Changes Magazine | December, 1971 | Vol. 3, Issue 12

Changes was a small, monthly arts paper founded & edited by Susan Graham, Charles Mingus’s third wife. Although it’s not very well known or well documented, it’s extremely typical of the underground zines that came out of New York around this time. They really transport you to that time & place! Richly illustrated throughout with concert photos, collages, and portraits of notable figures.

The magazine’s main selling point these days, at least for me, is that it’s the first publication Fran Lebowitz wrote for. She got a job selling ads, though never actually did any work. She persuaded the owner of Max’s Kansas City, where she was a regular, to place one ad, and that was it. She talked her way into writing reviews when the magazine’s regular film writer was away. She began writing for Changes this year, and is listed in the contributors, though no work by her appears in this issue. Her Interview Magazine cohort Glenn O’Brien has a feature on nostalgia in film. 

This issue begins with a wild Ed McCormack anecdote about a raucous night with Keith Moon. The cover story concerns the re-release of several major Charlie Chaplin films. He is shown on the cover, making fun of Hitler in The Great Dictator.

Condition is good with some breakage to the fragile newsprint at the top of the quarter fold and wear around the edges, which is typical.