Identity elements
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Collection
Title
Erica Dawn Lyle papers
Date(s)
- 1991-2010 (Creation)
Extent
20 Boxes
Name of creator
Biographical history
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
The Erica Dawn Lyle papers offer a rich history of Miami’s countercultural art and music scenes and grassroots political activity from the 1990’s to the present. Writing under the name Iggy Scam, Lyle has produced a series of classic underground fanzines, called SCAM, that are known internationally in the punk rock scene. Lyle’s writing and archive also provides a fascinating back story to some of the political activity Miami is now known for. With the current wave of home foreclosures that has spread across South Florida, has come a resurgent wave of housing activism. The most well-known activist group in Miami today is Take Back The Land, a group that has gained national media attention for their tactics in helping homeless families move into and squat homes that have been foreclosed across Miami. The Lyle papers show a pre-history of an equally militant though far less organized and coherent group of South Florida squatters and anti-gentrification activists who were attempting similar tactics a generation ago. The papers also document the formation of the city’s first Food Not Bombs, a group that is still active today. The collection of zines, journals, sketchbooks, ephemera and original art work depict contemporary social history as well as Greater Miami’s issues of urban planning, property and housing rights and the responsibility and role of art. Also well documented are Lyle's travels through unconventional methods such as hitchhiking and train hopping.
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
The collection is open for research.
Physical access
Items from this collection are kept on-campus and may be requested from the first floor Kislak Center in the Otto G. Richter Library at University of Miami.
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
University of Miami does not own copyright. It is incumbent on the user to obtain copyright from the original creator.
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Generated finding aid
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Selected materials from this collection have been digitized.
Related archival materials
Anonymous. (2002). Evasion. Atlanta: CrimethInc.
Carlsson, Carl. (Ed.). (2004) The political edge. San Francisco: City Lights Foundation.
Lyle, Erick. (2008). On the lower frequencies: a secret history of the city. Berkeley: Soft Skull Press.
Macphee, J. & Reuland, E. (Eds.). (2007). Realizing the impossible: art against authority. Oakland: AK Press.
Max Rameau Papers (1992 to present)
Archiving the Fringe: Documenting Cultural Activism in Miami
Lyle, Eric. (2010). SCAM: the first four years. Bloomington: Microcosm.