{20th Anniversary Edition} CON - Lumpen

The Lumpen Times started in Champaign, Illinois while we were at the University of
Illinois. A couple dozen friends show up to an official meeting to create a publication and
we rock the first issue out in the Spring of 1990. It was a naive attempt at creating an
alternative zine and it was fun. In the next year we release 6 issues, focusing much energy
on Gulf War One. The war MADE us do it. We cut and pasted the issues together, using
the U of I’s sate of the art Mac SEs and laser printers. We duplicated them at the Kinkos
where sympathizing agents gave us extraordinary discounts.
The Lumpen Times
1991
8 9
In 1992 seduced by the promise of alternative media, Edmar moves to Chicago and
interns at the only alt paper in town, In These Times, a weekly Democratic Socialist
magazine. The gig was cool but interning was pretty boring. He meets some hippies,
activists, artists and progressive kids in town they start a free publication they name
The Paper. We rented a cube at the In These Times office and had one too many
meetings discussing font sizes. The Paper was cool, but got lame fast. We produce 6
or 7 issues. Edmar quits and convinces Chris Molnar to come to Chicago to start
Lumpen again.
The Paper
1992