[Earth First!] Editorial Collective: Frog, Sassafras, Jim Flynn, Josh Laughlin, Dug, Kris Maenz, Adam Volk. Poetry Editor: Dennis Fritzinger (featuring a poem by Gary Snyder, et al.). Artwork by: Peggy Sue Mcrae (front cover), Slugthang (front inner cover), John Dolley (rear inner cover), Whirlwind (rear cover photo), et al. [Environmentalism] [Biocentrism] [Deep Ecology] [Green Anarchism] [Direct Action]

Earth First! Journal. [Earth First! The Radical Environmental Journal]. November-December, 2000. Samhain. Volume 21, Number 1. 20th Anniversary Edition.

Eugene, OR: Daily Planet Publishing, [Earth First! Journal], November 1, 2000. Magazine. 112pp. Quarto [27.5cm]; perfect-bound in color printed cardstock wraps. Internal contents printed mostly in black and white with the occasional color page. Richly illustrated with photographs and artwork. Just a bit of shelf- and edge-wear. Near Fine. Item #70592

"No Compromise in Defense of Mother Earth!" - Earth First!

Earth First! is a group of radical environmentalists that formed in the American Southwest in the spring of 1980, founded by Dave Foreman, Mike Roselle, Howie Wolke, Bart Koehler, and Ron Kezar, among others. Earth First! quickly came to national attention with their "cracking" of Glen Canyon Dam activist stunt, which was performed and filmed in the spring of 1981. Edward Abbey is considered to be the "literary father" of the group, and the monkey wrench is their ever-present emblem and tool. "Earth First! is the beginning of the new, bold environmental movement. And 'Earth First! The Radical Environmental Journal' is its voice" (Dave Foreman, 1980s). The late-1980s and early-1990s were a tumultuous time for Earth First! Law enforcement cracked down on its members, and various internal issues and factions began to form within the group. Earth First! embraced non-hierarchical structures and organic methods of organization and growth, while continuing to focus on direct action in defense of wilderness as its primary focus. Through the 1990's, 2000's, and 2010's, the journal continued to be published in various forms under the direction of a diverse and rotating collective of voices from within the broad Earth First! movement. Regular print publication of the Earth First! Journal under this title seems to have ceased sometime in the early 2020s, though the movement still survives and maintains a presence online and on social media.

This is the twentieth anniversary edition/issue of this publication. The front cover artwork, by Peggy Sue McRae, is a collage of images and portraits from the history of the Earth First! movement. This issue contains a lengthy article on the history of the publication of this journal entitled "Twenty Years of The Radical Environmental Journal: The Life and Times of Our Beloved Journal—A Not-So-Brief History" by Kris Maenz (beginning on page 12). A facsimile of the first page of the first issue (Samhain, Nov 1, 1980, Volume 1 Number 1) is reproduced on page [1] ("How it all began—The first page of the premier edition of Earth First!"). The "Armed with Visions" poetry page appears on pages 59-60 and features a poem entitled "The Earth's Wild Places" by Gary Snyder. Front inner cover artwork in full color entitled "Keeping It Wild for 20yrs" by Slugthang. Rear inner cover artwork in full color is a comic art portrait entitled "John Muir" by John Dolley ("No John, Uncle Sam won't save the Forests!!"). Rear cover color photograph of a forest of aspen trees is by Whirlwind. A rich collection of reflections on the history of the Earth First! movement, reprinted articles and essays from the past, and other articles on contemporary issues and happenings within the movement flesh out the rest of this anniversary issue.

Price: $50.00