For the most part, I only review zines that I like. I read a zine and think, "This is pretty awesome, I gotta share it with people." So I write my little review and then I go about the rest of my day. But to be honest, I also receive A LOT of bad zines in the mail. I don't review them because I don't wanna make the authors feel bad. There are times when I'd like to at least write them a short letter and give a bit of advice, but it seems like a lot of new zinesters aren't really willing to take any sort of criticism. If someone raises their concerns with a certain zine, suddenly they are mean, or a bitch, or just bringing people down. Personally, I am all for constructive criticism of my own zines. The way I see it is, yes, I feel a little bit sad or embarrassed when someone tells me why they don't like my zine, but then I can think about their suggestions and learn to become a better writer. What's so bad about that? So from time to time, you may see a few bad zine reviews come up on this blog... I'll try not to lay on the negativity too thick. I'll explain why I didn't care for the zine and what could perhaps be done to make it a better read. I just feel like I oughtta be a little more honest. That said, there are a few things that have been grinding my gears lately, and I'm going to use this post to talk about them.
Girl On Girl Crimes. I don't know if this is a new trend or if I simply ignored it before, but I've noticed a lot of girl-hate going on in the zine world lately. I'm talking about girls referring to other girls in their zines as sluts or whores whilst still proclaiming to be feminists, girls putting down other girls for the choices that they make in life, and girls thinking that they are somehow better than all the other girls around them. I've come across several zines this year where the authors simply wrote about how they are oh-so-different and smart because they are in college and don't drink (like all those drunk sluts on the dance floor). I even read a supposed "feminist perzine" that contained this gem of a quote on body hair: "For every hairy-legged can't-be-bothered feminist who cultivates a rat's nest going up to her stomach, there is one that likes the feel of everything waxed off." I think she was trying to make the point that, "Feminists can be pretty, too!" but to me, that sentence is simply dripping with girl-hate. I mean, if you wax or shave or whatever and you truly enjoy it, good for you. But by insinuating that the rest of us are simply lazy women who can't be bothered dealing with our "rat's nests" she is just being ridiculous, shaming and hateful. Come on ladies, we are better than that!
Unfair trades. This is a tricky one. I don't think I've ever turned down a trade, even if I know that I'm not going to enjoy what I receive. But I want to at least keep it fair. It's really annoying to mail out a 40-page zine that I've put months of work into, only to receive some rushed 8-page piece that doesn't really do anything for me. It's especially frustrating when people request a trade for my Polaroid zine - it's full-colour and sixty-two pages long! If you've got something equal, that's cool, but most people don't. The worst offender is a certain unnamed dude* who tables at Canzine every year. If you frequent the fest, you know who I'm talking about. He gives away free "zines" which are actually just reprints from his blog, and often just one page folded in half. One year, he tried to make me feel bad for charging ONE DOLLAR for the first two issues of Fight Boredom. He was tabling across from me and said, "Oh, so it costs a dollar to fight boredom," rolling his eyes as if I was making some ridiculous request. I was like, "Well I spent fifty bucks on photocopies and another chunk of money on a bus ticket to Toronto, so yeah, I'm charging a dollar." At the end of the day, he goes table-to-table trading his crummy non-zines with unsuspecting zinesters. He had the decency to avoid me this year, but approached Alex Wrekk, who was tabling next to me. Ever the friendly gal, she agreed to a trade and hid her frustration. It was so sad to see her part with her beautiful, thick zines with handmade covers only to receive his measly little fliers in return. She turned to me and asked, "Do you think he knows what male privilege is?"
Overpriced Zines. On the flipside, expensive zines are fucking annoying, too. Just because you've deemed it "art" doesn't mean that it's suddenly worth a ton more money. Zine fairs are totally flooded with "art" zines, books, silkscreened t-shirts and other things that simply are not zines. I really appreciated the effort that was put into the organizing of Expozine this year - they seemed to totally cut down on the non-zine items and made sure everyone had pieces of writing at their tables. Yes, there were some expensive art zines, but the queer, feminist and perzines were a-plenty as well. For more on this, I'd suggest reading the latest issue of Broken Pencil 'coz Samantha Trees totally called someone out on this while reviewing their EIGHT DOLLAR poetry zine.
Boring Zines. Okay, so there are plenty of definitions of boredom out there and everybody is different, to each their own and bla bla bla. But some zines are just plain dull. It seems like a lot of people are making zines just for the sake of saying, "I made a zine!" and not really putting any thought or effort into the things they're saying. This is especially true of mini-zines. What's the deal? I read zines in order to learn new things, to make friends and to become inspired. Many of these zines have come to me in the mail with apology notes, like, "Sorry this is so short," or "My next zine will be better." To the people who write these notes: Please, either learn to become more self-confident or learn to become a better writer! A zine should never come with an apology. And if you honestly believe that it's bad, don't send it to me.
Anyway, in spite of that rant, I'd like to end this post on a positive note. Last week, I was assigned to perform a ten-minute speech in front of my French class on any chosen topic. I chose zines. The project was really just for the sake of practicing my French in front of a group of people, but I took the opportunity to talk a little bit about the history of zines and riot grrrl, my love of snail mail and my own zines. I brought a stack of zines to use as examples (including French zines Mort-Né, La Tete À Britney and Cheaptoys, and English zines List, Your Pretty Face Is Going Straight To Hell, Girl Photographer and Doris), plus a few copies of Broken Pencil and Bust and a copy of the zine how-to book Whatcha Mean, What's A Zine? My class seemed surprisingly interested and passed them around the class in awe. I planned on ending my presentation with the following video, though sadly the school's filters did not allow it. I explained it as, "Des images qui inspirent les riot grrrls." Enjoy.
* I am not naming him because I don't want to promote his boring blog.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Fight Boredom with QZAP!
