can't scare me, I'm sticking to the union/I'm sticking to the union/I'm sticking to the union/Oh no, you can't scare me, I'm sticking to the union/I'm sticking to the union 'til the day I die." (Union Maid; W. Guthrie) Moreover, the audience can become more than passive recipients of information, they become participants. Singing can promote involvement, especially if song-sheets are provided. The audience is then part of the action. Thus, music has the power to unify, to draw people into a shared centre called community. Music helps to define that community: those who know the words to Riverboat, or Union Maid ... or 0 Canada. Persons in authority recognize the value of music as an organizing and cohesive force. State and religious institutions have for centuries used music as a method of reinforcing ideology (theirs), encouraging group identification (I'm a Canadian; I'm a Baptist), and playing on the emotional needs of people to belong. Onward, Christian soldiers, marching off to war... Alongside the state sponsored singing there has always been a body of popular songs created by people to celebrate their lives, their drinking and their history; to reaffirm their community and to hint at, or to speak boldly of, their resistance to tyranny. These songs were often lively and immediate in their appeal, and authorities were not (and still are not) above out-and-out theft of popular culture. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, used popular songs to suit his own purpose; a noted hymm-writer, he appropriated the tunes from barrooms and ballads with the justification: Why should the devil have all the good songs? Thus, when we take a song such as "Travellin' On fo£ Are your clothes all patched and tattered Are you living in a shack? Would you have your troubles scattered? Then dump the bosses off your back. For 20 years at the beginning of this century, they were a singing crusade on behalf of the poorest, most exploited workers in America. Songs, you might say, transformed them, elevated them, organized them, united them, enthused them with hope and courage... They took popular songs and 'Starvation Army' hymns and turned the words inside out, sharpening them with a subversive irony. Even here, where life is so ordered and "safe", music can be a shield against the crazies and the violent ones. On the Muck- amuck picket line, where the Euphonious Feminists and NPQ sang for two years (every Friday night, rain or snow), the songs were often all that stood between us and the rumbling malevolence and mayhem of the scabs crossing the line. Despite the numbers of Friday night drunks and the weekend loony-tunes, there was not one violent incident while we were singing. Similarly, a potentially ugly incident at Red Hot Video provoked by a definitely ugly customer was defused (much to his bafflement) because we (the whole picket line) kept singing "Hang in there a little bit longer" and refused to stop so that he could speak. As angry as he was, he couldn't keep it sustained and focussed in the face of twenty singing people. The man, and the trouble, departed. It is presumptuous, perhaps, to compare these skirmishes to wars of liberation and oppression happening around the world but the underlying principles apply. The battle for social justice, for unions, for equality here in North America is a class war, a gender war and a race war that must Jesus" and end up "Travellin' on towards union" instead, we are following in hallowed footsteps indeed. The people who reversed John Wesley's musical piracy par excellence, and wove music firmly into North American trade union.life, were the "Wobblies", members of the International Workers of the World (I.W.W.). They told their members: "Right was the tyrant King who once said, 'Beware of a movement that sings'...Whenever and wherever the oppressed challenge the old order, songs are on their lips.l The I.W.W. took popular and religious songs of the day and transformed them into biting social criticism... "Dump The Bosses Off Your Back" by John Brill (Tune: 'Take It to the Lord in Prayer') Are you poor, forlorn and hungry? Are there lots of things you lack? Is your life made up of misery? Then dump the bosses off your back. be fought with every weapon we have. In that long and continuing struggle, music is one of our most effective tools for unifying and focussing our forces, and for sustaining ourselves mentally, emotionally and physically until we win. That's why the Wobblies told people to "Sing & .Fight!" If we all stick with our sisters and our brothers We're gonna win this fight Ain't no way they can ever keep us down. Footnotes: 1Edith Fowke & Joe Glazer, Songs of Work and Freedom. N.Y.: Doubleday & Co., 1960 From the Introduction, p. 7. ^Leon Rosselson, "Tune in to silence". In New Socialist, .1984 (May/June)pp.60-61. Pat Davitt is a city worker, member of VMREU and of the Euphoniously Feminist and Non-Performing Quintet. In her spare time she harasses cats. July/August '84 Kinesis 25 Sweet Honey in the Rock Sweet Honey reaches back into the fields and onto the auction block, and forward by Connie Smith One dark summer night, with only the north star to guide her, a young slave woman left her quarters and walked to freedom. In the north, she joined and inspired the Underground Railroad. And she returned to the south at least fifteen times to conduct hundreds of fugitives, including her own family, to safety. Despite the $40,000 bounty on her head, Harriet Tubman said she felt no fear. And as she travelled the back country at night, she signaled her people with a song. GOTTA MAKE THIS JOURNEY (1983) 59:55 Produced by Michelle Parkerson Directed by Joseph Camp Edited by Fran Ely There was another summer night, nearly one hundred and thirty years later, when five black women stood in a field before six thousand. Only on this night, our races were integrated. No one was hiding and no one was afraid. Then the moment came when these women signaled us with a song. Every woman who ever loved a woman, you you ought to stand up and call her name. These are the changes we mark by time. It was the Michigan Women's Music Festival in 1978. And such is the power of Sweet Honey in the Rock. Sweet Honey's acappella music is deeply rooted in the civil rights movement of the 60's. Bernice Reagon was one of the original Freedom Singers. But Sweet Honey reaches back into the fields and onto the auction blocks of the slave era, and forward to include feminism and the issue of nuclear sanity. Their music is for all people who care about the quality of human life. Sweet Honey began in 1973 at a Black Repertory Theatre Company workshop, in Washington D.C. under the direction of Bernice Reagon. Over the years, there have been eighteen different members in the group. The current singers, Bernice Reagon, Ysaye Barnwell, Evelyn Harris, Aisha Kahili and Yasmeen Williams, have been together since the late 70's. A sixth member, Shirley Childress Johnson, signs their music for the deaf. Sweet Honey has recorded several expertly produced albums. But for me, nothing has come close to that first hand experience. At least, not until now. In 1978, Michelle Parkerson worked as a production co-ordinator on Sweet Honey in the Rock's second album, B'lieve I'll Run On, See What the End's Gonna Be. She knew then she wanted to make a video. In the spring of '82, Michelle submitted a to include f emi- nism and the issue of nuclear sanity. proposal to WETA-TV's Minority Producer's Laboratory competition. The ten-page proposal took a week to write, including Michelle's resume and budget requirements. And she submitted a copy of her celebrated 1980 film, But Then She's Beity Carter, a documentary on the singer's thirty-two years in jazz. Two months later, Michelle was awarded $30,000, less than half of what she had originally asked for, (and still less than Harriet Tubman's bounty). Michelle pressed for more funding from other sources and began shooting. After a few months of production, she was able to pay herself $600 a month, hardly a living wage, but a fact of life she accepted. On January 14, 1983, the video was finished. Michelle was able to retain the copyright for her project. But WETA received exclusive premiere rights, as well as pay TV and cable rights within the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan viewing area. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, who contributed extra funds, and PBS, own the domestic pay TV and cable rights for the next three years. Should Journey be transferred to film, DPB will receive half of all theatrical receipts. Michelle's reward will never be financial. But Gotta Make This Journey won the blue ribbon at the 1984 American Film Festival. Michelle's format is straight forward; concert footage, personal interviews and cameos by significant others. The performance segments were filmed in 1982 at Sweet Honey's ninth anniversary concert at Gallaudet College, Washington D.C.'s noted school for the deaf. The audience is responsive. The sidebar portraits are intimate conversations. The women are filmed in their homes, at school and at work. Ysaye counsels abused children. Yasmeen is studying law. Aisha practices self- defense. And with complete clarity of purpose, each woman recounts her personal experience and philosophy which led her to Sweet Honey in the Rock. The significant others whose comments punctuate the messages of Sweet Honey are activists themselves: Angela Davis, Alice Walker, Holly Near and Dr. Ben Chavis, Jr. of the Wilmington 10. They place the group in a historical context. Holly Near believes Sweet Honey's music expands perceptions. She says, We cannot assume all women are the same." For Alice Walker, nine years of Sweet Honey in the Rock means nine years of consciousness. The journey ends down by the riverside. And as Bernice Reagon leads the audience into the parting lyrics, I ain't gonna study war no more," lines dissolve. A very diverse group of people rise together. It is a familiar image to anyone who has taken that first step to freedom. Hopefully, viewers of Gotta Make This Journey will be inspired to start walking. THERE REALLY IS A COMMUNITY LOVERS SEARCHERS MOVERS INTO LIFE FIGHTERS AND BUILDERS OF A PLACE WHERE MILITARY MACHINES, HATRED OF WOMEN, ABUSE OF CHILDREN, HOMOPHOBIA, SOCIETAL MALE 'ñ†SUICIDE, RACIAL BIGOTRY, STARVATION, WORK THAT KILLS AND CRIPPLES, SOCIAL ORDERS DRIVEN BY GREED, THE USA INVADING WHOEVER ... THIS WEEK WHERE THIS DYING AND ACTING OUT OF FEAR, ANGER, AND TERROR WILL FIND NO FEEDING GROUND I WANNA BE THERE niscogranhv Sweet Honey in the Rock (1976) Flying Fish Records B'lieve I'll Run On, See What The End's Gonna Be (1978) Redwood Recrods Good News (1980) Recorded live at the All Soul's Church Unitarian, Washington, D.C. Flying Fish Records We All...Everyone of Us (1983) Flying Fish Records Video Information Gotta Make This Journey is available for rental in Vancouver at IDERA, 2524 Cypress, (738-8815). 