Bananas (literary magazine)
Encyclopedia
Bananas was a British literary magazine that ran for 25 issues from 1975 until 1979. It was initially published and edited by the novelist Emma Tennant
but later issues were published and edited by the poet Abigail Mozley.
Quality and innovation helped to distinguish Bananas, but the magazine also appeared in an unusual format, that of a tabloid newspaper. Tennant believed this lent Bananas’ literary content more immediacy and addressed the readership’s appetite for culture in a contemporary media form. She chose to name the magazine after the motion picture Bananas
, directed by Woody Allen
.
Tennant said, “Bananas had a long-term effect on British literary audiences by taking the word ‘Review’ away from the concept of a literary magazine
and insisting on original fiction; it insisted too on wit and jokes and irreverence.”
Contributors to Bananas included Angela Carter
(who wrote the short story The Company of Wolves especially for the magazine), Heathcote Williams
, Ruth Fainlight
and Ted Hughes
. Work by Claud Cockburn
, Beryl Bainbridge
, Harold Pinter
, Sara Maitland
, Bruce Chatwin
, Peter Wollen
and Philip Roth
also featured. Several writers strongly associated with the speculative fiction
magazine New Worlds
found themselves welcomed to Bananas’ convention challenging approach. Tom Disch and John Sladek
were among these and J. G. Ballard
was a both a contributing editor and a constant presence, providing a short story for every issue.
The design of the magazine was created by Julian Rothenstein and was a considerable part of its character. One influence on Bananas’ format was Interview
, the New York magazine founded by Andy Warhol
. In 1979 Emma Tennant’s nephew, Charlie Tennant, was inspired by both publications to launch a short-lived literary nightlife tabloid titled Chelsea Scoop.
The editorial office of Bananas was 2 Blenheim Crescent in Notting Hill Gate
. In the 1970s this address was at the hub of much of London’s alternative and radical literary activity. Adjacent offices to Bananas housed the team that created An Index of Possibilities (a UK response to the American Whole Earth Catalogue), Frendz magazine, International Times
(IT) and The Open Head Press.
The history of Bananas is related in Tennant’s autobiographical book, Burnt Diaries. In this, the magazine’s struggles and successes are set in the context of Notting Hill Gate’s most prolific literary bohemian and countercultural era and against the background of Tennant’s relationship with Ted Hughes
.
An anthology of work from the magazine, also titled Bananas, was published in 1977
Emma Tennant
Emma Christina Tennant FRSL is a British novelist and editor. She is known for a postmodern approach to her fiction, which is often imbued with fantasy or magic. Several of her novels give a feminist or dreamlike twist to classic stories, such as Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr....
but later issues were published and edited by the poet Abigail Mozley.
Quality and innovation helped to distinguish Bananas, but the magazine also appeared in an unusual format, that of a tabloid newspaper. Tennant believed this lent Bananas’ literary content more immediacy and addressed the readership’s appetite for culture in a contemporary media form. She chose to name the magazine after the motion picture Bananas
Bananas (film)
Bananas is a 1971 comedy film written by Mickey Rose and Woody Allen, directed by Allen, and starring himself and Louise Lasser. Parts of the plot were based on the book Don Quixote, U.S.A. by Richard P. Powell. It was filmed on location in New York City, Lima , and various locations in Puerto...
, directed by Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
.
Tennant said, “Bananas had a long-term effect on British literary audiences by taking the word ‘Review’ away from the concept of a literary magazine
Literary magazine
A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry and essays along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letters...
and insisting on original fiction; it insisted too on wit and jokes and irreverence.”
Contributors to Bananas included Angela Carter
Angela Carter
Angela Carter was an English novelist and journalist, known for her feminist, magical realism, and picaresque works...
(who wrote the short story The Company of Wolves especially for the magazine), Heathcote Williams
Heathcote Williams
Heathcote Williams is an English poet, actor and award-winning playwright. He is also an intermittent painter, sculptor and long-time conjuror...
, Ruth Fainlight
Ruth Fainlight
Ruth Fainlight , is a poet, short story writer, translator and librettist.-Life and career:Fainlight was born in New York, but has mainly lived in England since she was fifteen, having also spent some years living in France and Spain. She studied for two years at the Birmingham and Brighton...
and Ted Hughes
Ted Hughes
Edward James Hughes OM , more commonly known as Ted Hughes, was an English poet and children's writer. Critics routinely rank him as one of the best poets of his generation. Hughes was British Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death.Hughes was married to American poet Sylvia Plath, from 1956 until...
