Valerie Solanas: The Defiant Life of the Woman Who Wrote SCUM (36 page)

Ending this letter with a clarification about her next book—a work that has never been seen—Valerie celebrated its self-promotional aspects: “My next book will be the promotion—a piece of self-promotion like this world has never seen. That’s why I’m gonna call it
Valerie Solanas
—I call a spade a spade. I’m out to take over. That’s why I need to write only truth. You can’t stand for long on a pile of shit. It’ll require many pages to definitively demolish (trivialize, rip-off, whichever you prefer) the WLM. I’ll do that in my book, which will by
no means
be confined to the WLM.” (vol. 6 [April 2–15, 1977]). She claimed that her next book would not be controversial: “There’ll be no comeback. . . . It’ll be the beginning of the end” (vol. 7 [June 11–24, 1977]).

When Valerie outlined the content of this new book, she revealed some of her increasingly paranoid suspicions about the framing of her shooting Andy Warhol:

In my upcoming book I’ll explain why I shot Warhol and present an airtight case against various other parasites, many of whom are female (‘defenders,’ ‘interpreters,’ etc.), who were sucking my blood about that time. My case will be based partly on a public confession of the money men (not just Maurice Girodias and Warhol) who were involved with me at the time, of all their naughty doings regarding me (paying off to have me declared insane and for massive amounts of bullshit to be written about me, to name just a few things) and the reasons for them. Yes, some of the naughties they must confess to are felonies, but the statute of limitations (7 years) has run out on them. Their public confession is a necessary condition for their getting my next book to publish.” (vol. 6 [February 19–March 4, 1977])

Feeding Valerie’s love of polemical banter, this missive started a firestorm of letters from women denouncing her. Brooke Williams argued that Valerie’s forthcoming book, “according to the scuttlebutt, consists of a collection of 3”x5” cards, without a publisher” (vol. 6 [April 30–May 13, 1977]). In another letter several issues later she sneers, “Who cares what Valerie Solanas has to say? (She should go back to pulling triggers. She’s pretty heavy-handed with the medium of words).” Valerie responded sarcastically: she had sent Random House a carton of three-by-five-inch cards, “but they said they’re only publishing pages this year. I said, ‘Can I interest you in some
New York Times
pages? I write in the margins.’ They said that’s not a bad idea, and they’d think about it, because when the readers of my book get tired of reading Brooke and Joreen’s letters that I’m going to bill my book out with, they read the
New York Times
editorials. So you can see, I’m making some headway.”

Valerie’s sense of authorship and the absolute precision she demanded from others who published her work extended to her relationship with
Majority Report.
When others accused her of distorting their words, she defended herself with “It’s legitimate for me to read between the lines of her [the writer’s] letter and say what I believe to be implied by her statements, so long as I also state what she actually said and make clear that my interpretation’s
my
interpretation. I did both.” She rejected claims that she used
Majority Report
to gain notoriety or publicity: “Brooke says I’m ‘using the issue
solely
to gain personal notoriety [as opposed to impersonal notoriety?] and a publisher. ‘Solely’ disallows the possibility that I say what I say at least in part because I believe it. Brooke would strip me of my conceit” (vol. 7 [June 11–24, 1977]). Valerie struck out at
Majority Report
for allowing typos in her letters to the editors. In the issue following her first lengthy such letter, she published a thirty-four-item list of typographical errors she had found in that first letter. “Some of the errors changed or muffled my meaning. Other errors were relatively minor, but, being a perfectionist, I’ll list all the errors!” (vol. 6 [April 16–29, 1977]). And in the following issue, Valerie wrote, “Margie Robertson in her
MR
letter, complained that I’m a semi-absolutist. I’m not; I’m an absolutist. What the hell is a semi-absolutist, anyway?” (vol. 6 [April 30-May 13, 1977]).