2*Ktaeas * y/AufosfM I ARTS by Jill Pollack "It all looks so familiar but when you investigate it, it is a different culture • - it is no culture, yet, just a million beginnings." (Laslo Moholy-Nagy) "The unconscious is something which is volcanic in tone and yet you cannot do anything about it. You had better be its friend, or accept it, or love it if you can, because it might get the better of you. You never know." (Louise Bourgeois) Photography by Cheryl Sourkes images that challenge perception and depict the world in another way. Her photographs have always been intense, powerful and complex. They have, predominantly, incorporated multiple imagery within a black and white format. She extends her photography with the inclusion of images gleaned from books and utilizes numerous techniques from photogramme to the Kodalith (negative image) process to Evoking ritual from the routine For the past fifteen years, Cheryl Sourkes has dedicated her time to art-making. In an almost single-minded fashion, she has been developing her photography, from concern to concern, series to series. Until recently, Sourkes had not been given recognition or support from major arts institutions. Up to now, she had not, unfortunately, received the critical acclaim she certainly deserves. That situation has started to change and her work was included in the Vancouver Art Gallery's exhibition, Art and Photography (May 11 to June 24, 1984). Amazingly, out of ten artists, three were women: Sourkes, Chick Rice and Marion Penner Bancroft. Before that show, Sourkes exhibited at Women In Focus (the two Woman to Woman shows), the Blue Mule and Coburg galleries, and at the Western Front. Sourkes has lived in Vancouver for seven: teen years, moving from Montreal where she had attended McGill University. She has always been interested in exploring aspects of consciousness (or, as she says, "the psyche or the soul") and first searched for a jwers while studying the Behavioral Sciences. It was not until she picked up a camera, however, that the means of research and communication became clear. For her, photography became another way of getting at consciousness". It was through the use of photography that she was most successful in presenting mark-making. In her newer pieces, words (language) play an increasingly important role. And what were once images extended to the borders of the print are now images floating in a sea of black. These developments, changes, and extensions in her photography reflect the maturation of her analysis. Although her work has presented multiple layerings of interpretation, it now depicts refined comparisons and contrasts which rely upon the juxtapositioning of historical and contemporary references. This recurring approach of presenting images from disparate cultures is used to exemplify the similarities and the differences between who we are and where we came from. Sourkes' thesis is dependent upon the concept of a cyclical time line - history repeating itself while simultaneously extending itself. Patterns of living and thinking, motives, and methods are placed side-by-side within the context of each photography. Sourkes points out at the same time as merely presenting. However contradictory this may seem, it does enhance her intention to allow the viewer to perceive the connections she is drawing while deciphering for themselves and according to their particular life experiences, the meanings held in each photograph. She renders this dichotomy effectively through her awareness and manipulations of gf^^ ~^'^ ' llr*L. Wr - 'life. I Mil €!§§r • Ply TM m *My i i mm BR [■ -mm P^llf [ 4 WKm jwi£& : 1 •' 'vJmt L-JW^-" two ways of seeing. Sourkes believes that we are capable of perceiving both "the gazing/dreamlike and the rational modes". That is, we see the information presented and rationally determine its function (ie. words and their literal meaning, a structure and its literal meaning, etc.) Concurrently, we perceive the images on an emotional, psychological level (the feelings evoked by the images.) Together they produce a "complete resonant moment." Together we acknowledge and feel each work. In advertising, there is a tendency to use repetition, especially in jingles. The desired effect is to sing or say words over and over until they become lodged in the brain, inducing one to buy the product. Connections are supposed to be made; when one either hears/reads the words or sees the product, one is supposed to remember all the good things that Will happen if the product is purchased. Lasting relationships will form, financial success will be gained, popularity (therefore happiness) will be achieved. The key is the connection between product and result. Sourkes makes connections, strong ones, using these same types of techniques, but with a different aim and result. Advertising is based on exploiting weaknesses and fears, promising improvement through material acquisition. Sourkes induces thinking and consideration, She is saying that it is alright, indeed good, to assess that which we are faced with, to look closely and analyze ourselves without fear of reprisal. She is saying that we can only gain from exploring how we feel. which promotes greater self-awareness. She repeats techniques, not in order to encourage acceptance but to allow learning. She incorporates the printed word with images, as does advertising. She manipulates each overall piece with a central idea in mind, as does advertising. In a sense, she 'sells' the idea of taking responsibility for one's thoughts and actions, be they outside the generally accepted viewpoints or not. Consider, for example, an advertisement for a car with a partially-clad woman standing near it. We are given to understand that not only is the car 'sexy' and by purchasing it, we will achieve 'sexiness', but the ad promotes women as the 'prize' for buying it. Sourkes' photograph, Grave Slab at Kivik also presents fundamentally different images within the one work in such a way that they act as a unit and evoke an idea, almost a promise, of a better life. Fortunately, in the case of Sourkes' work, a better life is defined by the individual rather than by the pat- riarchally-dominated ideology. In this work, Sourkes has placed three images side by side. On the far left of the piece is an aerial view of an urban, semi-industrial looking scene with people in costume. The middle is an historical representation of a grave slab at Kivik. On the far right is a house, with a second storey door leading nowhere. continued next page Grave Slab at Kivik, by Cheryl Sourkes Jill Pollack is a free- arts reviewer, and to Kinesis. lance curator and contributor July/August W Kinesis 27 . On a purely, abstract level, there is a repetition of shape and line. The house is reminiscent of the grave stone which is reminiscent of the road in the urban scene. There are similar tonal qualities present in the three images as are vertical lines. In other words, there is a compositional reflection in each image, which allows a sense of symmetry (calmness) to emerge. This photograph, like all: of Sourkes', has an aesthetic 'neatness', a feeling of safety, despite the other emotional implications/readings possible. In effect, she is saying that it is alright, indeed good, to assess that which we are faced with, to look closely and analyze ourselves without fear of reprisal (either from ourselves or others). She is saying that we can only gain from exploring how we feel. It then comes as somewhat of a surprise to note the individual implications of each image. People in costume, a grave marker, a door leading nowhere. The first evokes the facade we tend to adopt, the multiple ways we hide ourselves from ourselves and others. The second signifies death and the end of something. The third depicts futility. They are bleak images, ones that exemplify existence rather than living. Yet I believe that Sourkes' intention is a positive one. Each of those images ,also contains a 'flip side', a more hopeful viewpoint. In the image where people are in costume, it is apparent that they have done so joyfully and with full knowledge of their actions. They chose to wear the costumes and did so in a celebratory manner. Although it could be said that to elect to adopt a facade is a sad comment on our world, it could also be stated that it is an opportunity to play, to express creativity. The grave slab depicts figures and clubs. At the same time as marking death, it acts as a rite of passage, an homage to the life which has now ended. Graves are a reminder or eulogy to life - they stand as the fact of existence. The door in the image of the house, if opened, would lead to empty spaces. It is a universal symbol for hopelessness. But just as death can signify birth, so too can the door represent new, as yet unexplored, possibilities. Sourkes' ability to render the contradictory interpretations held within a single image simultaneously is carried over to her inclusion of historical and contemporary references. She uses these references in two ways: firstly, as metaphors and secondly, as a means of comparison. Alle- gorically, it is unimportant whether the viewer is familiar with the reference, either historical or contemporary, because as she says, "I choose images which in and of themselves convey their meaning." In some works, such as Grave Site at Kivik,, she has included one line of type which does place the reference in a specific time and culture. If the viewer wants, she/he can research the history of the reference. But even if the viewer does not look further, the intention is conveyed. We know that it is not a contemporary grave slab. We know it is from a different culture that, in all likelihood, held both a different social organization and a different value system. We can draw cer tain conclusions with the information presented just as we can when presented with the image of a modern house. We do not know who lived in the house, what they were like or if they were happy. We can, however, assume or imagine their situation, personalities, etc., if we want. We can look up Kivik in a book and learn more about it, if we want. Sourkes would be pleased to find that her photographs induced us to search for further information, to want to know more. She believes that "it is really exciting to be given a key to a whole other place that you didn't necessarily know even existed until you stumbled on some piece of it, some archaeological remnant." Sourkes goes on to say, ''there are a whole lot of people who I am in a conversaton with. Some alive, some dead, some who I know, others who I read about, who are all creating or have been creating another kind of culture." When we view her photographs, we become another participant in that conversation, and we are better for Inside an election by Linda Grant It's like breaking a dream. There's the endless cups of coffee, the lists, the camaraderie, pounding the pavement, the doors slammed in your face, the invitation in to talk. And then the mounting tension building up to defeat, tears, driving home tanked up on beer wondering what the next four years is going to be like. Little Mountain, An Election from the Inside, directed by Debbie McGee, produced by Cineworks. 