. Work by Claud Cockburn
Claud Cockburn
Francis Claud Cockburn was a British journalist. He was well known proponent of communism. His saying, "believe nothing until it has been officially denied" is widely quoted in journalistic studies.He was the second cousin of novelist Evelyn Waugh....
, Beryl Bainbridge
Beryl Bainbridge
Dame Beryl Margaret Bainbridge, DBE was an English author from Liverpool. She was primarily known for her psychological novels, often set amongst the English working classes. Bainbridge won the Whitbread Awards prize for best novel in 1977 and 1996; she was nominated five times for the Booker...
, Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
, Sara Maitland
Sara Maitland
Sara Maitland is a British writer and feminist. An accomplished novelist, she is also known for her short stories. Her work has a magic realist tendency.-Biography:...
, Bruce Chatwin
Bruce Chatwin
Charles Bruce Chatwin was an English novelist and travel writer. He won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his novel On the Black Hill...
, Peter Wollen
Peter Wollen
Peter Wollen is a film theorist and writer. He studied English at Christ Church, Oxford. Both political journalist and film theorist, Wollen's Signs and Meaning in the Cinema , helped to transform the discipline of film studies by incorporating the methodology of structuralism and...
and Philip Roth
Philip Roth
Philip Milton Roth is an American novelist. He gained fame with the 1959 novella Goodbye, Columbus, an irreverent and humorous portrait of Jewish-American life that earned him a National Book Award...
also featured. Several writers strongly associated with the speculative fiction
Speculative fiction
Speculative fiction is an umbrella term encompassing the more fantastical fiction genres, specifically science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, and alternate history in literature as well as...
magazine New Worlds
New Worlds (magazine)
New Worlds was a British science fiction magazine which was first published professionally in 1946. For 25 years it was widely considered the leading science fiction magazine in Britain, publishing 201 issues up to 1971...
found themselves welcomed to Bananas’ convention challenging approach. Tom Disch and John Sladek
John Sladek
John Thomas Sladek was an American science fiction author, known for his satirical and surreal novels.- Life and work :...
were among these and J. G. Ballard
J. G. Ballard
James Graham Ballard was an English novelist, short story writer, and prominent member of the New Wave movement in science fiction...
was a both a contributing editor and a constant presence, providing a short story for every issue.
The design of the magazine was created by Julian Rothenstein and was a considerable part of its character. One influence on Bananas’ format was Interview
Interview (magazine)
Interview is an American magazine which has the nickname The Crystal Ball Of Pop. It was founded in late 1969 by artist Andy Warhol. The magazine features intimate conversations between some of the world's biggest celebrities, artists, musicians, and creative thinkers...
, the New York magazine founded by Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
. In 1979 Emma Tennant’s nephew, Charlie Tennant, was inspired by both publications to launch a short-lived literary nightlife tabloid titled Chelsea Scoop.
The editorial office of Bananas was 2 Blenheim Crescent in Notting Hill Gate
Notting Hill Gate
Notting Hill Gate is one of the main thoroughfares of Notting Hill, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically the street was a location for toll gates, from which it derives its modern name.- Location :...
. In the 1970s this address was at the hub of much of London’s alternative and radical literary activity. Adjacent offices to Bananas housed the team that created An Index of Possibilities (a UK response to the American Whole Earth Catalogue), Frendz magazine, International Times
International Times
International Times was an underground newspaper founded in London in 1966. Editors included Hoppy, David Mairowitz, Pete Stansill, Barry Miles, Jim Haynes and playwright Tom McGrath...
(IT) and The Open Head Press.
The history of Bananas is related in Tennant’s autobiographical book, Burnt Diaries. In this, the magazine’s struggles and successes are set in the context of Notting Hill Gate’s most prolific literary bohemian and countercultural era and against the background of Tennant’s relationship with Ted Hughes
Ted Hughes
Edward James Hughes OM , more commonly known as Ted Hughes, was an English poet and children's writer. Critics routinely rank him as one of the best poets of his generation. Hughes was British Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death.Hughes was married to American poet Sylvia Plath, from 1956 until...
.
An anthology of work from the magazine, also titled Bananas, was published in 1977
External links
- Interview with Emma Tennant in Bomb Magazine
- Interview with Emma Tennant in The Scotsman
- J G Ballard site
- Julian Rothenstein biography
- Notting Hill Gate history timeline
- Notting Hill Gate alternative culture history
- An Index of Possibilities at Open Library
- History of Friends / Frendz magazine
- Guardian article about Emma Tennant’s relationship with Ted Hughes
- Emma Tennant interviewed by Eleanor Mills about Ted Hughes
- Bananas anthology contents