Have you heard of QZAP? The Queer Zine Archive Project is pretty damn awesome. They archive whatever queer zines they can get their hands on and make them available to readers, researchers and whomever else online, as well as table at events and make their own queer zine. From the website:
The Queer Zine Archive Project (QZAP) was first launched in November 2003 in an effort to preserve queer zines and make them available to other queers, researchers, historians, punks, and anyone else who has an interest DIY publishing and underground queer communities.
Our mission statement has been consistent over the past four years:
"The mission of the Queer Zine Archive Project (QZAP) is to establish a "living history" archive of past and present queer zines and to encourage current and emerging zine publishers to continue to create. In curating such a unique aspect of culture, we value a collectivist approach that respects the diversity of experiences that fall under the heading "queer."
The primary function of QZAP is to provide a free on-line searchable database of the collection with links allowing users to download electronic copies of zines. By providing access to the historical canon of queer zines we hope to make them more accessible to diverse communities and reach wider audiences."
I mailed the two latest issues of Culture Slut to them recently and in return, Milo sent QZAP's queer comp zine along with a few of zis own. I've decided to review them here, as well as zines by other queers and awesome people.
QZAP: Meta #2 www.qzap.org
Yes, it is a queer zine about queer zines! When I started flipping through, I was pleasantly surprised to find that several of the articles were written by Montreal zinesters. Riot Coco contributed a piece called I Make Queer Zines Because I Don't Play Guitars, Sarah Tea-Rex wrote about people's reactions to her first zine, which was about survivors of childhood sexual abuse, plus there's an introduction to French queer zines and a bunch more interesting stuff. I think that I might like to contribute in the future as well.
Gendercide #2 miloATqzap.org
This is something of a mini-zine, wherein Milo begins by asking the question, "Where have all the butches gone?" Ze writes about the lovely butches in zis life and muses on why there seem to be so few around these days - perhaps because they're transitioning, because they've grown up and changed their look in order to advance in their chosen careers, because lesbianism (faux or not) has become popular in the mainstream media... Either way, ze wants them to be back in zis life.
Heavy On The Mayo miloATqzap.org
Another zine from Milo and it rules SO HARD. It's kind of a fanzine dedicated to mayonnaise, a topic I've realized is sorely underrepresented in the zine community. Ze writes about various brands of mayo, things that can be added to mayo in order to switch it up, and even includes two different recipes for vegannaise (one is bean-based, the other is tofu-based). I am someone who totally puts too much mayo on her sandwiches and wraps, and I really appreciated this silly little zine showing up in my mailbox. As a sidenote, I'm kind of a boring cook. Like, my food is good but I tend to make the same things over and over again. I've been collecting recipes lately, and my sister gave me a copy of La Dolce Vegan by Sarah Kramer for our birthday, so I'm kind of hoping I'll get the motivation to start making more interesting meals soon. I really wanna build a small shelf in the kitchen for my cookbooks and food zines. And I want this zine to be prominently displayed on said shelf.
Sassyfrass Circus #4 jenna.bragerATgmail.com
I love Sassyfrass Circus! I've been really excited about Jenna's zines since she started making 'em, and she recently called me her zine hero on her blog, so I guess the feeling is mutual. Jenna is a queer, Jewish, student feminist and she makes comics about her life, from adventures to her daily routine. I love the way she writes about those small things in life, like how annoying it is to hear other people chewing their food and how when you walk past a group of laughing people, you automatically assume that they are laughing at you. This issue has comics about mactivism, locking herself out of her bedroom and having her wisdom teeth removed, as well as an ode to the photocopier and an interview with Adelaide Doris Windsome all about folk music. It's all comics plus cut and paste... I am totally envious of her cursive typewriter. Don't forget to read her review of Culture Slut here. High five!
Do You Like What You See? bitsofstringATyahoo.ca
This is a quarter-size zine of poetry that was made from the text on Craigslist's w4w ads. I'm not sure I need to say much more because it is obviously awesome.
Hoax #1 hoaxzineATgmail.com
Hoax is a new feminist comp zine. Each issue has the theme "feminism and _____" - the first issue being about feminism and relationships. It's got articles on the marriage industrial complex, consciousness-raising, the myth of "reverse sexism", several pieces on polyamory (which I've been reading lots about these days), plus odes to riot grrrl and bicycles. Although I don't generally care for the look of zines that were laid out on a computer, this one is actually really pleasing to the eye. I'm looking forward to seeing where future issues will take us. Sari also makes a perzine called You've Got A Friend In Pennsylvania which is all sorts of awesome, so keep your eyes peeled for another review soon.
Take Me Home #1 laurabooATgmail.com
Simply put, this zine is amazing and beautiful. I picked it up at Expozine recently - I can't remember what distro was tabling but they had all sorts of great zines and were really nice to me. Subtitled Elephants Never Forget, Laura uses this zine to write very honestly and eloquently about her father's diagnosis with Alzheimer's Disease and the disintegration of his memory. She writes about the history of her parents' relationship (who seem really happy and totally in love, which is so nice to hear about), the small town in P.E.I. where their family returned to and the difficulties involved in taking care of a parent. During all of this madness, she was also coming out as queer to her family and trying to discourage small town gossip. She counted on her sister and glasses of wine to get her by, which is what I do, too. This zine is entirely typewritten with simple line drawings peppered throughout.
Queer Drops #1 riotcocoATgmail.com
Riot Coco (or Coco Riot?) also contributed to QZAP: Meta, reviewed above, and made the excellent trilingual queer zine Open Your Eyes And Make A Wish, which I reviewed a few months back. This was another Expozine find - it asks and attempts to answer the question, "What is queer politics?" It's all about queer theory, genderfucking and pronouns and is sprinkled with comics of people in cat masks. There's a neat little comic strip about how to react to the question, "Are you a boy or a girl?" when asked by children. Pretty good read.