16mm colour. 27 minutes, 50 seconds. A year later, in a screening room, you feel as if you're laying old ghosts to rest. Days of optimism are filtered through memories of the budget, of Solidarity, of strikes and sellout. I remember walking out in the streets the morning after the 1984 B.C. provincial election and feeling surprised that there were no tanks in the str ets. I'm watching a new film, Little Mountain, An Election from the Inside. For so many of us the Little Mountain campaign had a special meaning: to defeat Grace McCarthy, Minister of Human Resources. The film is an account of the election campaign process - that is, the way the organizers work to convince the electorate of their policies and how they bring out the vote on election day. It's all recognizable: the old-timers who have worked on election campaigns for years; the newcomers who are doing it for the first time. Director Debbie McGee had worked as an organizer on NDP campaigns and had revelled in the mix of people that she met. A year and a half ago she thought that an election campaign would make a good subject for her first film. She hoped that by showing, from the inside, the day-to-day energy behind the campaigning, that viewers would themselves become involved in future elections. Already the North Vancouver School Board has bought one copy of the film and the Canadian Labour Congress has purchased two. Because Debbie has deliberately focussed on ways in which the Little Mountain campaign is archetypal of all campaigns, whether federal, provincial or municipal, there is a better chance of ensuring wide distribution. As such, the film is an excellent educational tool, particularly for a non-politi- cal audience. For the politically active, particularly those involved in the last provincial election, the film may be disappointing. Completely absent are the issues which made that election in that riding a focus of attention all around the province. Hundreds of people from all over Greater Vancouver flocked to work Little Mountain because they wanted to "knock off Gracie". The apolitical nature of the film weakens it. Take the politics out of an election and you are left with a ghost. People move through tension, energy, anger and defeat but the film does not tell us what defines and impels their actions. It's rather like eating a meal without the benefit of taste- buds. Even the candidates are deliberately downplayed. Gracie herself is never seen and referred to only.once. I admire Debbie's determination to make a film that will be seen by a broad audience, rather than the inner circle of the Left. I think that it's important that school kids get a chance to see the electoral process from the point of view of the working class. But it would be nice if those kids could know exactly how much that defeat cost us. (This film is available from: Canadian Filmmakers Distribution West, Suite 1, 525 West Pender, Vancouver, V6B 1V5, (604) 684-3014, or, Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre, Suite 204A, 299 Queen St., West, Toronto, M5V 1Z9. (416) 593-1808. Linda Grant co-ordinates Kinesis book reviews, and is a member of the editorial group. 28 Kinesis July/August'84 ARTS by Linda Hale June 30 - July 3, 1983 - that's when the first' Women and Words Conference was held at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. If you were among the 700 or so. women who were there, you will remember the wonderful energy and the richness of the offerings. Perhaps the memory of Pol Pelletier's spellbinding performance of Les Vaches de Nuit by Jovette Marchessault still moves you. Or maybe it is Joy Kogawa's reading from Obasan that has stayed with you. Or Margaret Atwood's reading from Murder In the Dark that convulsed the audience with laughter. No doubt you have your own favourite recollections from among the 44 workshops. It was certainly an impressive occasion - inspiring and enriching to hear women from across Canada, Francophone and native, East Indian and lesbian, publishers and poets, . journalists and teachers. The Conference was recognized by the larger community to be the event that we who were in attendance knew it was. Among the extensive media coverage subsequent to the Conference was an article in the Globe and Mail (December 31, 1983) citing it as one of the most important cultural events of the year. So, what's happened as a result of all the energy and enthusiasm that the Conference stimulated? Where is Women and Words at, one year later? Good news: Toronto women are presently organizing the next Women and Words Conference to be held in that city in 1985. And the Society itself is growing. There are members nation-wide and autonomous Women and Words groups currently meeting oh a regular basis in Victoria, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and St. John's. Two rural areas have contact persons: the Gulf Islands and the Kootenays. A Task Force was established at the Annual General Meeting, held January 27-29, 1984, to propose a structure for a national organization that will co-ordinate the activities of the regional groups. The head- office of this organization will change locations every two years, to coincide with the site of the next conference. And there are plans to publish a newsletter to facilitate communications across the country. Concurrent with the planning for the first Conference was a project to compile an anthology of previously unpublished women's work. This project is nearing fruition. The Anthology (a title has yet to be chosen) will be published by Harbour Publishing this fall. This is the first bilingual anthology of women's writing in Canada; about 30% of the material is in French and the rest in English. There are 81 different contributors, some well-known to Canadian audiences and others appearing for the first time in print. Most of the material is poetry or One year later Women and Words fiction; there is also one essay, one excerpt from a play and one performance piece. The completion of this ambitious undertaking will be marked by an Anthology- launching party sometime this fall, an herstoric event not to be missed. There are going to be second and third Women and Words publications too. A selection of the papers and talks presented at the Conference is going to be published by Longspoon Press in the spring of 1985. There will be approximately 48 contributors, with material chosen to give as broad a representation from the Conference Proceedings as possible. There are plans to include both pictures from the Conference and a resources section, listing women's' bb^fkstbtes and preSs¬•s,r ' etc. This publication will include anglophone women's contributions and francophone work in translation, a decision that was influenced by the fact that Les Editions de la Pleine Lune, a feminist press in Montreal, is planning to publish concurrently its own selection from the Proceedings entirely in French, with anglophone women's work translated into French. If you don't want to wait until next spring for the conference material to appear in print, there are twelve different tapes of the Conference and panels available from the Women and Words office at a cost of $10 each. On the local level, women in Vancouver have turned most of their energies (gratefully) away from the administrative and organizational tasks imposed by a burgeoning membership, and towards more informal gatherings with a literary focus. This spring, monthly business meetings have been replaced by regular monthly events. We have been entertained and moved by excerpts from novels, prose, monologues, stories and poetry at readings given by local Women and Words members. Not only have these been very pleasant social occasions, they have also been opportuni ties for us all to share the work that talented local women are producing. Because of our limited financial resources (we are not receiving any outside funding at the moment), these events have not been widely advertised. But more are planned for the fall and there are plans to extend the focus of these evenings to include issues of interest to women more generally. So if you're a member of Women and Words (or would like to become a member), and would like to be notified about these monthly events, phone the Women and Words office (87208014) and ask to be placed on the phone list. During the summer, there are eight one- day workshops planned: The New Diary Workshop: Brig Anderson, Saturday, July 14. Discover creative and therapeutic ways of keeping a diary to increase your self-awareness, capacity for intimacy, intuition and imagination. So You're a Writer - Now What? Carolyn Zonailo, Sunday, July 15. How to break into print - how to market your work - how to gain wider recognition - these are concerns for both published and unpublished writers. The workshop will include an overview of literary markets and consideration of individual manuscripts. Finding Your Voices. Joan Haggerty, Saturday, July 21. This workshop is for women who have a strong urge to write but who feel their work is held back by inner conflicts and/or lack of technique. Computers & Writers: a Good Match? Rochelle van Halm, Sunday, July 22. This workshop will look at the ways in which writers can use computers in their work. Using your Unconscious. Julia van Gorder, Saturday, July 28. An introduction to Jungian psychology which will include a self-test to help you determine whicjvffjfe* tj four functions (thinking, feeling, sensation, intuition) you tend to over-use in your writing and your life. Autobiography. Jamila Ismail, Sunday, July 29. auto bio graphy (greek) own life write (english) writing one's own story, the word ability of one's life. Writing Home. Elizabeth Fortes, Saturday, August 11. The immigrant experience confronts us with the awareness of inner transitions. In this workshop we will share, explore and enlarge some discoveries of our identities in transition and understand how to convey them. Storytelling. Mary Love May, Sunday, August 12. This workshop