The Black Dwarf (newspaper)

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The Black Dwarf
June 1968 issue of Black Dwarf
Editor	Tariq Ali (until 1970)
Founded	May 1968
Ceased publication	1972

The Black Dwarf was a political and cultural newspaper published between May 1968 and 1972 by a collective of socialists in the United Kingdom. It is often identified with Tariq Ali^[1] who edited and published the newspaper until 1970, when the editorial board split between Leninist and non-Leninist currents, with the contributors joining the planning group of 7 Days.

Black Dwarf took its name from the nineteenth-century radical paper of that name which was published from 1817 to 1824.^[2]

The editorial and production group included Ali, Clive Goodwin, Robin Fior, David Mercer, Mo Teitlebaum, Douglas Gill, Adrian Mitchell, Sheila Rowbotham, Bob Rowthorn, D. A. N. Jones, Sean Thompson, Neil Lyndon,^[3] Roger Tyrrell and Fred Halliday.

The Leninists, including Ali and other members of the International Marxist Group, went on to found the Red Mole.

The Black Dwarf newspaper published a special edition in autumn 1968 devoted entirely to the Bolivian Diaries of Che Guevara, in a translation first published by Ramparts in the United States. It included an introduction by Fidel Castro. This edition appeared to be in response to a version of the diaries put out by "some publishers in league with those who murdered Che".^[4]

John Hoyland and the musician John Lennon of the Beatles had an exchange of letters in the newspaper regarding Lennon's supposed bourgeois values.^[5] Hoyland in "An Open Letter to John Lennon", ostensibly a review of the Beatles recent eponymous white album, wrote that Lennon's song "Revolution" was no more revolutionary than Mrs Dale's Diary and that "In order to change the world we've got to understand what's wrong with the world then destroy it ruthlessly.... There's no such thing as a polite revolution." Lennon replied, writing: "...You're obviously on a destruction kick. I'll tell you what's wrong with the world – people, so do you want to destroy them? Ruthlessly? Until we change your/our heads – there's no chance...". Lennon wrote in a postscript: "You smash it – I'll build around it".^[6]

Notes

^ Ali 2018.
^ Ali 2018, p. 201.
^ Lyndon, Neil. "The return of the heretic". The Sunday Times – via www.fact.on.ca.
^ Ali 2018, pp. 286-7.
^ Mäkelä, Janne (2004). John Lennon Imagined: Cultural History of a Rock Star. Peter Lang. pp. 160–. ISBN 978-0-8204-6788-7.
^ Ono, Yoko (13 October 2009). Memories of John Lennon. Dey Street Books. pp. 15–. ISBN 978-0-06-187080-4.

References

Ali, Tariq (17 April 2018). Street fighting years : an autobiography of the sixties. London: Verso Books. ISBN 9781786636003. Retrieved 9 January 2021.

External links

The Black Dwarf Archive at marxists.org
John Hoyland, "Power to the People", The Guardian, 15 March 2008.

v t e British underground
People	Stephen Abrams Nicholas Albery Tariq Ali Jim Anderson Kevin Ayers Edward Barker Syd Barrett Mark Boyle Joe Boyd Barney Bubbles Bob Cobbing Caroline Coon Felix Dennis Robin Farquharson Mick Farren Duggie Fields Germaine Greer Hapshash and the Coloured Coat Lee Harris Jim Haynes Wally Hope John 'Hoppy' Hopkins Michael Horovitz Peter Jenner & Andrew King Mike Lesser Tom McGrath John Michell Barry Miles Sue Miles Richard Neville Jeff Nuttall Neil Oram John Peel Aubrey Powell Sid Rawle Craig Sams Gregory Sams Martin Sharp Nicholas Saunders Storm Thorgerson Steve Peregrin Took Alexander Trocchi Heathcote Williams Ubi Dwyer
Publications	Alternative London Brighton Voice Children of Albion: Poetry of the Underground in Britain The Black Dwarf Gandalf's Garden Gay News Ink International Times Muther Grumble The Mersey Sound Oz Schoolkids Oz Peace News Seed - The Journal of Organic Living Spare Rib Undercurrents
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Other	Arts Lab Better Books BIT Compendium Books Games for May Granny Takes a Trip Indica Gallery "It's So Far Out, It's Straight Down" London Free School London Film-Makers' Co-op Mr Freedom (fashion) Release Seed Macrobiotic Restaurant UFO Club
See also	British Poetry Revival Counterculture English underground Freak scene Hippies Youth subculture

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