Learning Good Consent Cindy Crabb / POB 29 / Athens, Ohio / 45701 USA
I think I picked this up from Paper Trail Distro a little while back, but never got around to reading it until this past week. It's a comp zine on the topic of consent and includes such pieces as The Basics, Desiring Consent, Queers, Kissing And Accountability, Patterns, Positive Consent For Dudes Who Get It On With Dudes and a host of others, plus a reprint of the consent questions from Support zine, which is pretty eye-opening and thought-provoking in itself. Should be standard reading for anyone who has sex or is going to have sex.
The Queer Zine Archive Project (QZAP) was first launched in November 2003 in an effort to preserve queer zines and make them available to other queers, researchers, historians, punks, and anyone else who has an interest DIY publishing and underground queer communities.
Our mission statement has been consistent over the past four years:
"The mission of the Queer Zine Archive Project (QZAP) is to establish a "living history" archive of past and present queer zines and to encourage current and emerging zine publishers to continue to create. In curating such a unique aspect of culture, we value a collectivist approach that respects the diversity of experiences that fall under the heading "queer."
The primary function of QZAP is to provide a free on-line searchable database of the collection with links allowing users to download electronic copies of zines. By providing access to the historical canon of queer zines we hope to make them more accessible to diverse communities and reach wider audiences."
I mailed the two latest issues of Culture Slut to them recently and in return, Milo sent QZAP's queer comp zine along with a few of zis own. I've decided to review them here, as well as zines by other queers and awesome people.
QZAP: Meta #2 www.qzap.org
Yes, it is a queer zine about queer zines! When I started flipping through, I was pleasantly surprised to find that several of the articles were written by Montreal zinesters. Riot Coco contributed a piece called I Make Queer Zines Because I Don't Play Guitars, Sarah Tea-Rex wrote about people's reactions to her first zine, which was about survivors of childhood sexual abuse, plus there's an introduction to French queer zines and a bunch more interesting stuff. I think that I might like to contribute in the future as well.
Gendercide #2 miloATqzap.org
This is something of a mini-zine, wherein Milo begins by asking the question, "Where have all the butches gone?" Ze writes about the lovely butches in zis life and muses on why there seem to be so few around these days - perhaps because they're transitioning, because they've grown up and changed their look in order to advance in their chosen careers, because lesbianism (faux or not) has become popular in the mainstream media... Either way, ze wants them to be back in zis life.
Heavy On The Mayo miloATqzap.org
Another zine from Milo and it rules SO HARD. It's kind of a fanzine dedicated to mayonnaise, a topic I've realized is sorely underrepresented in the zine community. Ze writes about various brands of mayo, things that can be added to mayo in order to switch it up, and even includes two different recipes for vegannaise (one is bean-based, the other is tofu-based). I am someone who totally puts too much mayo on her sandwiches and wraps, and I really appreciated this silly little zine showing up in my mailbox. As a sidenote, I'm kind of a boring cook. Like, my food is good but I tend to make the same things over and over again. I've been collecting recipes lately, and my sister gave me a copy of La Dolce Vegan by Sarah Kramer for our birthday, so I'm kind of hoping I'll get the motivation to start making more interesting meals soon. I really wanna build a small shelf in the kitchen for my cookbooks and food zines. And I want this zine to be prominently displayed on said shelf.
Sassyfrass Circus #4 jenna.bragerATgmail.com
I love Sassyfrass Circus! I've been really excited about Jenna's zines since she started making 'em, and she recently called me her zine hero on her blog, so I guess the feeling is mutual. Jenna is a queer, Jewish, student feminist and she makes comics about her life, from adventures to her daily routine. I love the way she writes about those small things in life, like how annoying it is to hear other people chewing their food and how when you walk past a group of laughing people, you automatically assume that they are laughing at you. This issue has comics about mactivism, locking herself out of her bedroom and having her wisdom teeth removed, as well as an ode to the photocopier and an interview with Adelaide Doris Windsome all about folk music. It's all comics plus cut and paste... I am totally envious of her cursive typewriter. Don't forget to read her review of Culture Slut here. High five!
Do You Like What You See? bitsofstringATyahoo.ca
This is a quarter-size zine of poetry that was made from the text on Craigslist's w4w ads. I'm not sure I need to say much more because it is obviously awesome.
Hoax #1 hoaxzineATgmail.com
Hoax is a new feminist comp zine. Each issue has the theme "feminism and _____" - the first issue being about feminism and relationships. It's got articles on the marriage industrial complex, consciousness-raising, the myth of "reverse sexism", several pieces on polyamory (which I've been reading lots about these days), plus odes to riot grrrl and bicycles. Although I don't generally care for the look of zines that were laid out on a computer, this one is actually really pleasing to the eye. I'm looking forward to seeing where future issues will take us. Sari also makes a perzine called You've Got A Friend In Pennsylvania which is all sorts of awesome, so keep your eyes peeled for another review soon.
Take Me Home #1 laurabooATgmail.com
Simply put, this zine is amazing and beautiful. I picked it up at Expozine recently - I can't remember what distro was tabling but they had all sorts of great zines and were really nice to me. Subtitled Elephants Never Forget, Laura uses this zine to write very honestly and eloquently about her father's diagnosis with Alzheimer's Disease and the disintegration of his memory. She writes about the history of her parents' relationship (who seem really happy and totally in love, which is so nice to hear about), the small town in P.E.I. where their family returned to and the difficulties involved in taking care of a parent. During all of this madness, she was also coming out as queer to her family and trying to discourage small town gossip. She counted on her sister and glasses of wine to get her by, which is what I do, too. This zine is entirely typewritten with simple line drawings peppered throughout.