is designed to raise conscousness about the importance and accessibility of storytelling and to explore the possibilities for storytelling in our individual lives. All workshops will be limited in size, and pre-registration is required. Fees are $15 per workshop for members in good standing (1984 dues paid) and $20 for non- members. Please call the Women and Words office (872-8014) for complete information about each workshop, for pre-registration deadlines, for information regarding membership and negotiable workshop fees for unwaged and underemployed women. Women and Words is alive and well. Not only are we looking forward to the 1985 Conference in Toronto and an opportunity to get together nationally, but we're happily discovering the wealth of talent in our midst locally. And there are more exciting events in the works for the fall. Leave some space in your calendar for the following: -regular monthly Women and Words events/-Anthology-launching party/ -more workshops on feminist research, writing poetry, feminist use of language, writing short stories, using your journal as a resource. July/August'84 Kinesis 29 ARTS Northwest Women of Colour Revolutionary writing and art oneself, who made oneself possible, are ingrained in one 's flesh and blood and brain as much as the whorls of the hand or the scar on my lip from being backhanded by my father as a child. " The second part of Gathering Ground contains excellent critical and creative prose: Mayumi Tsutakawa's introduction which discusses the concept and reality of community for women writers of color: Evelyn C. White's essay on Frances E.W. Harper; Yvonne Yarbro-Bejarano's The Image of the Chicana in Teatro; and Dorothy LaigoCordova's Pinays-Filipanas in America. Two stories by native Indian women, Debra C. Earling and Kathleen Shaye Hill, highlight this segment as well. The Yellow Dress is an excerpt from a novel-in-progress, It is a short but devastating portrait of a mother and daughter locked into a battle created by outside forces. Perma Red is a slow moving story which softly vibrates with the grief and despair o£ a woman who loses her mother. J.T. Stewart introduces the last section, which deals with the cultural awareness of women writers of color, their relationship to the world at large and the smaller world defined by color. Stewart's short story The White Horse Cafe dramatizes, with stark images, some of the ideas she presents at the beginning of this segment. Stewart's GATHERING GROUND New Writing and Art by Northwest Women of Color. Edited by Jo Cochran, J.T. Stewart and Mayumi Tsutakawa 187 pages. Seattle: The Seal Press, $6.95 U.S. by Cy-Thea Sand The anthology may be the most revolutionary of literary genres, giving us as it does a tapestry of individual experience from within a framework of collective awareness, experience and purpose. Special issues of journals as well as independent collections of short fiction, poetry, critical prose, personal narratives, book reviews and letters, are trademarks of the progressive publishing we know as feminist, lesbian, Marxist or Third World. Gathering Ground: New Writing and Art by Northwest Women of Color is a recent example of this genre as well as of the kaleidoscopic, frenetic creativity which is nudging, pushing and erasing the traiditonal lines of North America's literary establishment. Divided into three sections - We Cannot Wait To Be Discovered, I Am Going to Talk With Them About Their Daughters, and In Order To Survive - Gathering Ground celebrates and records individual psyches, cultural heritages and the relation between vision of a Black woman's struggle with women of color and their communities. the smaller world defined by color reminds As Jo Cochran writes in her introduction me of Virginia Woolf's concept of moments to Part One: of being, when one's consciousness takes 'Because as long as I, or other women writers of color, cannot uncover who we are, we remain fragmented and not connected to ourselves and other women of color, and all women. Thus we remain separate from our true power. This true power being a strong, growing sense of self, culture and community which can help us take action against radsm, sexism, homophobia and other systems of oppression that the white male sodety has created to keep us in our place. Part One features an interview with the three editors of Gathering Ground who discuss some of the problems facing women writers of color. One of the most impressive features of this dialogue is the concern expressed for other writers - potential, would-be and serious - from women who are themselves just beginning. J.T. Stewart talks about how pluralistic the lives of most women writers of color are and how that can work for and against them. Alternatives to the academic route to serious writing are discussed as well as the relationship between writers and their communities. One of the most powerful poems in this section is Charlotte Watson Sherman's These Women Only Look Crazy, which dramatizes the insidiousness of the creative spirit being cut up by poverty, neglect and oppression. Sherman bears witness to the humanity and complexity of anonymous street women, reminding us how difficult the creative life is for most women to maintain. *^^^% A letter from poet Kathleen Reyes, included in this section, outlines Reyes' exploration of her Mexican heritage. Her last sentence lyrically focuses in on a major theme of Gathering Ground: "I believe that the people who went before from Gathering Ground, by Amy Nikaitani in the various fragments of one's life with a shock of recognition. Virginia Woolf believed that one"s personality is a finely tuned mechanism, sensitive as a seismograph to the slightest vibration in the sodal environment, and hence volatile like the flux and multiplidty of experience to which it is Rebecca's experience with what Stewart calls "betrayal games" - her assimilation into white academe at the cost of her integrity - is examined with an almost ruthless honesty. Rebecca is paralyzed upon entering an all white restaurant and is saved by a brother, a kindred spirit, and her own identity. She is only temporarily frozen by the harsh environment racism creates, creates. One of the most rewarding aspects of progressive anthologies is the publishing - side by side- of both experienced and novice writers. In this third section of Gathering Ground, Doris Harris' first published piece appears, Who Will Braid My Hair Today? , as well as an interview with and poetry by Colleen J. McElroy, the first Black woman to become a full from Gathering Ground, by Cecilia Conception Alvarez Professor at the University of Washington. Harris' memoir is poignant, a lovely tribute to her beloved grandmother who was an astute observer of the oppression of her people. Also in this section is Mayumi Tsutakasa's A Chest of Kimonos - A Female Family History,so. article Mien and Bmong Women's Textile Work', and poetry by Carletta Wilson, Yvonne Yarbro-Bejarano and Jo Cochran. Art work by Pacific Northwest women of color is presented as well, including the stunning drawings of Amy Nikaitani. In her introduction to the second section, Mayumi Tsutakawa outlines some major obstacles for women writers who identify as part of the large Third World Community: ...Lack of time, lack of money, lack of appreciation for the artistic, along with undisguised sexism, create tall barriers that keep women of color writers in the Northwest and elsewhere from achieving their goals and dreams as writers ... few have the opportunities to learn, to train, to develop their skills. Few have the connections or the access to grants and publications, to teaching positions, to role models who could help them develop into first-rate writers. This analysis is crucial to a progressive criticism because the means of literary production is so often taken for granted by the mainstream literati. The significance of the publication of anthologies like Gathering Ground must be understood within the context of this struggle against outrageous odds. There is an immense seriousness of purpose here as well as humour, warmth and anger. Gathering Ground offers women writers of color a forum to explore - their options and the obstacles limiting them. One of the purposes of an anthology or journal is to off.er the reader a sampling of the work being done by a specific group of writers,a group with a unique history, circumstance and vision. To do it as well as Cochran, Stewart and Tsutakawa have done, is to perpetuate and to help redefine the challenging spirit basic to a dynamic, socially vibrant art. ^Moments of Being - Virginia Woolf published by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich 1976. The quote is taken from the introduction by Jeanne Schulkind. Cy-Thea Sand writes the A Little Night Reading column for Kinesis, and is former editor of the Radical Reviewer. 30 Kinesis July/August'84 The Small Press Poetry Review is a regular feature of the Kinesis arts section. It appears quarterly. by Deb Thomas Labia Minor, Recession Issue #1 June 1983, Vancouver, B.C., 39 pages, featuring poets Eleanor Crowe and Joni Miller, Labia Minor is a first issue of a journal "conceived as an outlet for feminist poetry and prose". The write-up on the back page implies that a second issue was to have been printed in September 1983. I confess I approached this volume with some reluctance after reading the dedication: "To Ann Hansen and Julie Belmas - Prisoners of War". I anticipated the black and white feminist politics of those who see radical and violent action as the simple answer to complex political, problems. Fortunately, many of the poems (particu- 'ñ†>. larly Crowe's) were more subtle and complex than I anticipated. I didn't find any of them truly remarkable poetically but there are some sensitive, insightful messages here. One of the better works in Crowe's selection is her vignette, "The Visitor", a five page excerpt from the life of a single mother. Had it been written in the first person rather than the third, it could easily have been a few pages from a personal journal. "She" is never given a name, only a situation and a personality The situation is familiar seventies - a single mother living with her male lover and her three children, struggling to run the household and attend university at the same time, and feeling naturally inadequate at both. The standard female dilemma of "Why can't I do everything and do it wonderfully and close to perfectly"? is the basis of the story. She wondered where she'd gone wrong, she always wondered where-she'd gone wrong. During her last visit to her psychiatrist she 'd been told he was glad to see her going to university because that was where you met smart men and