Underground and Under Newspapers

A moonflower delayed my Saturday night.

I was getting dressed to go to a reading when I glanced out my bedroom window and, much to my surprise, saw my first moonflower of the summer beginning to open on my back porch.

If that doesn't sound impressive, then you've never seen a moonflower open.

It's the only flower I know of that opens so quickly you can watch it happen...in about 90 seconds.

My Mom still tells the story of showing my college boyfriend, Curt, a moonflower vine and watching his jaw drop as flower after flower opened in front of his eyes.

He was flabbergasted, never having heard of flowers that open so quickly.

Every year I grow moonflowers, as much for the novelty of flowers that open at dusk or later as for their entertainment value.

They can be fickle (who among us can't?), but their large, white, deep-throated flowers are stunning twining around a railing or up a trellis.

So when I saw that bud start shaking, I knew that Prudence would have to wait.

As it was, we arrived at Chop Suey in plenty of time for the reading since the event began with an extended mingling period.

I do so love a good reading preceded by time to socialize with a girlfriend while perusing the stacks at Chop Suey.

Dale Brumfield was talking about his new book, "Richmond's Independent Press: A History of the Underground Zine Scene."

And doing so in a most dapper manner wearing a white linen blazer.

He began by stating the obvious, that RVA's alternative papers were born out of disdain for and as a reaction to the dreaded Richmond Times Dispatch and News Leader.

Some things never change.

Those two mainstream papers were not telling the story of the new counterculture movement, demonstrating a clear disdain for the younger generation.

Not a smart choice at a time when youth was on the ascendancy.

But it was when Dale got down to cold, hard facts, that it became clear how key RVA had been in the overall underground press scene.

With a 1960 start, we had the second longest counterculture scene in the U.S., second only to NYC.

And get this, we had the first female editor in a counterculture publication in 1969.

And here I'd thought Richmond women still wearing white gloves in 1969.

Throttle magazine was especially noteworthy.

Among un-financed, free independent papers, they had the fastest circulation growth (from 3,000 to 20,000 copies per month).

I know publishers that would have killed for that kind of growth.

They also won the longevity prize for un-financed, free independent papers, clocking in at eighteen years.

As someone who spent many years working for free, independent papers, I can appreciate how impressive that is.

Dale spoke a bit about Richmond's unique handbill history before bringing readers up to read from his book.

He made it clear that the last thing he wanted to do was read his own words out loud.

Abby read a section about The Sunflower and Tabitha read one about Throttle.

Then Dale called up a man who needed no introduction, giving him none, to read about the Richmond Mercury.

Harry Kollatz, everyone's favorite man-about-town, came up contorting himself and purportedly reading a book called The Best Sex Ever.

The trouble with Harry is he always knows how to get a laugh (including his own).

First he had us rehearse our part (bow chicka wow wow, chicka wow wow) and then went on to read about when critic Frank Rich reviewed an adult movie at the Lee Adult Theater on Grace Street.

Yes, that Frank Rich who went on to become theater critic of the New York Times and, yes, that theater where men self-pleasured under newspapers in their lap during movies designed for that.

At various parts in the story, we were given the signal to sing our part and did so fairly poorly, I'm afraid.

The end of Harry's reading involved a Mercury interview about VCU girls.

"VCU girls have a reputation," said a University of Richmond student. "They'll do anything."

Anything? Or does that just mean UR girls were boring?

Before you let that judge your opinion of the Mercury, though, know that four of the five founders of the alternative went on to win Pulitzer prizes.

Wow, you think you know your city and then, boom, it surprises you again.

Sort of like a moonflower opening.