Queer Drops #1 riotcocoATgmail.com
Riot Coco (or Coco Riot?) also contributed to QZAP: Meta, reviewed above, and made the excellent trilingual queer zine Open Your Eyes And Make A Wish, which I reviewed a few months back. This was another Expozine find - it asks and attempts to answer the question, "What is queer politics?" It's all about queer theory, genderfucking and pronouns and is sprinkled with comics of people in cat masks. There's a neat little comic strip about how to react to the question, "Are you a boy or a girl?" when asked by children. Pretty good read.
Learning Good Consent Cindy Crabb / POB 29 / Athens, Ohio / 45701 USA
I think I picked this up from Paper Trail Distro a little while back, but never got around to reading it until this past week. It's a comp zine on the topic of consent and includes such pieces as The Basics, Desiring Consent, Queers, Kissing And Accountability, Patterns, Positive Consent For Dudes Who Get It On With Dudes and a host of others, plus a reprint of the consent questions from Support zine, which is pretty eye-opening and thought-provoking in itself. Should be standard reading for anyone who has sex or is going to have sex.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Fight Boredom This Winter!
Whether or not you deal with depression or mental health issues on a day-to-day basis, winter can still be a difficult time. I have very few happy memories that take place during this season - I recall a snow day when I was in grade three. The snow was so deep that myself and the neighbourhood kids built tunnels underneath the surface. I also recall a snowball fight that I had with a cute boy when I was fifteen. Things started looking up when I moved to Montreal last winter because I had a new love on my arm and forgot about the cold almost entirely if he was standing next to me. But that's about it. For me, winter is about sadness, frustration and hibernation. I am put off by the cold weather, the grey skies and my endless search for boots that don't leak. Before I moved here, I spent most of the season locked up in my basement bedroom drinking wine and wishing I didn't have to walk to work. This time around, I am determined to keep myself happy and motivated. And it just so happens that I've recently received two excellent zines on the topic of winter survival.
Telegram Ma'am #19 schoolformapsATgmail.com
This is subtitled The Winter Survival Issue. My sister mailed it to me earlier this week along with an epic letter and a handful of teabags. She writes about her own frustrations with the season, but like me, is determined to make it a good one this year. Entirely typewritten and laid out cut and paste style, Maranda includes twenty-seven tips on surviving the winter, including learning to knit scarves, rearranging your books, dancing alone, wearing clothes fresh out of the dryer, and a host of others. For good measure, she's included the lyrics to a badass song that totally inspires me to keep on going:
"The Sylvia Plath story is told to girls who write. They want us to think that to be a girl poet means you have to die. Who is it that told me all girls who write must suicide? I've another good one for you; we are turning cursive letters into knives." -Bikini Kill, Bloody Ice Cream
Riot Wife #1.5 communikateATriseup.net
This is the latest effort from Kate Pinchdog, who also made the wonderful zines Cultivator and Migrant Workers Saved My Life. It's sort of a mini winter survival kit. Kate handed me a tiny envelope when we met up during Canzine weekend and when I opened it up, I found a chai spice teabag, a button proclaiming, "i will survive," a Jamaican ten cent coin and a fourteen-page mini-zine containing various tricks for beating the winter blues. She suggests staying connected and social by doing things like volunteering at a local charity, making friends with your neighbours and helping them shovel the snow, avoiding alcohol (a depressant) and more. The whole package is just so cute and thoughtful! Check out Kate's Etsy shop and blog.
Me, I've been making an epic to-do list for myself this winter. It includes getting new tattoos, attending various workshops at the Ste-Emilie Skillshare (totally looking forward to learning about vermi-composting and how to make my own underwear out of old t-shirts!), drinking lots of tea, renewing my passport for future travels, renting all the movies that I've been meaning to watch forever but never got around to, wearing handknit socks from Chelsea, and of course writing lots of letters and working on zines. I plan on doing lots of snuggling on the couch with my blanket and my David.
What are your winter survival tips?
Telegram Ma'am #19 schoolformapsATgmail.com
This is subtitled The Winter Survival Issue. My sister mailed it to me earlier this week along with an epic letter and a handful of teabags. She writes about her own frustrations with the season, but like me, is determined to make it a good one this year. Entirely typewritten and laid out cut and paste style, Maranda includes twenty-seven tips on surviving the winter, including learning to knit scarves, rearranging your books, dancing alone, wearing clothes fresh out of the dryer, and a host of others. For good measure, she's included the lyrics to a badass song that totally inspires me to keep on going:
"The Sylvia Plath story is told to girls who write. They want us to think that to be a girl poet means you have to die. Who is it that told me all girls who write must suicide? I've another good one for you; we are turning cursive letters into knives." -Bikini Kill, Bloody Ice Cream
Riot Wife #1.5 communikateATriseup.net
This is the latest effort from Kate Pinchdog, who also made the wonderful zines Cultivator and Migrant Workers Saved My Life. It's sort of a mini winter survival kit. Kate handed me a tiny envelope when we met up during Canzine weekend and when I opened it up, I found a chai spice teabag, a button proclaiming, "i will survive," a Jamaican ten cent coin and a fourteen-page mini-zine containing various tricks for beating the winter blues. She suggests staying connected and social by doing things like volunteering at a local charity, making friends with your neighbours and helping them shovel the snow, avoiding alcohol (a depressant) and more. The whole package is just so cute and thoughtful! Check out Kate's Etsy shop and blog.
Me, I've been making an epic to-do list for myself this winter. It includes getting new tattoos, attending various workshops at the Ste-Emilie Skillshare (totally looking forward to learning about vermi-composting and how to make my own underwear out of old t-shirts!), drinking lots of tea, renewing my passport for future travels, renting all the movies that I've been meaning to watch forever but never got around to, wearing handknit socks from Chelsea, and of course writing lots of letters and working on zines. I plan on doing lots of snuggling on the couch with my blanket and my David.