only smart men got rich. Her lover came downstairs with a book in his hand. He was in his fifth year of university. The message of the vignette is clearly feminist but there are no easy answers given to the real and common dilemmas presented. The protagonist both loves and resents her children, her lover. She resents her situation but does not, in the course of the vignette, attempt to change it. When, at the end, she finds herself a third party in a passionate intellectual discussion between her lover and his male friend, she goes off to sit in the garden and drink beer alone. This is a positive move but again there are no promises that this action is the beginning of change. It is likely only respite, an act to maintain fragile sanity rather than actively regain it. This image of femaleness, as stuck between hell and a pale sort of heaven, is continued in her string of poems, "Real Mothers/Real Daughters". She attempts difficult areas of particularly female pain such as: abandoning a child: "Kathleen giving birth was the easy part when I left you, you were in an oxygen tent and I was tired. " being abandoned by your child: SlMSt PUSS "Why you hide yourself from me behind your implacable face or amongst your new furniture and so furnished She infuses these poems with compassion and a strong sense of identification with the women of whom she writes. Crowe's poetic style is blunt, not rich in language and metaphor. There are stretches in which it seems almost too ordinary. Some of the poems did not quite have enough interest or power to reach beyond personal statement to universal feeling. But her compassion largely saves her work, as well as her ability to reflect familiar people back to us and illumine in part their predicaments. Joni Miller's style is as blunt and unadorned as Crowe's. Unfortunately, Miller'i work generally lacks the compassion and insight into the ordinary that helps Crowe's work reach when it does reach. There is a notable exception, a poem called "Small Consolations (for Donald)" in which she talks about an abortion: "We are killing the thing we made between us We are not sure why" In this poem, her feeling is evident - the pain of the inevitable loss, the need to make sense of the act to come. In most of the other poems, I could grasp little feeling. They seem, for the most part, mental exercises for Miller, political statements without passion, language without light. Even the poem "For the Love of a Woman", a poem one would expect to be radiant with passion, or gentle with tenderness, was neither. There is nothing in it that has not been said, better, a thousand times before. The age when merely declaring one's love, for a person of the same sex, an action which was beautiful, and politically courageous, is past. Now, if you are a poet, you must give the statement at least some of the specialness and intimacy it truly deserves. The last section is a string of poems, "Family Album", about incest. In these, there is feeling and personal rage. The manner of expressing this rage is sometimes politically transparent, but it is clearly rage nonetheless and deeply felt. The perpetrators, "john and bob", are totally one-dimensional characters. In the context of catharsis, this is excusable. And the poems are cathartic, complete with a beginning resolution which encompasses Miller's best image in this selection of her work. The image is that of a woman "writing letters home": "she sits writing letters home the mailman loses them. been in this business twenty years he knows which letters not to deliver" and it builds in the string of poems until the letters become the expression of catharsis, the method of identifying the perpetrator, and finally recognizing one's own lack of blame and embracing the need to speak out. 'Labia Minor is looking for submissions. Send them to: Labia Minor, c/o Box 65804, Station F, Vancouver, B.C. The Sound of One Fork by Minnie Burce Pratt, Night Heron Press, Durham, N.C., 1981, 41 pages. Olga Broumas may be brilliant, but Pratt speaks to my soul. There is no better way of putting it. Pratt's language and subject matter are rich with images which remember and consequently are remembered. The poems have political messages but are about people not doctrines;, they are full of colour and light. In "My Mother Loves Women", Pratt tells about the friends and sisters her mother devotes herself to: "She sent a dozen red roses to Ruby Lemly when she was sick and took her eight quarts of purple hull peas, shelled and ready to cook. " different from and how that love isn't i any other love. "My mother loves. women but she 's afraid to ask me about my life. She thinks that I might love women too." In "Love Poem to an Ex-husband", she tells of an incident when her husband refused to kill &. crushed and dying tortoise . "You had not acted like a man and I never loved you better. " Pratt must kill the tortoise herself and faces, for the first time, this difficult and necessary choice. "Elbows" is a perfectly delightful example of Pratt's southern wit in which she expands an exhortation by a southern parent not to "let your elbows show" so that "no elbow plump or thin tan or pink will entice others to passion. " Her conclusion is that: "if I thought my scrawny, two-toned elbows would lure you when next I saw you honey I'd roll up my sleeves and sin sin sin. " In another poem, she captures the realization of the special pleasures of women loving: continued on p. 31 July/August'84 Kinesis 31 ARTS According to Jane Sapp, her album Take A Look At My People belongs more to others than it does to her. In the album notes Jane thanks her grandmother and mother for a lifetime of encouragement, and her husband, steadfast in his belief, for being a good friend. But she gives this music to the black community whose courage, creativity, dignity and fight for freedom and justice has been unrelenting. Jane's style is a composite of blues, gospel and other folk forms. For her, it's an expression of personal experience. And the songs she selected for this album represent her roots and her commitment to social justice. Her themes are working people, children and dreams deferred. She sings traditional black gospel and many original compositions . Her own message proposes that the time has come for the last to be first. The final song on the album, which is the title track, is for "people everywhere who struggle for peace and freedom." Take A Look At My People is a one woman, one piano tribute to survivors, and to the ones who didn't make it. Jane was born in Augusta, Georgia. (The same city where her grandmother was one of the first black voters). From the church choir to Carnegie Hall, Jane has been playing piano and singing all her life. She toured for three years with the Southern Folk Festival, sang with the Washington D.C. Motherdust Ensemble, performed at the National Women's Music Festival in Illinois, and the Clearwater Folk Festival. She appeared at. the Vancouver Folk Music Festival in 1981 and at the World's Fair in 1982. Jane has also developed several cultural programmes and community action projects. She has worked as a field researcher in Black American culture, and for the Smithsonian Institute. Currently she is the Cultural Director of the Highlander Research and Education Centre in Tennessee. Jane is an expert in folklore and the history of traditional black music. She is also considered one of the leading voices in the performance of Afro-American traditional music. I treasure Take A Look At My People but I have never had the privilege of hearing Jane Sapp in concert. Luckily, I will be able to rectify this at this year's Vancouver Folk Music Festival. When I got to college, they tried to get me to sing songs like "Dancing through the Daffodils" and "See the Sheep Grazing. " Now that meant nothing to me. I couldn't < open my mouth to sing music like that ... that just wasn 't what my spirit said I wanted to sing about. If something talked about struggle or people having hardships, I understood that. -Jane Sapp I was spellbound by Jane's intensity and artistry. I witnessed that she is a woman willing and able to give completely of herself. I bless her gifts. -Odetta "When women make love we know how to play the game both ways we are pleased to eat and be eaten to die and live by falling into another'i mouth, eyes and hand" and this is the least enticing part juicy little poem called "Teeth", in celebration of the "vagina dentata" myth The title piece, "The Sound of One Fork" is a beautiful work. The poem, almost a prose poem in its long narrative lines, is a touching portrait of solitude, the poet's own and her single neighbour's. "Her younger neighbours think that she is lonely that only death keeps her company at meals. But I know what sufficiency she may possess." The poem is not totally smooth and, read aloud, which I could not resist doing, has some rough spots. The tie-in of the concluding image of the heron taking wing with the poet and her neighbour is not completely clear. The expression of this solitude however, is clear, and painfully familiar in the lines: "My family and children are in other states, the women I love in other towns. I would rather be here than with them in the old ways, but when all that's left of the sunset is the red reflection underneath the clouds, when I get up and come in to fix supper in the darkened kitchen I am often lonely for them. " The Sound of One Fork is in its second printing and it's plain to see why. I have hopes that it won't be long before I encounter another of Pratt's collections, full of new images and insights. HIGHLIFE RECORDS & MUSIC 251-^964 1317 COMMERCIAL Art show needs submissions • • • The organizing committee of the 1984 Warehouse Show is now ready to accept applications from local visual artists and musicians interested in participating in a large scale group exhibition that will be part of . the 1984 October Show. The 1983 October Show was a successful alternative to the opening of the new Vancouver Art Gallery. Recent works of art in the following media will be considered by a group of independent curators for inclusion in the exhibition; drawing, painting, sculpture, print- making, mixed media, photography, film, video, performance art, and installations. Original musical scores will also be considered for inclusion in a series of evening concerts that will accompany the exhibition. Artists wishing to submit an application to the curatorial committee should obtain an application form, and include with their application appropriate supporting documents: slides, photographs, video tapes (not originals), musical scores, or written proposals. There will be a ten dollar application fee, the purpose of which is to provide the organizing committee with approximately 10% of the operating budget that will be necessary to successfully mount the Warehouse Show. Submissions will be limited to a maximum of three works, with the initial criteria for consideration being that the work must have been completed since the last October Show, and that the work has not been previously exhibited. Artists wishing to include a statement for the proposed exhibition catalogue should submit this on a separate piece of paper. Deadline for application is Wednesday, August 15th, 1984. Works of art still in progress on that date will also be considered by the curatorial committee, but the work must be completed by September 15th to be included in the exhibition. For more information, contact the Warehouse Show at 387 West 5th Ave., Vancouver, B.C., V5Y 1J6, or call Grant Baker at 228-4381, or Michale MacKillop at 669-0244. 