 Cover of the sixth issue, February 1967 | |
| Type | underground newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Tabloid/Alternative newspaper |
| Founder(s) | Allen Cohen, Michael Bowen, et al. |
| Editor-in-chief | Allen Cohen |
| Art Director | Michael Bowen |
| Founded | September 20, 1966 in San Francisco |
| Ceased publication | February 1968 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, CA |
| Circulation | 125,000 |
The Oracle of the City of San Francisco, also known as the San Francisco Oracle, was an underground newspaper published in 12 issues from September 20, 1966, to February 1968 in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of that city.[1] Allen Cohen (1940–2004), the editor during the paper's most vibrant period, and Michael Bowen, the art director, were among the founders of the publication. The Oracle was an early member of the Underground Press Syndicate.
The Oracle combined poetry, spirituality, and multicultural interests with psychedelic design, reflecting and shaping the countercultural community as it developed in the Haight-Ashbury. Arguably the outstanding example of psychedelia within the countercultural "underground" press, the publication was noted for experimental multicolored design. Oracle contributors included many significant San Francisco–area artists of the time, including Bruce Conner and Rick Griffin. It featured such beat writers as Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Michael McClure.