Innisfree

Zine
Title:	Innisfree
Publisher:
Editor(s):	Beth Robertson
Date(s):	1978
Medium:	fanpoetry in print zine
Fandom:	"a general , non-sf poetry zine"
Language:	English
External Links:
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front cover, Susan Armstrong

back cover, Elizabeth Marshall

Innisfree is a gen anthology of poetry.

Contributors are Ruth Berman, Karma Allwynn Darane, Fern Marder, Beth Robertson, Ann Fox Chadonnet, L.V. Fargas, Jocelyn Feaster, Marian L. Turner, and Nancy Guidice. Artists are Susan Armstrong, Nancy Guidice, Elizabeth Marshall, Barbara Robertson, and Sandy Yingling.

In a 1978 Scuttlebutt, the editor asks: "I am looking for a trustworthy, honest fan to help me sell my poetry zine at conventions. I will pay postage and the cost of a table... If you are selling zines, and have room on your table, drop me a line. A poetry zine is not an easy sell!"

Contents

• Defining Terms, and To My Nephew by Ruth Berman
• Aridne's Song by Karma Allwynn Darane
• Artist by Fern Marder
• Boats by Beth Robertson
• The Thing in the River by Ann Fox Chadonnet
• The Dancing Unicorn by L.V. Fargas
• The Beadmaker by Jocelyn Feaster
• Rondo After Parker by Marian L. Turner
• Untitled by Nancy Giudice
• The Pale Light Beyond by Beth Robertson
• Irish Lords by Ann Fox Chadonnet
• Darkness #1, and Memory of Father by Jocelyn Feaster
• The Ballad of Nell Elaine by Marian L. Turner
• Woods by Ann Fox Chadonnet
• Untitled by Nancy Giudice
• Memory of Alida by Beth Robertson
• Shadowdancer by Karma Allwynn Darane
• Florida Roots by Ann Fox Chadonnet
• The Branching Rain by Ruth Berman
• Hotel Poem by Beth Robertson
• Duskbreak by Marian L. Turner
• art by Susan Armstrong, Nancy Guidice, Elizabeth Marshall, Beth Robertson, and Sandra Yingling

Reactions and Reviews

'Innisfree' is an experimental zine, pooling together the talents of fandom poets in a general, non-sf theme dealing with the writers' personal backgrounds and interests, according to the editor. 'Innisfree' contains a 'Contributors' Notes' section which introduces the contributors and things they do when they aren't writing. 'Innisfree' is a totally feminine zine, in the sense that having been written, illustrated, and compiled entirely by females. Some of the material (chiefly that of Ruth Berman) is reprinted, but this zine by virtue of being a poetry zine, is much less likely to contain reprinted material familiar to most fans. I could quibble over calling 'The Dancing Unicorn' a poem; it is very prose-like, but is one of my favorite pieces in the zine, as is a Fargas piece. Berman's 'Defining Terms' also struck my fancy, as did most of Feaster's pieces. This is a gentle zine, even though the subject matter does not entirely deal with hearts-and-flowers. Most people, including myself, don't pick up poetry books, but get exposed to poetry incidentally, as in a collection of Guy De Maupassant's and Edgar Allen Poe's works. If you don't like poetry, don't buy this zine; but if you do like poetry, or are curious about how fans would write non-sf poetry, you'll enjoy and be made thoughtful by (if only for a few minutes) this zine. It's a worthy experiment, and I hope beth continues with the idea.

There is a curious similarity of voice to all the pieces in this zine of poetry, as if the same woman wrote them all. Yet the authors are as diverse as Ruth Berman and L.V. Fargas; nine in all. All ARE women, and all possess a turn for fantasy, but that is not alone the answer. This common speaker is a bounded, enclosed, subordinated women, a would-be witch and hungry to be free on her own terms. [The reviewer quotes many lines from a selection of the poems]... Some of this may be due to Robertson's editing, her choice from the material offered; certainly her own poems speak to the same emotions. Or was it simply, that, because much of fandom is female, their current concerns will be reflected in their poetry? The craft and quality of the poetry is reasonably high; of the graphics, given the tendency to wind-whipped bare branches shown, not as high.