''Sensitive Skin'' was a magazine created and edited by B. Kold and Norman Douglas. Started in 1991, the first four issues were titled ''Peau Sensible'', which is French for "Sensitive Skin". Subsequent issues were titled in English. In 1994,

John Farris John Lee Farris (born July 26, 1936) is an American writer, known largely for his work in the southern Gothic genre. Life Farris was born in Jefferson City, Missouri, to parents John Linder Farris (1909–1982) and Eleanor Carter Farris (190 ...

, Patricia Winter, and Darius James joined the editorial team. That same year, Mr. E. Oso took over editorial duties for the final issue. The magazine is based in

Mill Valley, California Mill Valley is a city in Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States, located about north of San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge and from Napa Valley. The population was 14,231 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

. ''Sensitive Skin'' magazine included short fiction, screenwriting, poetry, reviews, drawings, essays, and photographs by both established and emerging writers and artists, mainly from New York. The publication also partnered with

The Living Theatre The Living Theatre is an American theatre company founded in 1947 and based in New York City. It is the oldest experimental theatre group in the United States. For most of its history it was led by its founders, actress Judith Malina and painter/po ...

to host release parties and benefits. ''Sensitive Skin'' published downtown New York writers including

John Giorno John Giorno (December 4, 1936 – October 11, 2019) was an American poet and performance artist. He founded the not-for-profit production company Giorno Poetry Systems and organized a number of early multimedia poetry experiments and events, inc ...

Herbert Huncke Herbert Edwin Huncke (January 9, 1915 – August 8, 1996) was an American writer and poet, and an active participant in a number of emerging cultural, social and aesthetic movements of the 20th century in America. He was a member of the Beat ...

Jack Micheline Jack Micheline (November 6, 1929 – February 27, 1998), born Harold Martin Silver, was an American painter and poet from the San Francisco Bay Area. One of San Francisco's original Beat poets, he was an innovative artist who was active in the ...

Joel Rose Joel Rose is an American novelist. Career His novels include ''The Blackest Bird'' (2007), ''Kill the Poor'' (1988), and '' Kill Kill Faster Faster'' (1988). He also authored the urban historical, ''New York Sawed in Half: An Urban Historical'' ( ...

, Lynn Tillman,

Eileen Myles Eileen Myles (born December 9, 1949) is a LAMBDA Literary Award-winning American poet and writer who has produced more than twenty volumes of poetry, fiction, non-fiction, libretti, plays, and performance pieces over the last three decades. No ...

, David Rattray, Chris Kraus, David Ulin, Sparrow, Mike Topp, Ron Kolm,

Richard Hell Richard Lester Meyers (born October 2, 1949), better known by his stage name Richard Hell, is an American singer, songwriter, bass guitarist and writer. Hell was in several important early punk rock bands, including Neon Boys, Television and T ...

Bob Holman Bob Holman is an American poet and poetry activist, most closely identified with the oral tradition, the spoken word, and poetry slam. As a promoter of poetry in many media, Holman has spent the last four decades working variously as an author ...

, Wanda Phipps,

Maggie Estep Margaret Ann "Maggie" Estep (March 20, 1963 – February 12, 2014) was an American writer and poet, best known for coming to prominence during the height of the spoken word and poetry slam performance rage. She published seven books and rel ...

and

Taylor Mead Taylor Mead (December 31, 1924 – May 8, 2013) was an American writer, actor and performer. Mead appeared in several of Andy Warhol's underground films filmed at Warhol's The Factory, Factory, including ''Tarzan and Jane Regained... Sort of ...

, among many others.

Online version

After a sixteen year hiatus, ''Sensitive Skin'' was relaunched as an online magazine on June 18, 2010, by Bernard Meisler (publisher and managing editor) and Tim Beckett (webmaster and editor). The first issue contained work by

Justine Frischmann Justine Elinor Frischmann (born 16 September 1969) is an English artist and retired musician. She was the lead singer of the Britpop band Elastica after forming Suede, before retiring from the music industry and pursuing a career as a painter. ...

, Andrew Huebner, Jose Padua, Tim Beckett, Steve Horowitz, Bob Bannister and

Bart Plantenga Bart Plantenga is a writer who has been called "the world's expert on yodeling and the "Alan Lomax of not just the yodeling world but yodeling worldwide."Samuel Delany Samuel R. "Chip" Delany (, ) (born April 1, 1942), is an American author and literary critic. His work includes fiction (especially science fiction), memoir, criticism, and essays (on science fiction, literature, sexual orientation, sexuality, a ...

Craig Clevenger Craig Clevenger (born 1964) is an American author of contemporary fiction. Born 1964 in Dallas, Texas, he grew up in Southern California, where he studied English at California State University, Long Beach. He is the author of there novels, '' ...

, Marc Olmsted, Emily XYZ, Darius James, Gary Indiana,

Sharon Mesmer Sharon Mesmer (born in 1960) is a Polish-American poet, fiction writer, essayist and professor of creative writing. Her poetry collections are ''Annoying Diabetic Bitch'' (Combo Books, 2008), ''The Virgin Formica'' (Hanging Loose Press, 2008), '' ...

