''Avatar'' was an American
underground newspaper
The terms underground press or clandestine press refer to periodicals and publications that are produced without official approval, illegally or against the wishes of a dominant (governmental, religious, or institutional) group.
In specific rece ...
published in
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
,
Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
, in 1967–1968. The newspaper's first issues were published from the headquarters of ''Broadside'' magazine in
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
.
Publication history
''Avatar'' was started by a varied group of people from different parts of the Boston
countercultural
A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Ho ...
scene, but quickly came to be dominated by
Mel Lyman
Melvin James Lyman (March 24, 1938 – March 1978) was an American musician and writer, and the founder of the Fort Hill Community, which has been variously described as a family, commune, or cult.
Early life
Lyman grew up in California and Ore ...
's group, the Fort Hill Community (or Lyman Family), which Lyman had formed over some years in Boston and Cambridge, and which has been variously described as a commune, family, or cult.
Over time, disputes between the Fort Hill Community and other factions involved in putting out the paper led to an irreconcilable split, which ended that cycle of the paper.
[David Felton, "The Lyman Family's Holy Siege of America". Originally appeared in ''Rolling Stone'' 98, Dec. 23, 1971, pp. 40-60, and ''Rolling Stone'' 99, Jan. 6, 1972, pp. 40-60. Reprinted in ''Mindfuckers: A Source Book on the Rise of Acid Fascism in America'', David Felton, ed. (San Francisco: Straight Arrow, 1972) an]
reprinted in its entirety
i
A total of 24 issues were printed bi-weekly from June 9, 1967, through April 26, 1968.
Toward the end of its run, six issues (nos. 18–23) were published in large-size
broadsheet
A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long Vertical and horizontal, vertical pages, typically of in height. Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner (format), Berliner and Tabloid (newspaper ...
newspaper format, with a tabloid size magazine insert. A 25th issue, dated May 9, 1968, was assembled and printed by the non-Fort Hill faction, but all but 500 copies of the 35,000-copy press run were sequestered and disposed of by the Fort Hill faction.
Michael Kindman, founder of the East Lansing underground newspaper ''
The Paper'', briefly worked on ''Avatar'' and remained with the group for five years. He later wrote of his experiences, including his participation in the theft, in his book ''My Odyssey Through the Underground Press''.
[Michael Kindman, ]
My Journey Through the Underground Press
'. In Ken Wachsberger, ed., ''Voices from the Underground: Insider Histories of the Vietnam Era Underground Press'' Vol. 1, pp. 369-478. Mica Press 1993, and Michigan State University Press, June 1, 2011. The chapters from this book describing Kindman's Fort Hill experience are reprinted a
Spin-offs
There were three short-lived spinoffs of ''Avatar'':
* ''New York Avatar'' (7 issues, March 29 – August 1968) — edited by Brian Keating out of a
SoHo
SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...
loft and featuring contributions by
Paul Williams Paul Williams may refer to:
Authors
* Paul Williams (Crawdaddy) (1948–2013), American music and science fiction journalist; founder of ''Crawdaddy'' and the Philip K. Dick Society
* Paul Williams (Irish journalist) (born 1964), Irish journalis ...
and
Peter Stafford of ''
Crawdaddy'' magazine and underground cartoonist
The Mad Peck
John Frederick Peck (November 16, 1942 – March 15, 2025), known as The Mad Peck, was an American underground cartoonist, rock poster artist and disc jockey. His most famous poster is a 1978 comic book-style poster that starts with the line, ...
. Print run of 7,500.
* ''Boston Avatar'' a.k.a. ''Avatar Vol. II'' (6 issues, July – August 1968) — edited by Dave Wilson of ''Broadside'' magazine who had also edited editions 1 to 5 of ''Avatar''
* ''American Avatar'' (4 issues, October 1968 – Summer 1969) - published by the Fort Hill faction
See also
*
List of underground newspapers of the 1960s counterculture
This is a partial list of the local underground newspapers launched during the Sixties era of the hippie/psychedelic/youth/counterculture/New Left/antiwar movements, approximately 1965–1973. This list includes periodically appearing papers of g ...
References
{{Newspapers in Massachusetts
Newspapers published in Boston
Underground press