32 Kinesis July/Augusts LETTERS Polish women need assistance Kinesis: I was interested to read your series on women in other countries in connection with International Women's Day (Kinesis, March 1984) and in particular the story entitled "Women living in Poland". As a footnote to that account, I enclose the following letter (translation) which I have received from a woman who has asked to remain anonymous, as this could jeopardize the safety of the women she writes about. As Jerzy Milewski, director of the Co-ordinating Office of NSZZ Solidarnosc Abroad, described during his visit in Canada to the CLC convention in Montreal in May, the trade union NSZZ Solidarnosc is alive and active. Apart from its leadership, which remains in hiding, about one million members continue to pay regular dues to factory committees. A further four to five million people support the activities of the union, whether by reading and circulating some of the 500 publications which are regularly published clandestinely, attending self-education seminars and discussions, helping social welfare and food distribution committees, or simply listening to clandestine radio broadcasts. Help is also extended to those union members and their families who have been arrested or laid off for union activities. For example, one out of every six journalists in Poland has been blacklisted, (cf. La Presse, May 31, 1984). As the writer of the letter points out, letters of protest to the Polish authorities from feminist organizations in Canada might save these women, and others like them, from harassment, terror and injury to health, I would appreciate knowing what action, if any, follows from this letter. Hania Fedorowicz Ottawa, Ontario Dea: Hania Fedorowicz, I am an employee of NSZZ Solidarnosc - Mazowsze Region in Warsaw. ( — ) advised me to write this letter. Aware of your activities as a feminist, I appeal to you for help on behalf of two women who, because of their predicament, are unable to do so. The first one is Waclawa Bujak. She is the wife of Zbigniew Bujak, chairman of the Mazowsze Region and member of the National Consultative Commission of NSZZ Solidarnosc. My letter also regards Bogumila Janas. Her husband Abigniew Janas is chairman of the factory committee at "URSUS" factory (the largest plant in the Warsaw area) and chairman of the Coordinating Commission of the Mazowsze Region. Since December 13, 1981, both of these men have been in hiding and continue to be active in Solidarnosc, albeit clandestinely., motivated by patriotism and loyalty to union members who elected them. For the activities of these men, it is their wives that bear the greatest consequences. I know the situation of Mrs. Bujak quite precisely. She is blackmailed, harassed by the militia at various times of the day and night and followed. Her correspondence and telephone conversations are automatically monitored. She is caring for the mother of Zbigniew Bujak, an elderly lady in her seventies, who is chronically ill after a stroke last year and since disabled. Both of them are in a state of depression and at the limits of nervous endurance. The case of Bogumila Janas cannot be better described than she did herself in her letter to the Polish Episcopate. I am the wife of Zbigniew Janas. For some time now I have been pursued by the Securi ty Service (SB). Most times, I have been [harassed at night, which is detrimental poih to my mental health and that of my \child. Whenever the doorbell rings, my \ahild reacts by pressing its entire body to mine. I was recently on leave frommork \since my child was sick with a temperature of 40 degrees. They came for me that evening\ and took me away, despite my pleas that my child is sick, promising to bring me back in two hours. This was on October 5, 1983. I found myself in the Mostowski Palace. There by diverse means I was abused, and beaten in such a way as to leave no marks. The gentlemen of the SB gave me three days to report the whereabouts of my husband, and if I failed to do so within the deadline, they would go after me, destroy me. They promised that during those three days there would be police outside my house, which is not true. Entire columns of secret \police are .always present. I am afraid to \stay in my own apartment with my child. What am I guilty of, by being the wife of (Zbigniew) Janas? Knowing your deep sympathy with Polish affairs, I have taken the initiative to appeal for your help. First of all, it could take the form of letters to both of these women. It would give them courage and the certain knowledge that their suffering and difficult situation is taken note of by the world. Both of these families live in trying material conditions, so help by way of parcels would be invaluable. However, please do not menion either my name or the fact that any help is a result of my request Discretion is essential in order to ensure their security (repressions result from contacts "abroad"). Let me add that neither of these women is an exception. At present, there are hundreds of families persecuted by the regime, which takes advantage of the fact that the "Polish case" has become less noticed by the world. The appeals of feminist organizations could ensure that the Polish government will proceed less lawlessly in using methods which condemn entire families for acts they have not committed. Thank you sincerely for your help, (name withheld) (Call Kinesis for address) Women condemn harsh sentences Kinesis:(The following is an Open Letter to Judge Samuel Toy). Re: the sentencing of Julie Belmas and AnnJiansen to 20 years and life imprisonment respectively, for bombing of Litton Plant and other "terrorist activities" As members of the Women's Peace Camp at Cole Bay, Saskatchewan, we would like to express our sadness and anger at the harsh and unjust sentences given to Julie Belmas and Ann Hansen. First, it is a common belief that violence which endangers life is immoral. We believe that government-sanctioned military violence is wrong. Construction of weapons for mass murder is wrong. But sometimes destruction of something evil is necessary. For example, if someone had succeeded in assassinating Hitler, would that person deserve the severest penalty for murder? Surely many lives would have been saved, had Hitler been stopped earlier. Certainly a parallel thought must have been in Julie Belmas' and Ann Hansen's minds: to prevent construction of the guidance system for cruise missiles would also stop the missile from ultimately killing millions. It is extremely unfortunate that several people were injured in the Litton'blast. It is clear their intention was never to hurt anyone. Perhaps a couple of quotations from Emma Goldman, an anti-militarist active in the early 1900's, will enlighten your attitude towards such cases you are obliged to judge. "No act committed by an anarchist has been for personal gain, aggrandizement or profit, but rather a conscious protest against some repressive arbitrary, tyrannical measure from above." Surely you must consider the sensitive nature of an individual, compelled to take action for the safety of humanity. "The law does not even make an attempt to go into the complexity of the human soul which drives a person to despair or insanity, out of hunger or out of indignation into a political act." We believe the sentences for Julie and Ann are far too severe for their actions, motivated by reverence for life and a hope for world peace. Long and unfair sentences will certainly not deter the peace movement in any way. It is always easier to condemn than to think Jan Hermiston, Diana Leis...Women's Peace Camp, Cole Bay, Saskatchewan P.S. Remember, too, that you can imprison a woman, but you can never imprison her mind, her ideas or her hope. Eastside Centre protests cuts Kinesis: On Friday, the 18th of May, 1984 the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre was notified that the Ministry of Human Resources would terminate their funding as of August 1st, 1984. This means that two more women will join the ranks of the unemployed due to the severe Social Credit Budget cuts that affect the women and children of the Downtown Eastside. In other words, it's the poor who suffer the most from the 'B.C. Spirit'. The Centre has been in operation since 1974 serving the women and children of all ages and ethnic backgrounds along the 'skid row' area. This safe, warm, comfortable drop-in centre has been a haven for thousands of women over the years and now it means closing the doors forever. Where will these women go? Every agency, every church, every food line-up, foodbank, everywhere along the Downtown Eastside is predominately male oriented. This little green house right on Hastings Street was the only place a woman could come into and not be verbally or sexually hassled; where she could 'let her guard down' and just relax, meeting new friends, joining in various activities that the Centre offered and could voice her opinions without any put-downs from others. The Centre offered a lot of programmes; English Classes three times a week; Open Discussion Groups, counselling, referrals, liaison with various other agencies, luncheons (once a month that were really cheap and good); baking classes, budgeting classes, health information classes, escort interpretation and support as well as a place to have some free tea, coffee and sympathy. The staff were shocked to hear the news; and the women are still numb from the axing job this government has done. We know where it has begun - but where is it going to end? Who's next? Why is it that in tough times it is always women and children that suffer? (Whatever happened to the old saying women and children first - or is that the motto of this government on a different survival scenerio ?). Mr. Bennett and Grace McCarthy should for one week be made to live on an