Helix (newspaper)
Encyclopedia
The Helix was the first underground newspaper in Seattle, Washington
, founded and edited by Paul Dorpat; among its writers were Tom Robbins
, later known as a novelist, and Walt Crowley
, who served as a cartoonist, writer, and editor.
After a series of organizational meetings held at the Free University of Seattle, the Helix first appeared on March 23, 1967. A member of both the Underground Press Syndicate
and the Liberation News Service
, it published a total of 125 issues (sometimes as a weekly, sometimes as a biweekly) before folding on June 11, 1970. The first issue was produced by Paul Dorpat with $200 in borrowed capital, out of a rented storefront on Roosevelt Way N.E. After being turned down by the first printers they approached, they found a printer in Ken Monson, a Democratic Party activist and communications director of an International Association of Machinists local representing Boeing
workers, who had acquired a printing press. 1500 copies were printed of the first issue. By the fourth biweekly issue sales had reached 11,000 copies. After the first two issues a "split-font" rainbow effect was sometimes used to print psychedelically colorful front covers; issues averaged 24 pages, with illustrations and graphics clipped from old magazines and having little to do with the adjoining copy crammed into the interior pages.
After the death of the Helix several attempts were made by different groups in Seattle to start a new paper to take its place, including the Puget Sound Partisan, Sabot
, the Flag, the Sound, and the Sun, but none succeeded in recapturing the spirit or the success of the Helix.
Crowley and Dorpat later went on to be two of the three founders of HistoryLink
, along with Crowley's wife Marie McCaffrey.
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, founded and edited by Paul Dorpat; among its writers were Tom Robbins
Tom Robbins
Thomas Eugene "Tom" Robbins Thomas Eugene "Tom" Robbins Thomas Eugene "Tom" Robbins (born July 22, 1936 is an American author. His best-selling novels are serio-comic, often wildly poetic stories with a strong social and philosophical undercurrent, an irreverent bent, and scenes extrapolated from...
, later known as a novelist, and Walt Crowley
Walt Crowley
Walter Charles Crowley was a Washington political celebrity. He first became a public figure in Seattle through his involvement with the social and political movements of the 1960s, especially the underground press...
, who served as a cartoonist, writer, and editor.
After a series of organizational meetings held at the Free University of Seattle, the Helix first appeared on March 23, 1967. A member of both the Underground Press Syndicate
Underground Press Syndicate
The Underground Press Syndicate, commonly known as UPS, and later known as the Alternative Press Syndicate or APS, was a network of countercultural newspapers and magazines formed in mid-1966 by the publishers of five early underground papers: the East Village Other, the Los Angeles Free Press, the...
and the Liberation News Service
Liberation News Service
Liberation News Service was a New Left, Underground press news service which published news bulletins from 1967 to 1981.-History:The Liberation News Service was co-founded in the summer of 1967 by Ray Mungo and Marshall Bloom after the two of them were separated from the United States Student...
, it published a total of 125 issues (sometimes as a weekly, sometimes as a biweekly) before folding on June 11, 1970. The first issue was produced by Paul Dorpat with $200 in borrowed capital, out of a rented storefront on Roosevelt Way N.E. After being turned down by the first printers they approached, they found a printer in Ken Monson, a Democratic Party activist and communications director of an International Association of Machinists local representing Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
workers, who had acquired a printing press. 1500 copies were printed of the first issue. By the fourth biweekly issue sales had reached 11,000 copies. After the first two issues a "split-font" rainbow effect was sometimes used to print psychedelically colorful front covers; issues averaged 24 pages, with illustrations and graphics clipped from old magazines and having little to do with the adjoining copy crammed into the interior pages.
After the death of the Helix several attempts were made by different groups in Seattle to start a new paper to take its place, including the Puget Sound Partisan, Sabot
Sabot (newspaper)
Sabot was a brief-lived underground newspaper published in Seattle, Washington by the Seattle Liberation Front from September 11, 1970 to January 13, 1971. Sixteen weekly issues were published in all. The paper was started as a replacement for the Seattle Helix which had published its last issue in...
, the Flag, the Sound, and the Sun, but none succeeded in recapturing the spirit or the success of the Helix.
Crowley and Dorpat later went on to be two of the three founders of HistoryLink
HistoryLink
HistoryLink is a website that is an encyclopedia of Washington State history. The site has more than 4,500 stories. There are 500 biographies and more than 14,000 images....
, along with Crowley's wife Marie McCaffrey.