What are your winter survival tips?
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Fight Boredom with Expozine 2009!
Last weekend was Expozine 2009, Montreal's annual small press and zine fair. And in a way, it was a time to reflect. I remember spending time with David while I was in the city for the fair last year, and when he said he wanted me to come live with him, I told him he was crazy. I remember driving back to Toronto with Amy and Chris, laughing and saying, "As if I will ever move to Quebec and learn French!" One year later and Expozine is only a subway ride away, as opposed to last year's 5+ hour drive.
Sarala and I showed up on Saturday morning to find that there was already a queue of another hundred or so zinesters waiting to get in and choose their places. Thankfully, Expozine doesn't have the same awkward table spaces as Canzine, so it's not such a big deal if you don't show up first thing in the morning. (For those not familiar with the fairs - Expozine is held in a large, open church basement, whereas Canzine is held at the Gladstone Hotel, which means zinesters are separated into several different rooms and even the second floor). We found a good spot - not too far from the bar and sandwiched between some lovely people who were selling cunt-positive zines on our left and promoting Spacing Montreal on our right. We set up the Fight Boredom banner and got our zines arranged on the table in a few short minutes. Tip for tablers: It's not a bad idea to have zine descriptions readily available for perusers. Otherwise you are going to have to answer the question, "What is your zine about?" endlessly. I have short descriptions displayed with each zine on my table, as well as a visible price list and fliers with all my contact info. Tablecloths and/or banners are also nice because they give your table a neat and tidy look and tell people who you are.
Doors opened at noon and it wasn't long before the place was packed. One thing that I find interesting about Expozine, as opposed to other fairs, is that you are never sure if the people in attendance speak French or English. My French is improving, but I'm still very shy about speaking it publicly. At one point, I had a short conversation with a girl who asked several questions in French, and although I continuously replied in English out of habit, we both understood each other just fine and she picked up a few of my zines. For the most part, we just sat behind our table all day, talked to various passersby and accepted a few trades. I find these sorts of events really overwhelming - there are just so many people! It takes a lot of psyching myself up before I can get out from behind my table and look at all the other zines that are available. So I mostly conversed with nearby tablers while Sarala occasionally brought me beer and samosas. I had the good fortune of tabling right behind Pablo Strauss, whom I had never met before, although I had reviewed several of his zines (Special and I Do Not Want Change) on this very blog. He was really friendly and I now have a small stack of his zines to read later. I also met Sam and Jules of the zine Mort-Né. We had been conversing online occasionally while they were still living in France, but they just moved to Montreal recently, so it's nice to know I've got some more friends around here.
I was only tabling on Saturday (two days is way too much for me!) but I wound up going back to the festivities on Sunday because I hadn't had a chance to see nearly all the tables the day before. I traded with a few tablers, picked up a few queer zines, bought a pretty decent stack of five dollar books and even a vintage Joan Jett t-shirt. Good haul. Afterward, Sarala and I met up with Sam and Jules for what was meant to be a quick drink but turned into a couple of pitchers and a real good night out. I was worried that it would be awkward, what with the language barrier and the fact that we barely knew each other, but not at all! They were really awesome people and we talked non-stop for hours. We mostly conversed in English, but I liked the way Sam would pepper her thoughts with French, like saying "parce que" instead of because and "coloc" instead of roommate. Coincidentally, we discovered that we'd been at the same Mars Volta show back in October, but we didn't know what each other looked like at the time.
Zine fairs are always a little funny to me. I feel like a lot of us make zines because we are shy and awkward and it's just much easier to write than it is to speak. But then you cram us all into a room with each other and we are forced to have real live conversations as opposed to writing letters and reviews. In the end, it's totally worth it. I have a ridiculous stack of reading material that will easily last me through 2010 and I've made some new friends.
I wish I'd taken more pictures but I was much too shy to ask. Check out the crowd! And Sunday is considered the "slow" day.
Other zine news: Jenna Brager of Sassyfrass Circus recently reviewed the two latest issues of Culture Slut on her blog, as well as You've Got A Friend In Pennsylvania by Sari, which I just finished reading this afternoon and kinda fell in love with. As well, a video from Canzine has been posted on Ryerson's journalism blog. It's a photo montage of the event, along with commentary from zinesters including me talking about Fight Boredom and zines in general. Finally, although my interview hasn't been posted, there is a clip of Kiss Off's Chris Kiss talking about zines on the Maker Culture blog. Check it out!
Sarala and I showed up on Saturday morning to find that there was already a queue of another hundred or so zinesters waiting to get in and choose their places. Thankfully, Expozine doesn't have the same awkward table spaces as Canzine, so it's not such a big deal if you don't show up first thing in the morning. (For those not familiar with the fairs - Expozine is held in a large, open church basement, whereas Canzine is held at the Gladstone Hotel, which means zinesters are separated into several different rooms and even the second floor). We found a good spot - not too far from the bar and sandwiched between some lovely people who were selling cunt-positive zines on our left and promoting Spacing Montreal on our right. We set up the Fight Boredom banner and got our zines arranged on the table in a few short minutes. Tip for tablers: It's not a bad idea to have zine descriptions readily available for perusers. Otherwise you are going to have to answer the question, "What is your zine about?" endlessly. I have short descriptions displayed with each zine on my table, as well as a visible price list and fliers with all my contact info. Tablecloths and/or banners are also nice because they give your table a neat and tidy look and tell people who you are.