Nick Zedd Nick may refer to: * Nick (given name) * A cricket term for a slight deviation of the ball off the edge of the bat * British slang for being arrested * British slang for a police station * British slang for stealing * Short for nickname Place ...

Stewart Home Kevin Llewellyn Callan (born 24 March 1962), better known as Stewart Home, is an English artist, filmmaker, writer, pamphleteer, art historian, and activist. His novels include the non-narrative ''69 Things to Do with a Dead Princess'' (2002), an ...

, Jonathan Shaw,

Melissa Febos Melissa Febos is an American writer and professor. She is the author of the critically acclaimed memoir, ''Whip Smart'' (2010)'','' and the essay collections, ''Abandon Me'' (2017) and ''Girlhood'' (2021)''.'' Early life and education Febos grew u ...

, Erika Schickel,

Max Blagg Max Blagg is a United Kingdom, British-born poet, writer, and performer from England. Blagg has performed in New York City since 1971. He is currently a visiting lecturer in poetry at The New School in New York City (continuous from 2005). Lif ...

, John S. Hall, Ron Kolm, Rob Roberge,

Marty Thau Marty Thau (December 7, 1938 – February 13, 2014) was an American rock 'n' roll entrepreneur and music producer. He was best known as the founder of indie punk— new wave label Red Star Records in 1977, and for being the manager of the New Yo ...

Marguerite Van Cook Marguerite Van Cook (née Martin) (born 1954) is an English artist, writer, musician/singer and filmmaker. She was born in Portsmouth, England and now resides in New York City on the Lower East Side, in the East Village. She attended Portsmouth ...

, James Greer, and

Lyn Lifshin Lyn Lifshin or Lyn Diane Lipman (July 12, 1942 – December 9, 2019) was an American poet and teacher."Lyn Lifshin." in ''Contemporary Women Poets''. Detroit, MI: Gale, 1998. ''Gale In Context: Biography'' (accessed October 10, 2022). Lifshin wa ...

, art by Al Kresch,

Charles Gatewood Charles Robert Gatewood (November 8, 1942 – April 28, 2016) was an American photographer, writer, videographer, artist and educator, who lived and worked in San Francisco, California. Biography Early years Gatewood was born November 8, 1 ...

Chris Molnar Chris Molnar is a writer, editor, filmmaker and publisher. He is the co-founder of The Writer's Block bookstore in Las Vegas, and editorial director of Archway Editions, the literary imprint of powerHouse Books distributed by Simon & Schuster. ...

James Romberger James Romberger (born 1958) is an American fine artist and cartoonist known for his depictions of New York City's Lower East Side. Romberger's pastel drawings of the ravaged landscape of the Lower East Side and its citizens are in many public ...

, Ted Barron,

Shalom Neuman FusionArts Museum(s), first founded at 57 Stanton Street on Manhattan's Lower East Side are a series of curated exhibition spaces dedicated to the exhibition and archiving of "fusion art". The museum was and remains at its successive locations a ...

John Lurie John Lurie (born December 14, 1952) is an American musician, painter, actor, director, and producer. He co-founded the Lounge Lizards jazz ensemble; has acted in 19 films, including ''Stranger than Paradise'' and '' Down by Law''; has composed ...

, Ruby Ray and Hal Hirshorn, video by Kevin Rafferty and music by

Ralph Carney Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

Elliott Sharp Elliott Sharp (born March 1, 1951) is an American contemporary classical composer, multi-instrumentalist, and performer. A central figure in the avant-garde and experimental music scene in New York City since the late 1970s, Sharp has released ...

, Ryan Choi, Steve Adams, Kurt Wolf, Timber and Dan Becker, and interviews with

William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular cultur ...

(by

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...

) and

Fred Frith Jeremy Webster "Fred" Frith (born 17 February 1949) is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser. Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock ...

. In December 2011, Sensitive Skin Books was launched. Titles released so far include ''East of Bowery'', with a text by Drew Hubner and photographs by Ted Barron, ''Barefoot in the Heart'', an oral history of

Neem Karoli Baba Neem Karoli Baba () or Neeb Karori Baba () ( – 11 September 1973), known to his followers as Maharaj-ji, was a Hindu guru and a devotee of the Hindu deity Hanuman. He is known outside India for being the spiritual master of a number of Ameri ...

edited by Keshav Das, ''Backwards the Drowned Go Dreaming'' by Carl Watson, and ''Music: Drawing Down the Muse'' by David West. Bernard Meisler won an Acker Award for publishing Sensitive Skin in 2014.Acker Award
/ref>

References

{{reflist

External links

Sensitive Skin Magazine

Sensitive Skin (Live)!: Magazine celebrates 8th edition

Bernard Meisler in conversation with Mark McCawley

interviewed in Jeremiah's Vanishing New York 1991 establishments in the United States 1994 disestablishments in the United States Defunct literary magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1991 Magazines disestablished in 1994 Magazines published in California Online literary magazines published in the United States Online magazines with defunct print editions Visual arts magazines published in the United States