Created
in February 1997, Gadfly launched as a full-size print publication in
January 1998, morphed into a heftier bi-monthly in the fall of '99,
and folded with the March/April '01 issue. Called "odd, eccentric
and eclectic" by The Washington Post, the Utne Reader selected
Gadfly in 1999 for best Cultural Coverage for their Eleventh Annual
Alternative Press Awards. "Gadfly's stupendous eclecticism makes
this glossy bimonthly second only to the Library of Congress as a warehouse
of American pop culture," Utne stated.
Soon
after Gadfly folded with the March/April 2001 issue, the creative forces
behind the print magazine launched Gadfly Online. Unlike the print magazine,
the demands of publishing five times a week combined with the reliance
on electronic dissemination opened us up to a number of new authors and
varied subjects as well as new possibilities. Unlike the hard copy,
where material had to be prepared months in advance, we could be time
oriented. Suddenly, we had columnists, and in a fortuitous arrangement,
weekly dispatches from Paris. About the only strictures followed were
trying to break the pieces up into categories of Art, Book, Film, Music
and Issues (and a few subcategories). Whatever could not be classified
simply ended up in Issues.
A little over a year later, when Gadfly Online ceased publication, we
had amassed a diverse body of work that existed like the print Gadfly,
to celebrate the creations of artists and unique individuals. Hopefully,
in the process, we made our own contribution.
Browse the Back
Issues.
Peruse the Online
Archive.