The Canadian Lesbian & Gay Archives / Materials / Records / Inventories
	Inventory of the Records of The Body Politic & Pink Triangle Press
	Page 3 of 40 / Appx 225 words

Page 3
Foreword

This Inventory grew out of an application made in January 1987 by the Canadian Gay Archives to the Canadian Council of Archives for a grant under its Arrangement and Description Backlog Reduction Cost-Sharing Cooperative Program. The application was made in the realization that The Body Politic was about to cease publication after 15 years as the principal mouthpiece of the lesbian and gay community in Canada.

"The Body Politic Backlog Project" was approved in April and, after a summer of preparation, the Archives Collective hired Rick Bébout to undertake the project. Rick was a staff member at The Body Politic from June 1977 to June 1985, and was involved as a volunteer collective member until December 1987. His intimate knowledge of the history and structure of the magazine has enabled him to produce a comprehensive overview and introduction to each series.

The circumstances under which this work was done were not the best: in the first two months of 1988, the Canadian Gay Archives had to be packed up and moved. While the dislocation produced some trying moments, we believe that the final product will be a valuable research tool.

Harold Averill
President [of the then Canadian Gay Archives, 1988]