Feb. 24, 1998 Contact John R. Crosiar (541) 346-3135 EUGENE--"Feminist Voices and Visions"--two related exhibits focusing on women's publishing in Oregon--will open March 9 in the lobby of Knight Library, 1501 Kincaid St. at the University of Oregon. Assembled in celebration of Women's History Month by University of Oregon Library and the UO Center for the Study of Women in Society, the free exhibits will continue through May 29. One exhibit is about Abigail Scott Duniway, Oregon's tireless campaigner for women's suffrage in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The other exhibit is about Calyx, a journal of feminist art and literature founded in Oregon in 1976 and published in Corvallis. Both exhibits highlighting feminist writing and publishing in Oregon are based on original documents housed in the Knight Library's Special Collections. Duniway helped shape national women's politics as editor of The New Northwest, the feminist newspaper which drew national attention to women's issues on the Pacific Slope. Through her writings, she campaigned for laws allowing wives to conduct business without their husbands' presence. She also worked tirelessly for statutes allowing married women to keep their own wages and to manage their property and bequeath it to whomever they chose. Duniway is best remembered for her leadership in the national struggle for suffrage and for her 40 years of organizing to secure equal suffrage in Oregon. That effort culminated in a narrow victory in 1912 when Oregon became the seventh state to approve votes for women. Gov. Oswald West asked Duniway to write the Woman Suffrage Proclamation, making suffrage for women in Oregon law. A highlight of the exhibit is the original proclamation written by Duniway, on loan from the Oregon State Archives. Calyx: A Journal of Art and Literature by Women was founded in 1976 by Margarita Donnelly, Barbara Baldwin, Meredith Jenkins and Elizabeth McLagan. An award-winning journal, Calyx prides itself on its insistence on aesthetics, diversity and literary quality. Published twice a year, the journal is easily recognizable by its beautiful and stunning cover art, and it has been applauded for its outstanding literary quality. In a 1992 interview, Donnelly said of Calyx, "...we are rebalancing the imbalance that's been out there for so long. In our culture, there is still a lot of inequality. Our commitment is to developing voices that aren't often heard." The word calyx refers to the outer covering of the flower, which falls away as it blooms. In its more than 20 years of existence, helped along by knowledgeable and committed volunteers, Calyx has provided an opportunity for more than 2,000 women's voices to bloom in its poetry, prose, art and book reviews. A free public reception to mark the opening of the exhibit is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Monday, March 9, in the Browsing Room at the Knight Library, 1501 Kincaid St. Margarita Donnelly, director of Calyx, will be the featured speaker, and Ursula K. Le Guin will read one of her poems about Calyx. For more information, contact manuscripts librarian Linda Long, (541) 346-1906 or library instruction coordinator Colleen Bell, 346-1817. -30- #P-2157/Local,PDX,A&E