Doors opened at noon and it wasn't long before the place was packed. One thing that I find interesting about Expozine, as opposed to other fairs, is that you are never sure if the people in attendance speak French or English. My French is improving, but I'm still very shy about speaking it publicly. At one point, I had a short conversation with a girl who asked several questions in French, and although I continuously replied in English out of habit, we both understood each other just fine and she picked up a few of my zines. For the most part, we just sat behind our table all day, talked to various passersby and accepted a few trades. I find these sorts of events really overwhelming - there are just so many people! It takes a lot of psyching myself up before I can get out from behind my table and look at all the other zines that are available. So I mostly conversed with nearby tablers while Sarala occasionally brought me beer and samosas. I had the good fortune of tabling right behind Pablo Strauss, whom I had never met before, although I had reviewed several of his zines (Special and I Do Not Want Change) on this very blog. He was really friendly and I now have a small stack of his zines to read later. I also met Sam and Jules of the zine Mort-Né. We had been conversing online occasionally while they were still living in France, but they just moved to Montreal recently, so it's nice to know I've got some more friends around here.
I was only tabling on Saturday (two days is way too much for me!) but I wound up going back to the festivities on Sunday because I hadn't had a chance to see nearly all the tables the day before. I traded with a few tablers, picked up a few queer zines, bought a pretty decent stack of five dollar books and even a vintage Joan Jett t-shirt. Good haul. Afterward, Sarala and I met up with Sam and Jules for what was meant to be a quick drink but turned into a couple of pitchers and a real good night out. I was worried that it would be awkward, what with the language barrier and the fact that we barely knew each other, but not at all! They were really awesome people and we talked non-stop for hours. We mostly conversed in English, but I liked the way Sam would pepper her thoughts with French, like saying "parce que" instead of because and "coloc" instead of roommate. Coincidentally, we discovered that we'd been at the same Mars Volta show back in October, but we didn't know what each other looked like at the time.
Zine fairs are always a little funny to me. I feel like a lot of us make zines because we are shy and awkward and it's just much easier to write than it is to speak. But then you cram us all into a room with each other and we are forced to have real live conversations as opposed to writing letters and reviews. In the end, it's totally worth it. I have a ridiculous stack of reading material that will easily last me through 2010 and I've made some new friends.
I wish I'd taken more pictures but I was much too shy to ask. Check out the crowd! And Sunday is considered the "slow" day.
Other zine news: Jenna Brager of Sassyfrass Circus recently reviewed the two latest issues of Culture Slut on her blog, as well as You've Got A Friend In Pennsylvania by Sari, which I just finished reading this afternoon and kinda fell in love with. As well, a video from Canzine has been posted on Ryerson's journalism blog. It's a photo montage of the event, along with commentary from zinesters including me talking about Fight Boredom and zines in general. Finally, although my interview hasn't been posted, there is a clip of Kiss Off's Chris Kiss talking about zines on the Maker Culture blog. Check it out!
Friday, November 20, 2009
Fight Boredom with Sylvia, Amelia and Maranda!
June Graveyard vanessaberryworldATgmail.com
This zine happened to arrive in my mailbox the very week that I began reading The Unabridged Journals Of Sylvia Plath. Brought to you by Vanessa Berry of I Am A Camera, this 24 page zine chronicles Vanessa's trip to Sylvia Plath's grave. It just happens that Vanessa's grandfather is from the very same small town in England where the grave is located, so she was already there visiting with family. She writes about first discovering Plath's work as a young girl and becoming inspired to write, the way she felt when she finally made it to the grave and the various notes and gifts that had previously been left by Plath's readers. It was very interesting and touching; a must-read for any fan of Plath's work.
Functionally Ill robotmadATgmail.com
I recently received the first four issues Laura-Marie's zines as part of a trade and they kept me occupied during several days worth of bus and subway trips to and from school and downtown. She writes about being diagnosed with bipolar and her subsequent dealings with the county mental health programs. Her stories are laid out in a very bare-bones manner, describing every detail from the decorations on the walls of her therapist's cubicle to the random thoughts that came to mind during meetings and wait times. She writes very descriptive accounts of her own feelings during episodes of depression and mania and includes a few transcripts of the voices she hears. I thought these transcriptions were one of the most interesting parts, because they reminded me of voices that I often heard as a child (though they mostly faded away as I got older). I really get the feeling from these zines that she wants to help out other people dealing with mental health issues as well - the way she writes is just so simple yet detailed, it's almost as if you could have her holding your hand through your own ordeals. I reviewed a zine by Laura-Marie in the past as well, called Sexuality As Hidden. Both titles are highly recommended.
Doublespeak doublespeak.etsy.com
This is another excellent series of zines that I've been reading throughout the last few weeks. There are currently four issues available. I ordered them from Amelia's Etsy shop at the recommendation of a friend and was not disappointed. She writes short accounts of daily happenings and accompanies them with charming drawings of herself and her surroundings. Amelia is a vintage lover and writes much about her style and tips for other vintage clothing collectors, and includes vegan recipes. All around cute stuff. Not only are her zines great, but she is also into embroidery and there are many beautiful pieces in her shop, including a vintage slip embroidered with one of my favourite phrases: Buy me a whiskey.
For Lack Of Better Words sleepswthghostsATyahoo.ca
Sarala makes the series Beautiful Mess and Sleeps With Ghosts and is also my zinefest tabling buddy. We met at a craft fair earlier in the year and have since become good friends. For Lack Of Better Words is her latest work, a one-shot quarter-size zine comprised of love letters sent and received. It's no secret that I love receiving mail, but to get a chance to peek at other letters is entertaining in a whole new way. Sarala doesn't tell you which letters were written by her or which ones were meant for her eyes only, nor does she correct the errors from the original copies. The letters range from confessional to straight-up cute and were lovingly re-written on a vintage typewriter and put together cut and paste style. There is a limited print run, so get your copy while you can.
