New Words

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Founded in 1974 by optician Mary Lowry, Harvard Divinity School graduate Jean MacRae, genetic biologist Rita Arditti (1934-2009), and bookseller Gilda Bruckman, New Words was the country's oldest, continuously-run women's bookstore until 2002. Originally located at 419 Washington Street in Somerville, Massachusetts, New Words moved to 186 Hampshire Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1976. The three of the four founding women each invested $5,000 in seed money to open the store. Later, Laura Zimmerman, Doris Reisig, Joni Seager, Kate Rushin, and Madge Kaplan also joined the collective. During its first years in operation, New Words carried approximately 500 titles written only by women. It would grow to carry 8,000 titles, written by or for women, and to sell over 30,000 books annually. With the expansion of women's writing and publishing, New Words played a key role in making written material by and about women available to readers locally, nationally, and internationally. It also offered music by women artists, merchandise that included feminist buttons and t-shirts, an extensive collection of multicultural and non-sexist literature for children and teens, and course books for local colleges and universities. New Words also served as an informal women's community center and host to author readings and other events. In 2002, faced with the rise of competition from superstores and internet sales, New Words closed its doors in order to reinvent itself as the non-profit Center for New Words. The mission of that organization was to "foster and enhance the expressive and intellectual culture of women that flourishes at the intersection of literacy, books, culture, activism, and politics." In 2010, the Center for New Words closed due to financial difficulty.

From the guide to the Records of New Words, 1974-2002, (Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Records of New Words, 1974-2002 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
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