Harvest Magazine
Encyclopedia
Harvest was an American
Neopagan
magazine
, published eight times a year between 1980 and 1992.
Harvest began in 1980 as a grassroots
, homemade zine
. Over its twelve-year publication run it grew to be a 42 page, professionally printed magazine with international distribution and news stand sales. Published out of Southboro
, Massachusetts
, USA, Harvest served both the New England
and International Neopagan communities. In an era before mainstream access to the Internet
, and before the creation of the world wide web
, Pagan magazines such as Harvest provided crucial opportunities for networking, sharing of information, and the development of the international Neopagan community.
In an Utne Reader
feature on Pagan publications, author James Tedford wrote,
In comparison to other Pagan publications of the time, Tedford continued,
In addition to covering the more common traditions of Neopaganism, such as Wicca
, Harvest also gave a forum to some of the emerging Polytheistic Reconstructionist
movements. A number of Neopagan authors had their first publication in Harvest, and the letters column provided an active forum for the development of community consensus on terminology and other issues of importance to Neopagans in the '80s and '90s.
In Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today
, Margot Adler
described Harvest as:
Harvest was founded by publishers, writers and editors Morven and Brenwyn. After Brenwyn left, Morven became the editor in chief. At the end of 1992, Morven retired from the staff to pursue her own writing. Respecting Morven's ownership of the name, the staff continued publishing quarterly for the next six issues, renaming the magazine Tides. Morven continued to serve in an informal capacity as an advisor to the new incarnation of the magazine.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Neopagan
Neopaganism
Neopaganism is an umbrella term used to identify a wide variety of modern religious movements, particularly those influenced by or claiming to be derived from the various pagan beliefs of pre-modern Europe...
magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
, published eight times a year between 1980 and 1992.
Harvest began in 1980 as a grassroots
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
, homemade zine
Zine
A zine is most commonly a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier....
. Over its twelve-year publication run it grew to be a 42 page, professionally printed magazine with international distribution and news stand sales. Published out of Southboro
Southborough, Massachusetts
Southborough is an affluent town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It incorporates the smaller villages of Cordaville, Fayville, and Southville. Its name is often informally shortened to Southboro, a usage seen on many area signs and maps. Its population was 9,767 at the 2010...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, USA, Harvest served both the New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
and International Neopagan communities. In an era before mainstream access to the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, and before the creation of the world wide web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
, Pagan magazines such as Harvest provided crucial opportunities for networking, sharing of information, and the development of the international Neopagan community.
In an Utne Reader
Utne Reader
Utne Reader is an American bimonthly magazine. The magazine collects and reprints articles on politics, culture, and the environment from generally alternative media sources, including journals, newsletters, weeklies, zines, music and DVDs...
feature on Pagan publications, author James Tedford wrote,
In comparison to other Pagan publications of the time, Tedford continued,
In addition to covering the more common traditions of Neopaganism, such as Wicca
Wicca
Wicca , is a modern Pagan religious movement. Developing in England in the first half of the 20th century, Wicca was popularised in the 1950s and early 1960s by a Wiccan High Priest named Gerald Gardner, who at the time called it the "witch cult" and "witchcraft," and its adherents "the Wica."...
, Harvest also gave a forum to some of the emerging Polytheistic Reconstructionist
Polytheistic reconstructionism
Polytheistic reconstructionism is an approach to Neopaganism first emerging in the late 1960s to early 1970s, and gathering momentum in the 1990s to 2000s...
movements. A number of Neopagan authors had their first publication in Harvest, and the letters column provided an active forum for the development of community consensus on terminology and other issues of importance to Neopagans in the '80s and '90s.
In Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today
Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today
Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today is a sociological study of contemporary Paganism in the United States written by the American sociologist, Wiccan and journalist Margot Adler...
, Margot Adler
Margot Adler
Margot Adler is an author, journalist, lecturer, Wiccan priestess and radio journalist and correspondent for National Public Radio .- Early life :Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, Adler grew up mostly in New York City...
described Harvest as:
Harvest was founded by publishers, writers and editors Morven and Brenwyn. After Brenwyn left, Morven became the editor in chief. At the end of 1992, Morven retired from the staff to pursue her own writing. Respecting Morven's ownership of the name, the staff continued publishing quarterly for the next six issues, renaming the magazine Tides. Morven continued to serve in an informal capacity as an advisor to the new incarnation of the magazine.