Our Historic Mission
TRIVIA: A Journal of Ideas was born in 1982 out of a group of women thinkers and writers in Western Massachusetts who met every other week to discuss literature and philosophy in a feminist context. It went on to become an international, award-winning publication that endured for over a decade.
Almost thirty years of feminist activism have passed since the founding of TRIVIA in its original version; despite our gains, the war on women, in all its overt and subliminal forms, has continued and even accelerated. So has the war on the non-human world, and on the earth itself. We believe that "a place where women's ideas can assume their original power and significance" is more needed now than ever.
The new TRIVIA: Voices of Feminism was founded as a public forum for the creative and critical thinking of that great diversity of women who insist on our primacy, and who in league with and in the name of all the other endangered species on this planet, refuse to accept the life-destroying status quo. May we find the forms we need to meet the urgencies of this time. And may we encourage each other.
In 2011, Monica Casper and Julie Amparano, faculty members at Arizona State University, became the new co-editors of TRIVIA.
Editorial Tidbits and Acknowledgments
The editors of TRIVIA: A Journal of Ideas (1982-95) included Lise Weil (issues 1-11 and 13-18), Anne Dellenbaugh (issues 1-5), Linda Nelson (issues 10-18), and Erin Rice and Kaye Parkhurst (issues 19-22).
TRIVIA's rebirth on the web was initiated by MeLissa Gabriels, who also designed the original website for TRIVIA: Voices of Feminism. The editorial collective for issue 1 was MeLissa Gabriels, Elizabeth Waller, Layla Holguin-Messner, Elissa Jones, and Lise Weil. The collective responsible for issue 2 included Lise Weil, Harriet Ellenberger, Elizabeth Waller, and J. Emily Bandru.
Lise Weil and Harriet Ellenberger were co-editors for TRIVIA: Voices of Feminism, issues 3-8.
Hye Sook Hwang was guest co-editor for issue 9.
Publication of the two-part series, TRIVIA 10-11, was made possible by a generous grant from Kim Chernin and Renate Stendhal in the name of EdgeWork Books. Thanks to the amazingly competent and patient web designer Farah Kashem, www.wukadesign.com, and to intern Brittany Shoot for production and webmail assistance for these issues.
We are deeply grateful to Susan Kullmann, www.doctorgeek.net, who donated her time to redesign our site and serve as web publisher for issues #3-9.
And we are delighted beyond words by the efforts of Kalen Young for all of her work on our new TRIVIA website. We think it looks absolutely gorgeous, in no small part due to her labors.
TRIVIA's rebirth on the web was initiated by MeLissa Gabriels, who also designed the original website for TRIVIA: Voices of Feminism. The editorial collective for issue 1 was MeLissa Gabriels, Elizabeth Waller, Layla Holguin-Messner, Elissa Jones, and Lise Weil. The collective responsible for issue 2 included Lise Weil, Harriet Ellenberger, Elizabeth Waller, and J. Emily Bandru.
Lise Weil and Harriet Ellenberger were co-editors for TRIVIA: Voices of Feminism, issues 3-8.
Hye Sook Hwang was guest co-editor for issue 9.
Publication of the two-part series, TRIVIA 10-11, was made possible by a generous grant from Kim Chernin and Renate Stendhal in the name of EdgeWork Books. Thanks to the amazingly competent and patient web designer Farah Kashem, www.wukadesign.com, and to intern Brittany Shoot for production and webmail assistance for these issues.
We are deeply grateful to Susan Kullmann, www.doctorgeek.net, who donated her time to redesign our site and serve as web publisher for issues #3-9.
And we are delighted beyond words by the efforts of Kalen Young for all of her work on our new TRIVIA website. We think it looks absolutely gorgeous, in no small part due to her labors.
From Lise Weil's Letter to TRIVIA Readers, 8/5/11
Dear Friends of TRIVIA:
I’m writing to you with exciting news! I have accepted a proposal to take over editorship of TRIVIA: Voices of Feminism from Monica J. Casper* and Julie Amparano of Arizona State University. Their proposal was both impassioned and very well thought-out. Both women are fundamentally committed to TRIVIA’s existing mission and intend to work together with a very diverse editorial collective, also from ASU, and an international advisory board (which will include me and ex-co-editors Harriet Ellenberger and Betsy Warland) to that end. Housing the journal at New College of Arizona State University will mean, as they wrote, that “the journal will benefit from intellectual expertise in the humanities (writing, literature, philosophy, history, women’s studies, ethnic studies, art and performance) while also enjoying material benefits such as office space, computers and technical support, student assistance, financial resources, and the reputation of New College for interdisciplinary, community-embedded, and collaborative work.” At the same time, the new editors have assured me, ASU will not have any controlling interest in TRIVIA’s editorial content.
Here is an excerpt from Monica and Julie’s proposal: “As feminist scholars and activists, we share TRIVIA’s conviction that all feminist voices matter and need to be heard, particularly in this bleak and regressive political moment. From attacks on women’s reproductive freedoms, to escalating sexual violence across the globe, to the enduring paucity of women in elected office, to intensifying conservative/neoliberal backlash, to amplified militarization, it is clear that feminism is as critical now as it was during its ‘first wave,’ and perhaps even more so. As writers and educators of the next generation of feminists, we seek new ways to teach, inform, and share progressive views, ideas, theories, and praxis. Well aware of TRIVIA’s distinguished history and impact, we welcome the opportunity to shepherd this special journal into the next phase of its development.”
. . .
I hope you're as relieved and as hopeful as I am about this changing of hands. Thank you all for your encouragement and support over the years.
Lise
*Monica’s essay “Edible Parts” appeared in TRIVIA 7/8. You can read it at http://www.triviavoices.net/archives/issue7-8/casper.html
I’m writing to you with exciting news! I have accepted a proposal to take over editorship of TRIVIA: Voices of Feminism from Monica J. Casper* and Julie Amparano of Arizona State University. Their proposal was both impassioned and very well thought-out. Both women are fundamentally committed to TRIVIA’s existing mission and intend to work together with a very diverse editorial collective, also from ASU, and an international advisory board (which will include me and ex-co-editors Harriet Ellenberger and Betsy Warland) to that end. Housing the journal at New College of Arizona State University will mean, as they wrote, that “the journal will benefit from intellectual expertise in the humanities (writing, literature, philosophy, history, women’s studies, ethnic studies, art and performance) while also enjoying material benefits such as office space, computers and technical support, student assistance, financial resources, and the reputation of New College for interdisciplinary, community-embedded, and collaborative work.” At the same time, the new editors have assured me, ASU will not have any controlling interest in TRIVIA’s editorial content.
Here is an excerpt from Monica and Julie’s proposal: “As feminist scholars and activists, we share TRIVIA’s conviction that all feminist voices matter and need to be heard, particularly in this bleak and regressive political moment. From attacks on women’s reproductive freedoms, to escalating sexual violence across the globe, to the enduring paucity of women in elected office, to intensifying conservative/neoliberal backlash, to amplified militarization, it is clear that feminism is as critical now as it was during its ‘first wave,’ and perhaps even more so. As writers and educators of the next generation of feminists, we seek new ways to teach, inform, and share progressive views, ideas, theories, and praxis. Well aware of TRIVIA’s distinguished history and impact, we welcome the opportunity to shepherd this special journal into the next phase of its development.”
. . .
I hope you're as relieved and as hopeful as I am about this changing of hands. Thank you all for your encouragement and support over the years.
Lise
*Monica’s essay “Edible Parts” appeared in TRIVIA 7/8. You can read it at http://www.triviavoices.net/archives/issue7-8/casper.html
