Press enter after choosing selection

An Appreciation... 220 S. Main St.

An Appreciation... 220 S. Main St. image
Parent Issue
Month
March
Year
1996
Copyright
Creative Commons (Attribution, Non-Commercial, Share-alike)
Rights Held By
Agenda Publications
OCR Text

Gasping, I froze in mid-step. A full-color photo of a hog, its moist, pink snout just inches from the camera, was staring at me from the window of Main Street News. Darting inside, I loudly inquired: How Much Is That Pig In The Window? During the next five minutes I was introduced to a magazine I'd never encountered before. The Fortean Times is "The Journal of Strange Phenomena," published out of London, and named for Charles Hoy Fort (1874-1932). It is crammed with reports of weeping statues, alien bodies, Italian skyquakes and strange deaths. Such weirdness naturally belongs in my bookbag, while the pigface which first caught my attention is suitable for framing. I am a satisfied customer. 

Since it opened for business last November, Main Street News has already become this area's best independent outlet for newspapers (from all over the world), magazines and periodicals. We know to shop at Common Language, Crazy Wisdom and Shaman Drum, for these are our most substantial sources of newly printed matter, which together with the used bookshops make Ann Arbor such a worthwhile place for readers. Now there's Main Street News, dedicated to dailies, weeklies, monthlies, quarterlies and annuals of every conceivable description.

Run by Kay and Dave, both veterans of the book-selling business, Main Street News is organized with great precision and imagination. They handle over 3,000 titles, with a projected goal of 6,000. If that sounds like more than will fit in the tiny storefront, remember that periodicals come and go, and some only appear once a year. My point is, one can go through this place on a regular basis and always find something surprising.

Let's take a quick stroll through their stock during February 1996: There's The Veggie Singles News ("helping vegetarian singles meet and eat"); Lost Highways Quarterly, "official organ of the classic trailer and motor-home club" (chock full of vintage ads and photos of people vacationing in the 1940s and 50s); the Ragtyme Sports, which, with its early 20th century baseball profiles, seemed much more interesting than anything I'd ever seen in this category. 

Everyone needs a copy of Women & Guns; or certainly you'd like Asian Trash Cinema, or Film Threat ("Hollywood's Indie Voice"). For a quieter time try Wildflower ("North America's Magazine of Wild Flora"): African Violet ("Dedicated to the Growing of Beautiful African Violets"): or Mushroom (The Journal of Wild Mushrooming"), for the mycologist in your life.

Skateboarding, Surfboarding, and Snowboarding each have several flashy publications full of dynamic photos (Kay and Dave are contemplating a special "boards" section). Non-Adult titles include Stone Soup ("The Magazine by Young Writers & Artists") and Spider (The Magazine for Children"). There's literally something for everyone here, except perhaps for people who hate magazines.

I was personally taken with the scholarly Music Perception ("An Interdisciplinary Journal"); Ocean Realm ("International Magazine of the Sea"): and Minerva ("The International Review of Ancient Art & Archaeology"). Check this last publication for a special report on the earliest known portrait of Akhenaten. Or else don't. The Empty Vessel ("A Journal of Contemporary Taoism") might very well be the world's only magazine. I'm investigating this enigma. See also Zygon ("Journal of Religion & Science") and Sufism ("An Inquiry").

The indigenous North American population is well-represented here: Native California ("An Inside View of the California Indian World"): Cultural Survival Quarterly: Wildfire; Native Peoples; and the American Indian Review.

These turn out to be part of a sizeable dedicated to peoples of color in general; The African American Review: Colors ("Opinion & the Arts in Communities of Color"); Destiny; Ebony; Jet; Interrace; and the Minority Business Journal. You should also look for the extra tall publication Revue Noire (African Contemporary Art), or maybe the Beijing Review. 

The Budapest Review Of Books worked wonders for my North American blues, as would most anything from the Literature & Poetry section. This shop is constantly rebounding between the ridiculous and the sublime. The Journal of Irreproducible Results is the "Official Organ of the Society for Basic Irreproducible Research" in Chicago. Dave tells me they once had a feature article on "The Insulating Properties of Jello."

