Collection is open to the public. Collection must be used in Special Collections and University Archives Reading Room. Collection or parts of collection may be stored offsite. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives in advance of your visit to allow for transportation time.
WomanSpirit, published from 1974-1984, was a quarterly magazine founded by Ruth Mountaingrove and Jean Mountaingrove. The two produced it, collectively with their community, from their land, RootWorks, near Wolf Creek, Oregon. The periodical had an international following and, at its height, was distributed to over 3,000 subscribers and in bookstores both in the United States and abroad. Billed as a lesbian feminist quarterly, the publication incorporated both spirituality and feminism, and covered topics such as ecology, goddess myths and rituals, feminist theory, and divination.
Information from: Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WomanSpirit, accessed May 2024.
This collection contains the records of WomanSpirit magazine. The bulk of the collection is made up of submissions and research, in many types of formats, from photos to letters to songs to traditional articles. Topics include the equal rights amendment, environmental activism, critique of and appreciation for religion, new age religious movements and practice such as divination and goddess myths, and more. Submissions were mailed to Ruth and Jean Mountaingrove from women throughout the United States, as well as abroad, in particular France, Germany, and Italy. The records are a mix of material solicited or compiled by the Mountaingroves as well as unsolicited submissions from subscribers, friends, and community members. The collection also contains a small amount of administrative-type records, such as material related to the costs of production, printing processes, distribution, and more.