Telegram Ma'am #18 / Your Pretty Face Is Going Straight To Hell #9 schoolformapsATgmail.com / tukruklovesyouATgmail.com
This is the much-anticipated split zine from two of my favourite people: overseas pen pal Tukru and my sister Maranda. Although the original intention of the zine was to discuss loneliness and long-distance friendships, the stories strayed a little but are all the better for it. Maranda was inspired to write when people kept asking her how she managed to ride such a ridiculously colourful streamer-clad bicycle and dress up in strange outfits when she is often attacked by loneliness and anxiety. Her half is all about her bicycle Jolene and the things she has learned through riding her small town's streets and learning how to repair the bike. She includes tales of graffiti nights, the local lilac festival and the time she was hit by a car while riding her bike (on the very same street where I was hit on my bike only a year earlier. Lindsay, Ontario residents: Be careful on Kent Street. Drivers care much more about the McDonald's drive-thru than they do about traffic or basic courtesy). She read excerpts from this during the zine reading at TZL a few weeks back and I thought it was quite moving. Tukru uses her half to write about visits from long-distance friends, her new Blythe doll, Harry Potter fangirldom, agreeing to take medication to deal with depression and a disastrous week with her brother. All cut and paste with typewritten and handwritten text, this issue is a totally epic SEVENTY pages.
High School Sucks meganspeersATrogers.com
I picked this zine up at Canzine a few weeks back. Although I left high school nearly a decade ago, the title got my attention and piqued my curiosity. Subtitled Survival tips for dorks, geeks and social rejects, from one of their own, this zine does exactly what it says it will. Each page contains tips such as making friends with the other misfits and getting a job so you can save your pennies and get the hell outta town, if you'll be happier that way. Entirely typewritten, cut and paste and full-colour, this is a great zine to pick up for a young friend or just to reminisce about your own awful high school experiences.
What I've Been Up To Lately: Tabling at Expozine, going to my French classes, drinking too much, procrastinating, seeing Peaches live and not getting enough sleep.
What I Got In The Mail This Week: Letters from Vincent, Lauren, Harley and others, the latest issue of Bust, a bunch of queer zines and a t-shirt with a beautiful phrase painted across the front: "Moi, je veux te dire que je ne te quitterai jamais. Et puis, si tu es triste, je pourrai toujours te donner un peu d'alcool pour te rechauffer le coeur." In English: "Me, I want to tell you that I will never leave you. And if you are sad, I can always give you a bit of alcohol to warm your heart."
I would love for someone to say that to me.
This zine happened to arrive in my mailbox the very week that I began reading The Unabridged Journals Of Sylvia Plath. Brought to you by Vanessa Berry of I Am A Camera, this 24 page zine chronicles Vanessa's trip to Sylvia Plath's grave. It just happens that Vanessa's grandfather is from the very same small town in England where the grave is located, so she was already there visiting with family. She writes about first discovering Plath's work as a young girl and becoming inspired to write, the way she felt when she finally made it to the grave and the various notes and gifts that had previously been left by Plath's readers. It was very interesting and touching; a must-read for any fan of Plath's work.
Functionally Ill robotmadATgmail.com
I recently received the first four issues Laura-Marie's zines as part of a trade and they kept me occupied during several days worth of bus and subway trips to and from school and downtown. She writes about being diagnosed with bipolar and her subsequent dealings with the county mental health programs. Her stories are laid out in a very bare-bones manner, describing every detail from the decorations on the walls of her therapist's cubicle to the random thoughts that came to mind during meetings and wait times. She writes very descriptive accounts of her own feelings during episodes of depression and mania and includes a few transcripts of the voices she hears. I thought these transcriptions were one of the most interesting parts, because they reminded me of voices that I often heard as a child (though they mostly faded away as I got older). I really get the feeling from these zines that she wants to help out other people dealing with mental health issues as well - the way she writes is just so simple yet detailed, it's almost as if you could have her holding your hand through your own ordeals. I reviewed a zine by Laura-Marie in the past as well, called Sexuality As Hidden. Both titles are highly recommended.
Doublespeak doublespeak.etsy.com
This is another excellent series of zines that I've been reading throughout the last few weeks. There are currently four issues available. I ordered them from Amelia's Etsy shop at the recommendation of a friend and was not disappointed. She writes short accounts of daily happenings and accompanies them with charming drawings of herself and her surroundings. Amelia is a vintage lover and writes much about her style and tips for other vintage clothing collectors, and includes vegan recipes. All around cute stuff. Not only are her zines great, but she is also into embroidery and there are many beautiful pieces in her shop, including a vintage slip embroidered with one of my favourite phrases: Buy me a whiskey.
For Lack Of Better Words sleepswthghostsATyahoo.ca
Sarala makes the series Beautiful Mess and Sleeps With Ghosts and is also my zinefest tabling buddy. We met at a craft fair earlier in the year and have since become good friends. For Lack Of Better Words is her latest work, a one-shot quarter-size zine comprised of love letters sent and received. It's no secret that I love receiving mail, but to get a chance to peek at other letters is entertaining in a whole new way. Sarala doesn't tell you which letters were written by her or which ones were meant for her eyes only, nor does she correct the errors from the original copies. The letters range from confessional to straight-up cute and were lovingly re-written on a vintage typewriter and put together cut and paste style. There is a limited print run, so get your copy while you can.
