The front page listed the upcoming Pirate shows and to justify calling it a newsletter, we filled up the back page with tongue-in-cheek nonsense. Chandler Romeo wrote Consuela's Catty Corner (you may still recognize the names in her column, though she couldn't bold them on the typewriter), Ken De Vries added some wry art humor, and various other people wrote articles from the lunatic to the incomprehensible.
The newsletter may not have made any literary contributions, but it certainly helped build attendance at the openings, even at a time when galleries were scattered all over town and the only local business that thrived was Chubby's Burritos on 38th. At some point Pirate turned to advertising to cover our mailing costs and some sympathetic local businesses actually paid 10 bucks to have their name in print, leading to a full size advertising supplement, the Value Village Voice, in issue 10, which allowed for another 2 pages of drivel.
Alas, that was its final burst of glory - I tried to pass the torch when I left Pirate but the Black Spot died. Number 11 was laid out but never published. Somehow Denver's art scene carried on without it, but xeroxes or layouts of some issues survived in a moldy suitcase until now. If you wish to see the issues, click on the links at right. If you have questions or want to share information about Pirate, use this email.
black spot no. 2
black spot no. 5
black spot no. 6
black spot no. 9
black spot no. 10
black spot no. 11
