In Memory of
Lydia Sargent
Like many lefties, discovering Z Magazine for me was like finding someone I never thought I’d find, and they were even better than imagining.
Lydia Sargent was half of Z (with Michael Albert) and an extremely influential activist, playwright, publisher and writer.
Lydia died on September 27, 2020, in Covid isolation and with dementia.
One of Z’s creations was ZMI (Z Media Institute) – a week+ of courses taught by Z. I was lucky enough to attend the last ZMI in 2011, and took classes from Lydia that so greatly broadened my thinking. Lydia was the notetaker, the name-rememberer, the welcomer, the talker, the writer of such feminist pieces as the unforgettable ‘There’s No Such Thing As Legitimate Rape Because There’s No Such Thing As Rape,’ required reading; I think of it every day and cling to it for a better understanding.
Lydia: only one Lydia. Her memory and teachings always with us who knew her, and beyond. An unfathomable loss; an unfathomable influence.
published in Handout issue 7