Self-Publishing
SCUM Manifesto
(1977)

Shortly after this flurry of letters in
Majority Report
, Valerie became obsessed with the idea of printing her own correct
version of
SCUM Manifesto.
She learned that Olympia Press had become bankrupt recently and that this meant that the publishing rights for
SCUM Manifesto
had officially reverted back to her. She now had total control over how to publish the manifesto—something that had been denied to her for nearly a decade. She approached
Majority Report
to see if they could typeset it as long as she retained exclusive rights to edit and oversee it. Nancy Borman remembered, “We struck a deal so that it would make enough money for the people working for it. She really wanted there to be an authentic copy. She was no more unreasonable than any customer in a small type shop. Joanne Steele was going to distribute it at newsstands and through her channels.
”
38
Valerie would distribute the manifesto via mail order and on the streets. She wanted her manifesto in its purest form—as she had written it, without intrusions and changes from Olympia Press and the “Toads,” and completely on her own terms. For Valerie, the publication of a correct edition of
SCUM Manifesto
would be the culmination of many years of fighting for a pure, accurate text.

Valerie felt immense joy at having an authentic copy of
SCUM Manifesto
distributed to the world. Joanne Steele recalled that “[For
SCUM Manifesto
] we used the same printer that we used for
Majority Report.
[The manifesto] was wall-to-wall words, though a thin
Majority Report
. It was eight pages of newsprint like the
Daily News.
I was surprised that she was publishing it again.” Valerie insisted on not putting a price on this version, leaving it open to fluctuate depending on where and to whom she sold it. Joanne was struck by this, particularly given that Valerie had lived on the street in the past, had long stretches of inconsistent meals and sleeping arrangements, and still had no reliable income aside from her state assistance. “This shows that she was not concerned with money,” Joanne said, “that she was not a careerist.
”
39

After the correct
SCUM Manifesto
was printed, Valerie displayed an uncommon excitement and hopefulness. She and Joanne distributed it throughout New York City, with Joanne selling copies from her car and Valerie hawking copies to bookstores and newsstands and placing ads asking for others to sell it.

One such advertisement appeared in
Majority Report
:

Besides selling on newsstands,
SCUM Manifesto
’s being sold for $2.00 through the mail (send orders to me at the address below). Pay (by cash, money order, or certified check) and being hawked on the streets for $1.00.

I’ll let anybody who wants to hawk it—women, men, Hare Krishna, Daughters of the American Revolution, the American Legion. Maurice Girodias, you’re always in financial straits. Here’s your big chance—hawk
SCUM Manifesto.
You can peddle it around the massage parlor district. Anita Bryant, finance your anti-fag campaign selling the only book worth selling—
SCUM Manifesto
. Andy Warhol, peddle it at all those hot shit parties you go to.

SCUM Manifesto
sells everywhere—campuses, Times Square, Harlem, the U.N., fag bars, Gristedes, along the dock, under the dock (if you can find anybody under it), Wall Street, construction sites, Sutton Place, junior high schools, criminal court house.

Peddlers, pick up your
SCUM Manifesto’s
at my place: 170 E. 3rd St., NYC 10009 or mail your orders to me at the same address. 50¢ a copy. Minimum order for peddlers is 200. No credit, no discounts. I don’t like arithmetic. And don’t have gang wars over territories—that’s not nice.
40

Beneath the advertisement appears the statement “Here’s what various public people have had to say about me and
SCUM Manifesto
,” followed by quotes:

“I never read it.” —Jo Freeman

“SCUM Manifesto and radical women’s liberation have always been in opposition.”—Brooke

“[
SCUM Manifesto
] is of no value for understanding anything except [Girodias’s] desire to make some money.”—Phoebe Adams

“[In 1967] I had a contract [for
SCUM Manifesto
] prepared for [Valerie].”—Maurice Girodias

“Just a few more months of peddling SCUM Manifesto up and down 42nd St. and I can get off the welfare.” —Maurice Girodias

“[Valerie Solanas] killed herself at the age of 32 in a mental hospital.”—Paule Lebrun

“[Valerie Solanas] gave herself that death of the scorpion trapped in a circle of fire.” —Francoise d’Eaubonne

“The police told me they found Valerie Solanas dead in a Paris hotel room.”—Francoise d’Eaubonne

“Valerie Solanas is a real blast.” —Andy Warhol, 1978

She also posted another ad in the
Village Voice
:

Olympia Press went bankrupt and the publishing rights to
SCUM Manifesto
reverted to me, Valerie Solanas, so I’m issuing the
correct
edition,
my
edition of
SCUM Manifesto.
It’s now being sold for $1.00 on newsstands in NYC and for $2.00 through the mail (send orders to me at address below and say you’re responding to
MR
ad; pay by cash, money order or certified check) and being hawked on the streets for $1.00.

