Developments at Loving More (and the Studio 60 mentions)

Loving More magazine, and its precursor newsletters, led the modern polyamory-awareness movement during the crucial formative years in the 1980's and 1990's. It was the movement's central news medium and public face. Today the annual East and West Coast Loving More conferences continue as the leading poly gatherings, and news media and the poly-curious call the Colorado office regularly. But after founder Ryam Nearing retired in 2003, the magazine fell on hard times. Nominally a quarterly, it hasn't appeared in about a year now, and the website has long-unresolved problems.

All that is about to change, says Loving More director Robyn Trask in a recent (January 21, 2007) post to the Loving More Lovelist on Yahoo Groups. Reprinted with her permission:

I see there have been some questions about Loving More and the magazine. I would like to take this opportunity to address a few issues.

• Issue #37 was delayed due to several challenges beginning with the office flooding.

• All subscriptions are filled by issue, not by year. Many small community type publications face similar issues of funding, articles and deadlines which is why while it is our intention to get the magazine out quarterly, it does not always happen that way.

• We, and by this I mean me with support from the board [of directors], are making changes that will make a difference.... I finally have found a graphic designer willing to support Loving More by helping with the layout. Understand that as it is now, I personally lay out every magazine, run the conferences, fill all the orders, do all the promotion, public appearances, and travel to speak and educate at colleges. Having a designer that can take over the magazine layout will help a lot. In addition a few other volunteers have stepped forward to help.

• Issue #37 is 98% complete and will be going to the printer by the end of this week. Issue #38 articles are being selected, and it will be in process by February 1 with an expected finish/print date around the end of March. It is our hope to have us back on a quarterly schedule.

• The website is being re-done and is close to ready. We needed to find someone to set up a platform to support the chats and personals in a way that is user friendly and easy to maintain. We found an awesome company willing to work with us and expect to be switching to the new site in the next couple of weeks....

• Our first Colorado Conference was a big hit. This was a test to see if we could make a one-day, small conference viable and if it was something the community wanted/needed. The feedback has been fabulous and we are so glad we put the effort in to this. 2007 looks to be an awesome year for the Loving More Conferences and retreats.

Please know that I am doing my best to serve this wonderful community well. It means often working 100 plus hours a week. If not for Jimi, Jesus, Elise and several other volunteers, including two who are not even poly, Loving More would not be moving forward. Sometimes the setbacks can be for the best. The flood and other challenges forced me to step back and look at what is best for Loving More and the community. It has been a lot of work but we are now moving forward again and in a direction that will not only support the community better, but will help shift public awareness and acceptance of polyamory. With the re-organization of Loving More to a non-profit, we now have a board and volunteers coming together to help and with their support I feel we can do great things.

Thank you all for your support and understanding.

Hugs, love and light to all.

Robyn Trask
Loving More
303-543-7540
robyn AT lovemore DOT com

Robyn has indeed worked tirelessly for big goals with few resources. She did not ask for money here, so I'll do it for her: Loving More needs your donations. You can mail a check to PO Box 4358, Boulder, CO 80303, or e-mail the address above for credit-card or PayPay instructions. If/when Loving More's new tax-exempt status is approved, your donation should become retroactively tax-deductible.

Loving More on "Studio 60." Loving More got mentioned by name as a surprise plot element on the NBC drama "Studio 60" Monday night (Jan. 22, 2007). Adapted from another post, courtesy Anita Wagner:

"Studio 60 (on the Sunset Strip)" is a comedy/drama about the people of a fictional TV show similar to Saturday Night Live. And while they did mention both Loving More and polyamory, it's not exactly right:

Okay here goes.... one of the lead characters (Matt) and one of the comedians (Harriet) have an on/off relationship, and Matt finds out that Harriet is auctioning off a date with her at some special event — so Matt is trying to compete with another bidder, but doesn't like the organization that he's bidding to (it promotes teen abstinence), so Matt has his assistant find some organization that does just the opposite (basically promoting sexual activity). The assistant comes to Matt and says she's found a group: "Loving More, a nonprofit organization to promote the national polyamorous movement."

So yes, while they do mention Loving More and polyamory, it's not a perfect situation, because most people will remember that Matt was trying to find a group that promotes sexual activity to donate money to....

You can watch back episodes on the show's website; choose "Episode 11: Monday". It's posted in five parts; the Loving More reference is in Part 4, at the 3:00-to-go mark.

Update: As the story continues in "Episode 12: The Harriet Dinner" (January 29), poly gets mentioned a few more times and accurately defined, and Loving More gets another mention too: as an organization for the "polyamorous movement supporting the choice to engage in responsible multi-partnered relationships." Who could ask for a more accurate plug?

(The story line was not continued in the following week's episode.)

P.S.: Robyn Trask says that Loving More got no discernable bump in web hits as a result of the mentions on the show. Interesting. On the other hand, at a Boston-area poly discussion group I heard a guy say he'd heard the word "polyamory" on Studio 60, googled it, and that's how he ended up there.

Update April 2007: The next issue of Loving More indeed came out, and the website has been fixed up.