Even more ambitious is The Exploratorium, which examines a different theme each issue. Their list of previous "explorations" made my aw drop: Exploring The Ear, Exploring Nothing, Exploring Ice. Spinning Things, Food, Edges, Electricity, Bridges, Fakes and Transformations. This is how to keep your publication from being predictable. It's similar in some ways to the highly acclaimed RE/Search series, which I didn't see in stock but I'm sure they'd be happy to order on request.

Weird Wild West pictured a gunslinger squaring off with some sort of alien life form with green tentacles. And here I should mention what I call the "epitome factor" in each section of the store. For every category of magazine there's going to be some truly extreme levels of presentation which epitomize the subject at hand and demonstrate how far people are willing to take their involvement. 

The most obvious example would be the titles which stand out boldly in the Erotica/Fetishes section: Bitches With Whips ("Dedicated to Female Dominance-For Caring Sadists") is fairly unique. Hair to Stay ("The World's Only Magazine For Lovers of Natural, Hairy Women") is even more specific. Body Play ("and Modern Primitives") hones in on corsets and strange piercings. Wanna see people do strange things with their fleshy parts? Right this way. Libido ("The Journal of Sex & Sensibility") seemed a wee bit less kinky than the titles mentioned above. And if this entire section begins to get on your nerves, turn slightly to the left and you're facing a display of some fifteen Tattoo Art mags. Not to be confused with Biker or Hot Rod mags, although many of these seem to share a common taste for high camp which borders on sleaze.

If the objectification of women has been getting you down, then go directly to the women's section and get your feet back on the ground: Woman of Power, The Beltane Papers; Woman's Way ("The Path of Empowerment"); Mother's Underground; Lilith ("The Independent Jewish Women's Magazine"); Sage Woman; Sojourner; Crone Chronicles; and Belles Lettres are just a few of the many publications by, for, and about women. 

There are also some 36 distinct Lesbian/Gay magazines, most conspicuously the popular comic book Hothead Paisan ("Homicidal Lesbian Terrorist"). I see Main Street News as working in unison with the other businesses which sell these particular titles, as opposed to the cut-throat competition stances which characterize so many of the retail businesses In America today. Real alternatives are offered and presented by people with genuinely alternative approaches to living and working.

The mission statement of Main Street News, above and beyond providing Ann Arbor with an outstanding selection of exceptional periodicals, was revealed quite candidly by Dave, who does not mince words: "We're always looking to open up a dialogue in here. People need to come together and share their perspectives. That's something which is lacking in the world today. Let's get a dialogue happening!"

Too many people are kicking back and letting the televisions and radios do the talking. Printed words are a time-honored incentive to voicing one's viewpoints. With so many people staring mutely into computer screens, the printed word is taking on a whole new significance. Some call it hard copy. These folks are making it a way of life.

And there's always room for dissent! We at AGENDA would rather that MSN didn't carry the Detroit Free Press or The Detroit News. ed. note: MSN also carries the striker-produced Detroit Sunday Journal]. Dave's statement about a dialogue came in response to my question concerning the Scab Press. He sees the entire issue as yet another important basis for public debate. If you disagree with this particular policy, he wants you to tell him in person. For Dave and Kay the question of Free Speech seems to eclipse even the rights of the newspaper workers in Detroit. This is their opinion and I will respect it even as I disagree with it. Nevertheless, it's remarkable how many Ann Arbor business people feel this way about scab papers. The ghost of Rosa Luxemburg is not amused.

Anyway, you should take the time to wander through 220 South Main, and see how several really cool operations can mesh themselves together in a funky, share-the-rent coexistence. Main Street News is in front (with a small display near the entrance of Outsider Artworks from Galerie Jacques). Elmo's T Shirts are still on display along the tops of the walls (the Thelonious Monk edition is a masterpiece), with the famous custom lettering and silk-screening operation still operating towards the rear. Elmo really deserves an entire article in honor of all he's done for this community, and specifically for his long-standing generosity in giving over the room at the very back of his space to AGENDA ("Ann Arbor's Alternative News Monthly").

220 South Main is our home too, and we couldn't ask for better company.

Article

Subjects
Old News
Agenda