Income Assistance Cheque - they will learn that to eat and pay rent, eats up most of the cheque with very little money left over to enjoy some luxury. Maybe they would realize the horrific plight of all socially economi- July/August'84 Kinesis 33 LETTERS cally poor women who have barely survived on this meager income. The Downtown Eastside Women's Centre needs money to survive and keep our doors open to the women and children who make the Downtown Eastside their 'home'. Any kind of donation will be appreciated and accepted. In sisterhood and strength, Yvette Parr, Jean Rindahl, Diane LaLoze, Lorna Tweedale, Irene Schmidt, Ruth Kirpluk, Ancela Bortnick Women to gather before fall festival Kinesis: (The following is an open letter) As you may be aware, the first Canadian Women's Music & Cultural Festival will be held in Winnipeg on the Labour Day weekend, September 1 and 2. (see p. ). Having a large number of women in the same place at one time brings to mind the power, strength and energy that many of us felt when we came together for the "Ending the Silence" conference that was held in Edmonton last spring. The music festival presents the opportunity to do this kind of creative networking and learning once again with feminists from all across Canada Who will be coming to Winnipeg for this event. We have begun working towards a one or two day gathering to be held outdoors, if possible, on'Friday, August 31 (which could be expanded to include Thursday, August 30 as well). The casual setting of the music festival suggests an informal type of gathering where women active in feminist organizations can get together to share stories. The day could start with a ritual to ground us and bring us closer together. Then, we could (depending on how many women we are) break into smaller groups of women from different provinces. In this way, branching out (wasn't there once a magazine by that name?) and networking between women will come about naturally. We are asking for input on what should be the focus of discussion in these groups... We thought discussions on group structures, funding, problem solving, support, similarities, etc. would be valuable along with a lot of networking. We want to know what you would like to see happening. We want to know what stories you want to tell. Ideas and resource women are what we want. Manitoba feminists can learn from other groups and don't want to dominate the day. We would like to talk about group process rather than tasks and issues, although an exchange of the kinds of actions and strategies that others have employed recently would be valuable. N^4?"*?'* Please contact us as quickly as possible with information on your group, how many of you will attend, and what you'd like to see happen so we can begin work on making this gathering a reality. We are expecting that this event will also be lots of fun and a good time for women. Friday, August 31, the festival organizers will be holding a preview of some festival performances and a women's dance at the festival site; and women already in Winni-r peg for Thursday can meet with us at Ms. Purdy's...our unique women's bar. By the way, 'We' are active in a variety of Manitoba women's organizations, including Manitoba Action Committee on the Status of Women (MACSW), Moonstone (a feminist action, group), Canadian Women's Music & Cultural Festival, Reseau (a Franco-Manitoban women's group), Manitoba Committee on Wife Abuse, Women's Incest Survivors Encounter, Y.W. C.A., University of Winnipeg Women's Centre, Women and Words, HERizons (Manitoba women's magazine), and many more...too numerous to mention. We will be looking forward to your feedback in the near future. For more information, phone 942-2000 or write to us at the MACSW office, 224-388 Donald Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3B 2J2. Signed: Arlene Beaumont, Louise Cloutier, Pam Delisle, Janine Gibson, Lydia Giles, Tanya Lester, Donna Lucas, Joan Miller, Yvonne Olenick, Sharon Segal, Char Toews for "Sisters Circle for Storytelling". P.S. Surprise! There will be no charge for this gathering, but no funding either. Just bring good energy and some money for lunch, etc. Billetting and childcare will be available. Notify in advance. » • • • t • ••••• > • • • • • • i i • • • • • • < > • • • • •••••• • •••••• • • • • • • j • • • • • • • TESSERA editor responds to review Kinesis: As one of the editors of the TESSERA issue of Room of One 's Own, I would like to correct some inaccuracies in Cy-Thea Sand's review in your June '84 issue. TESSERA was initially inspired not by the 1983 Women and Words Conference (inspiring though that conference was) but by the 1981 Dialogue Conference in Toronto. This conference for the first time joined Quebec feminist criticism and English- Canadian feminist criticism in a mutual dialogue. Excited by the possibility of continuing such a dialogue, four of us (Barbara Godard, Kathy Mezei, Gail Scott and myself) formed a collective with the purpose of editing special issues of magazines interested in publishing new Quebec and English-Canadian feminist writing that is both theoretical and experimental. Much of this new writing focusses on the issue of women's language and the experimental forms that Quebecoise writers are using. In Quebec these issues are rightly understood to be revolutionary because any feminist theory must first of all examine its language and its forms of thought before it can be truly woman-centred and free from patriarchal bias. Sand's review dismissed these concerns as "academic" without discussing their revolutionary implications or reporting any of the ideas of the Quebecoise contributors to TESSERA. Although she began her review by accurately quoting TESSERA's aims, she then went on to talk not about the writing in the issue but about a Women and Words discussion on racism. As if this were the theme of the issue (it was not), she quotes Barbara Godard and Kathy Mezei out of context on the concerns of native and black women writers. She does not indicate that their comments were made during an editorial discussion on how realism dominates English- Canadian women's writing and how this leads to a focus on content at the expense of attention to language. We know how crucial naming is, how naming our own experience rather than having it named for us is an essential first step in feminist consciousness. The next step which needs to be taken in English Canada by black, white and native women writers alike is developing a feminist theory of language (and so of culture). This is what TESSERA hopes to facilitate, looking at theories already developed in France and Quebec. This is- the real framework of the issue, which Sahd dismissed as "linear and competitive". Because her focus is on continuing discussion of racism, not on what TESSERA set out to do, her review in effect suppresses the actual content of the issue. This undermines the purpose of reviewing and can lead to a subtle and dangerous form of censorship. Daphne Marlatt *'w BOOK ' AND ART EMPORIUM Catalogue Available $2.00 PHONE: (604) 669-1753 1221 THURLOWST., VANCOUVER, B.C. V6E 1X4 Juniper Co-operative Community Society JOIN US NOW in helping to form a new COMMUNAL HOUSING COOP in Kitsilano Location The Group More Information large variety of cheeses, nuts, grains, household items, fresh produce. ^\ AGORA FOOD CO-OP non-members welcome to shop all summer 3307 Dunbar (at 17th) 228-9115 LESBIAN INFORMATION LINE Need Information? Want to Talk? Contact LI.L — (604)734-1016 Thurs. & Sun. 7-10 p.m. or write 1501 W. Broadway, Vancouver OCTOPUS BOOKS INEXPENSIVE QUAMTY BOOKS HARD TO GET ART, SOCIAL & LITERARY MAGAZINES & JOURNALS \»EST 2250 W. 4TH 732-8721 EAST, 146 COMMERCIAL 2530913 % 34 Kinesis July/August'84 BULLETIN BOARD EVENTS SUPPORT SOLIDARITY. Rally and picnic i Saturday, July 7, 1:00 pm at John Hendry Park, 18th and Victoria. CAFE BABE presents a fundraiser for the Eastenders, a women's soccer team. Entertainment, buffet and dancing on Sunday, July 8, 4:00 pm. Admission $2, 560 Davie Street. AN EVENING FOR YOURSELF. Women's night on July 12 at the South Surrey/White Rock Women's Place Association. Bring your own wine and cheese social, 1425 George Street, White Rock. Phone 536- 9611 for information. CARRIE PESTER is One of thirteen Greenham women bringing a lawsuite against President Reagan and his government about the legality of deploying cruise missiles in Britain. She will be speaking at Carnegie Centre, Monday, July 9th at 7:30 pm, for more information call 732-0318. WOMEN ACROSS CANADA are planning trips to Cole Bay,' Saskatchewan during the last week in August to celebrate the first anniversary of the Women's Peace Camp there. Vancouver area meetings each Wednesday, 7:30 pm at CRS or La Quena. Phone 732-0318 or 731-6643 for details. THE WEST KOOTENAY Women's Associ proudly presents its annual , WOMEN'S FESTIVAL. This year we are celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the West Kootenay Women's Association. This gala event will be held on Autust 11 and 12. For more information write: Nelson Women's Centre, 307 Vernon Street, Nelson, B.C. V1L 5R4 CONFERENCE WE CAN DO SOMETHING AND THE TIME IS NOW. A conference on Feminism, Heterosexism, Violence, Militarism and the Arms Race, sponsored by the Vancouver Gay Community Centre. The conference will consist of speakers, workshops and presentations and will be held on Sunday, July 29, from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm. Phone SEARCH at 689-1039 for childcare, pre-registration, and details of locale. Registration fee: $10 or by donation. New Releases continued from p. 21 just started putting out a bi-montly newsletter which will include info on concerts in the Northwest and new releases. For $5.00 U.S. you can get six newsletter issues plus Genevieve's 1984 catalogue. One of the most interesting and comprehensive mail order catalogues of records and tapes by women is put out by Ladyslipper Missic. Bor a free copy write to them at P.O. Box 3124, Durham, N.C. 27705. In the meantime, you can continue to pester your local record outlets to carry women's music labels and product. A little customer encouragement never hurts. Gayle Scott is a free lance writer, photographer and script supervisor in film productions. During the past few years she "has travelled extensively on the women's music circuit as Ferron's manager and business partner. COME AND JOIN US - AUGUST 6 (B.C. DAY) Women Against the Budget Funeral March. 11 am to 1 pm. North Side of B.C. Place Stadium, Pacific Blvd. under Georgia St. viaduct. 