I’ll let anybody who wants to hawk it—women, men, Redstockings, Pat Buckley, Phyllis Schafly [
sic
], Maurice Girodias, you’re always in financial straits. Here’s your big chance—hawk
SCUM Manifesto.

You can peddle it around the massage parlor district. Ti-Grace, you can come back to N.Y. without having to live on welfare: by selling the only book worth selling—
SCUM Manifesto.
Andy Warhol, peddle it at all those hot shit parties you go to. Jo (Joreen) Freeman, I’ll let you peddle it around the SUNY campus. Make it required reading for your students and sell it to them. Everybody, make big money selling the anti-money system
SCUM Manifesto.
Don’t defend it, don’t interpret it, don’t even like it. Just
sell it! sell it! sell it!
SCUM Manifesto
’ll sell anywhere—campuses, Times Square, Harlem, the U.N., fag bars, Gristedes, along the dock, under the dock (if you can find anybody under it), Wall Street, construction sites, Sutton Place, junior high schools, criminal court house.

Peddlers, pick up your
SCUM Manifesto
’s at my place: 170 E. 3rd St., NYC 10009. Pay 50¢ a copy. Sell it for $1.00. Out-of-town peddlers, order it from me for 50¢ a copy. Peddlers must buy at least 200 at a time. No credit. No discounts. I don’t like arithmetic. And don’t have gang wars over territories—that’s not nice.

Valerie Solanas
41

As shown in these ads, at the time of
SCUM Manifesto
’s release, Valerie listed her address as 170 East Third Street, the small apartment building a few blocks from Tompkins Square Park where she lived with Louis Zwiren. Valerie spent a great deal of time talking to Louis about the manifesto, and she worked long hours printing it and sending out copies by mail order. At the same time she was working diligently on her new book, though she was secretive and would not divulge any details to Louis. She believed others wanted to steal her ideas and exploit her work and had no patience for saboteurs.

In particular, Valerie again became obsessed with the idea of finding out the identity of the “contact man” for the Mob, directing particular attention toward Mark Zussman, then editor of
Oui
and
Playboy
magazines, based in Chicago. She repeatedly sent him copies of
SCUM Manifesto
(the correct edition), urging him to print it in
Playboy
where readers could purchase the manifesto. Ever dedicated to her work, she even tried again to get her play,
Up Your Ass
, produced, writing Mark a short postcard: “I’ll send you a copy of the play for you to look at for $100.00 plus cost of copying + postage. Copying-$3.40, postage (estimate) .35 = $3.75. Valerie.
”
42

She wrote Mark clarifying her views on a recent piece put out by Marlene Edwards of Zodiac News Service in San Francisco, calling the labeling of her as the “founder of a group called SCUM” a libelous slander. “This reduces me to the level of Redstockings, Radical Feminists and the members of 1000’s of other totally worthless, insignificant, pathetic little ‘feminist’ groups. What did I expect to do with my little group of 7? 8? 15? 36?” She was angry that the word
shit
was censored on the air; a quote from the
Manifesto
was read aloud as “Every man deep-down knows he’s a worthless piece of [bleep].” When Marlene said
SCUM Manifesto
was the work of a group, Valerie retorted that this statement constituted “a libel so profound that, if uncorrected, it amounts to murder. It means: a) that I lack mental, psychological independence, am incapable of independent thought. b) I got together with a group of unnamed assholes and together wrote the manifesto . . . c) that the work is garbage. What else can a collectively written work be? The changes reduced the SCUM Manifesto to the level of Redstockings Manifesto.
”
43

Valerie believed that these perceived libelous slanders sabotaged the sales of her forthcoming book,
Valerie Solanas
, on which she was working intensively. “How many people will read the work of a nut? How many will read a group-written tract? How many will read a book about
only
the shooting of Warhol, written by the nut who shot him, put in no perspective?
”
44
She followed up with a letter to the Mob (Mark Zussman) on September 5, 1977 that detailed her paranoia about a man named Pacheco stealing her ideas: “It would be really good for my book if I could get proof of what Pacheco’s doing. The only way I can think of to get the proof is to have a hidden camera (maybe an infra-red one that can photograph thru walls) with a zoom lens photographing everything that gets punched into the computer, as well as the puncher. Valerie.
”
45