'Don't Mourn-Organize'. GROUPS THE PROVINCIAL LESBIAN Connection (B.C./ Yukon) Newsletter wants information relevant to lesbians on the west coast. It's free to lesbians for now (donations gratefully accepted). For more information write to: PLC NEWSLETTER, " 33537, Station D, Vancouver, Box VOLUNTEERS NEEDED, Big Sisters of B.C., Lower Mainland is a lay-counselling service which provides one-one relationship for girls between 7 and 17, who need special attention. Welook for women, aged 20 - 35 who are prepared to commit 5 hours a week for at least a year, and to attend monthly support groups. The work is both challenging and rewarding in terms of personal growth and enrichment. A program of small group activity supplements the one-one relationship. Enquiries welcomed at 873-4525, 4512 Main Street, Vancouver, B.C. V5V 3R5 A GROUP OF single mothers meet at Little Mountain Neighbourhood House to offer support and share their thoughts and feelings. Meal preparation and childcare duties will be shared between 5:00 pm - 8:30 pm when the group meets. Drop by • on the following Mondays: July 9, July 23, August 13 and August 27 at 3981 Main St. COURSES IYENGAR YOGA Classes - September 1984. Introductory and Level I Classes at Britannia, Trout Lake, Riley Park, Dunbar and False Creek Community Centres ... call the centres for more information or call: Paullette Roscoe Claudia MacDonald Lindsay Whalen Wendy Davis 255-0523 874-1968 736-4851 731-9566 HOUSEHOLD REPAIRS for Women, courses offered by the Vancouver School Board. July Mini Program, July 16, 17, 18, and 19 at 9:30 at Kitsilano High School or a ten week course starting September 10 at 7:30 - 9:30 at Vancouver Technical. For more information phone Sherry McCarman at 872-5847. PLANE JANE CONSTRUCTION renovations interior and exterior painting general carpentry, cabinet making Melanie 736-0935 Bet 873-5804 Shari Dunnet Reflexologist Ariette Esthetics & Electrotyas "'* Suite #216-525Seymour St., iteH&tetvet, B C, fi«2*ffie MfP* ,tes NEW! at ARIEL > Gathering Ground ' Listening to Our Bodies ' Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets 2766 W. 4th Ave. 733-3511 If you're getting too much news and too little information, our Public Affairs programmes offer a real alternative The Rational Mon - Fri 7 - 7:30 pm daily news and analysis from the left N l'g htwatch Wed 7:30-8 pm in-depth look at the issues Union Made Wed 8:30- 9:30pm by labour for labour Redeye Sat9am-noon music, arts and news analysis CO-OP RADIO WomanvJSion Mon 7:30-8:30 pm feminist current affairs & arts Coming Out Thurs 7:30 - 8:30 pm gay and lesbian perspectives The Lesbian SIlOWThurs 8:30 - 9:30 pm B. C. 's only lesbian radio America Latina al Dia Sat noon -1 pm Latin American news and music \©%oV PKl Call us for a free programme guide 684-8494 July/August'84 Kinesis 35 BULLETIN BOARD SUBMISSIONS PRESENTATION HOUSE announces a CALL FOR ENTRIES for a national, annual, juried photography exhibition. Open to all Canadian residents, the focus of the show, which is scheduled for November, will be new approaches in photography by young and/or lesser-known photographers. The deadline for submissions is September 4th. For more information and/or an application form write to or call the Curator, PRESENTATION HOUSE, 333 Chesterfield Avenue, North Vancouver, B.C. V7M 3G9 (604) 986-1351) CLASSIFIED I AM SEEKING PICTURES OF (photocopies ok) the following: Wu Tsao, Yosano Tomiko, Yamakawa Tomiko, Hirazuka Raicho, Miamoto Yuriko, Yaussa Yoshiko, (all writers) and Otake Kuokichi (artist). Any information you might have would be helpful. Contact: Tee Corinne, 1199 Sunny Valley Loop, Sunny Valley, Or. 97497, U.S.A. FIREWEED, a quarterly feminist journal in Toronto, has invited a guest collective consisting solely of Native women to edit a special issue of material by Native women. We welcome lesbian/heterosexual, unknown and established writers to submit short stories, (5,000 words max.), poetry, biographies, storytelling, songs, drawings, photographs and articles We want this issue to exist ah an extension of not only our own lives and struggles, but also those of1 our grandmothers and the spirits that continue to guide and wolk before us. Please send all manuscripts/artwork with a self-addressed envelope before August 1, 1984 to: The Native Women's Collective, c/o Fireweed, Box 279, Station B, Toronto, Ontario M5T 2W2 AUTO REPAIR: Complete car care by women. We specialize in tune-ups and brakes. Call 253-2120. HOUSE TO SHARE available immediately. Two rooms in Kits co-op house to rent (PREFERABLY). As an unit (for $285.00) or as singles ($143.00 each). Utilities not included". This is a non-sexist, politically progressive, n/s house. Quiet area, large backyard with trees and garden, f/p, spacious and'light living area. You would share with two adults and one 3 year old girl (part- time), a cat, and a rabbit. For more information call 731-8790 or 732-0953. A NEW Publishing house, LEZ PRESS, has been formed in Portland, Oregon. Les Press will publish quality work of interest to lesbians, as well as feminist and gay-oriented material, which because of its nature is not generally considered by major publishing houses. The editors are interested in publishing novels and short stories, nonfiction,plays, and art suitable for printed publications (collections of black and white drawings and photographs). Individual short stories will be considered for inclusion in an anthology. No poetry, please. Send double-spaced typed manuscripts to Lez Press, P.O. Box 4387, Portland, OR 97208. Submissions will be returned only if accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. KINGSWAY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT project needs information re organizations and activities of any kind in South Vancouver. Call Ellen 253-2395. A DAY OF PAINTING with Phylis Serota powerful Victoria painter on Saturday, August 4, 11:00 - 6:00, $20. For details call Ellen 253-3395. WOMYN'S BASEBALL, Tuesdays at 7 pm. in the southwest diamond behind Britannia Community Centre. No experience necessary. Bring equipment if you have it. Come join us! EXPERIENCED BOOKKEEPER, fast and accurate, specializes in legal accounting, small business, non-profit societies. Reasonable rates. Call Sally Brisebois, 734- 7756. CALL FOR submissions on the subject of rape. Think about it. Imagine it. Visualize your state, your way out. Prevent it. Make a statement - Write. Paint. Sculpt. Make an installation. Perform. Record. ACT. Submit for juried exhibition. Deadline July 15th. $5 fee. IDEAS Sacred and Profane, 1310 Rudlin Street, Victoria - Galerie dedicated to Political, Social and Spiritual Transformation. SHARED ACCOMMODATION, non-smoking female, 38, wishes to share two bedroom Guilford home on acreage, pets and kids OK. $350 a month - 588-4248. POTTERY WORKSHOP space for rent - Guilford area - 588-4248. FEMINARY, an American lesbian feminist magazine founded in 1969 in North Carolina, is now based in San Francisco. We are soliciting submissions of fiction, narratives, oral histories, poetry, artwork, commentaries, critical articles, reviews, journal entries, translations, dramatic excerpts, and new forms. Deadlines are: July 15, 1984 for fall issue: November 1, 1984 for winter/ spring issue; and March 1, 1985 for summer issue. Send submissions to: Feminary, 1945 - 20th Street, San Francisco, CA. 94107 Graduate student (non-smoker) looking for congenial woman with quiet lifestyle to share apartment or house in Vancouver area, beginning September. Please leave a message for Leslie with Lucy or Joanne at Media Watch, 873-8511. I will arrive in Vancouver on July 25 and will be able to return calls after that date. 11th ANNIVERSARY SALE at the Vancouver Women's Bookstore. July 16 - 21, 11:00 am - 5:30 pm. Refreshments on Saturday, July 21. New address, 315 Cambie Street. Come and celebrate with us! Feminism, Socialism Anarchism new books, magazines buttons & newspapers SPARTACUS BOOKS upstairs 311 W. Hastings St. ph: 688-6138 HOUSEMATE WANTED FOR EARLY AUGUST to share co-operative home with two women, two men. Pleasant old house, small bedroom, near Charles and Victoria. Non-smoker preferred. Rent/utilities/food $317/mth. Phone: 251-3255 or 253-3006. Mona or Dana JOBS SU3-LET FOR JULY and/or AUGUST. Rooms available in communal house (Quebec Street House). Extra rooms for children. Call Anita or Claudia 874-1968 or Anita at 732-1829. Women preferred. POSITION AVAILABLE AT KINESIS STARTING August 1st. Responsibilities: overall co-ordination of volunteers in the production and editorial content of the paper. Duties: -co-ordinate solicitation of copy; - co-ordinate volunteers on office business and related areas (e.g. advertising and distribution); - oversee contracted production manager; - attend Kinesis, staff & editorial board meetings in conjunction with other volunteers; - maintain shared editorial responsibility. Also: -production work; design and paste-up; copy editing; office management; volunteer training. Qualifications: -ability to work cooperatively with volunteers; - commitment to feminist media; - experience with journalistic writing; - familiarity with newspaper production. Salary: $1305/mth full-time, funded by Secretary of State until April 1st. Resumes to VSW, 400 A W. 5th by July 13. POSITION AVAILABLE AT KINESIS for a part- time Production Manager, who would work at the direction of the editor 1 week a month to produce Kinesis. Qualifications: - must know page design and paste-up; - elements of newspaper production; must be liaison with typists, typesetter and printer; must be liaison and provide some training for production volunteers; - must be available for late night work. Salary: $300/for 1 week. Resumes to VSW by August 1st. A ■PV%W Phone %ft V 254-5044 i|0£<& IT'S YOUR ONCE A YEAR OPPORTUNITY TO ENJOY UNLIMITED GUEST SHOPPING AT THE EAST END FOOD CO-OP, 1806 VICTORIA DRIVE (at 2nd). CHECK US OUT BEFORE BUYING A SHARE IN THE ONLY NEIGHBOURHOOD FOOD STORE THAT YOU CAN OWN. One-stop shopping! Affordable Prices! VANCOUVER WOMEN'S BOOKSTORE Come and celebrate our 11th Anniversary. We're having a week long sale with 10% off everything - 20% off selected titles. July 16-21 (refreshments on Sat. the 21st). 315 Cambie Street Vancouver, B.C. V6B2N4 Ph: 684-0523 Mon-Sat 11:00-5:30
Preceding title: Vancouver Status of Women. Newsletter. Date of publication: 1974-2001. Frequency: Monthly.
Periodicals
Newspapers
HQ1101.V24 N49
English
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Vancouver : Vancouver Status of Women
Images provided for research and reference use only. Permission to publish, copy, or otherwise use these images must be obtained from the Digitization Centre: digitization.centre@ubc.ca
Original Format: University of British Columbia. Library. Rare Books and Special Collections. HQ1101.V24 N49
Women--Social and moral questions
Feminism--Periodicals
Text