Telegram Ma'am #18 / Your Pretty Face Is Going Straight To Hell #9 schoolformapsATgmail.com / tukruklovesyouATgmail.com
This is the much-anticipated split zine from two of my favourite people: overseas pen pal Tukru and my sister Maranda. Although the original intention of the zine was to discuss loneliness and long-distance friendships, the stories strayed a little but are all the better for it. Maranda was inspired to write when people kept asking her how she managed to ride such a ridiculously colourful streamer-clad bicycle and dress up in strange outfits when she is often attacked by loneliness and anxiety. Her half is all about her bicycle Jolene and the things she has learned through riding her small town's streets and learning how to repair the bike. She includes tales of graffiti nights, the local lilac festival and the time she was hit by a car while riding her bike (on the very same street where I was hit on my bike only a year earlier. Lindsay, Ontario residents: Be careful on Kent Street. Drivers care much more about the McDonald's drive-thru than they do about traffic or basic courtesy). She read excerpts from this during the zine reading at TZL a few weeks back and I thought it was quite moving. Tukru uses her half to write about visits from long-distance friends, her new Blythe doll, Harry Potter fangirldom, agreeing to take medication to deal with depression and a disastrous week with her brother. All cut and paste with typewritten and handwritten text, this issue is a totally epic SEVENTY pages.
High School Sucks meganspeersATrogers.com
I picked this zine up at Canzine a few weeks back. Although I left high school nearly a decade ago, the title got my attention and piqued my curiosity. Subtitled Survival tips for dorks, geeks and social rejects, from one of their own, this zine does exactly what it says it will. Each page contains tips such as making friends with the other misfits and getting a job so you can save your pennies and get the hell outta town, if you'll be happier that way. Entirely typewritten, cut and paste and full-colour, this is a great zine to pick up for a young friend or just to reminisce about your own awful high school experiences.
What I've Been Up To Lately: Tabling at Expozine, going to my French classes, drinking too much, procrastinating, seeing Peaches live and not getting enough sleep.
What I Got In The Mail This Week: Letters from Vincent, Lauren, Harley and others, the latest issue of Bust, a bunch of queer zines and a t-shirt with a beautiful phrase painted across the front: "Moi, je veux te dire que je ne te quitterai jamais. Et puis, si tu es triste, je pourrai toujours te donner un peu d'alcool pour te rechauffer le coeur." In English: "Me, I want to tell you that I will never leave you. And if you are sad, I can always give you a bit of alcohol to warm your heart."
I would love for someone to say that to me.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Fight Boredom in Oshawa, Ontario!
One of the reasons I started making my compilation zine, Fight Boredom, is because I was so fed up with people in my hometown of Lindsay, Ontario complaining that there was nothing to do in a small town. They were bored. I'm one of those annoying people who always says, "Only boring people get bored," so of course I had to do something about it. I started making Fight Boredom in order to encourage my friends and other small town folk to create something, to go on adventures and to have some fucking fun. I've made compilation zines and mini-zines under the title and they've been pretty popular. When I visit small towns I leave them in places like public bathrooms and coffee shops in the hopes of inspiring more and more people to be awesome.
Whilst attending Canzine 2009, I met Harley R. Pageot, who lives in Oshawa and totally shares my attitude about arts and culture in small towns. Actually, we didn't really talk much in Toronto, though he did give me an awesome typewriter pin and then we found each other on the internet a few days later. Now we're trading zines through snail mail even though we had the chance to do it face to face. So it goes. He recently started a local arts collective called Broken Arts and they are all about throwing events and raising awareness in the small city of Oshawa, Ontario. Although I'm not from there, Lindsay isn't all that far away, so I'm very familiar with the city and I've got a few friends there. His aims with his arts collective totally remind me of my own ideas when I started making Fight Boredom, so we've been talking about it lots. He sets up zine tables at local shows, which is something I've always wanted to do. Throughout the month of November, he has a zine display set up at the McLaughlin Public Library. That rules. As well, he's been throwing workshops on zine-making and zine history. If you live in or near Oshawa, I totally recommend hitting it up. The next one is happening on Saturday, January 23rd, 2010 from 1:45 - 4:00pm at the library. Facebook event here. He'll also be tabling at The Best Lil' Zine Fair in London this upcoming weekend.
From Harley:
The library display came about because I put on a zine workshop through my arts collective a few months ago, flyered like crazy, and told everyone I know and only three people came out - my friend Mike, this 16 year-old girl who was into poetry, and this 42 year-old woman who Mike grabbed off the street five minutes before I started.
I was pretty bummed out so I went to the library and talked to the girls who do the adult and teen programmes there and the teen programme director told me she did a teen zine workshop a few months earlier and she only got three people to come out herself. So we brainstormed.
I'm of the belief that anyone can make a zine because everybody's passionate about something so we figured the only reason they aren't is because they don't know what they are. So a big display might help change that. So I looked up books the library had about zines and DIY culture and I lent them a bunch of zines from my collection and the display's going to be up all November so that people will hopefully come to my zine workshop in January that I'm running there.
Tell your Oshawa friends to come out to my zine workshop on January 23rd at the library. If I can't motivate them there into making their own then they might be lost causes. It's only two hours but I talk about the history of zines, famous ones, different genres, typical contents, etc. and we do different exercises and games. I want people to come to the workshop. And, most importantly, I want people to make zines!
Oshawa is definitely a continuing struggle in terms of the arts. I moved here from Toronto at age 13 and was into the music scene during high school because all my friends were in grunge and punk bands. Then I lost interest and grew apart. I just returned to the scene this year, formed my arts collective, and started putting on art jams and booking concerts.
But just this week we had the best music venue here close down. We've got practically nowhere left to put on rock shows other than some really scuzzy redneck bars. A lot of people are so frustrated and feel like giving up but I'm persevering.
My collective's in the midst of scheduling our next music night on December 12th actually. The first was October 23rd and we had bands from Oshawa, Toronto, Peterborough, and Ottawa play. Amy and Chris and Suzanne came out for twelveohtwo and the Toronto Zine Library and tabled as well as people from the Durham Comics Guild and Oshawa Spoken Word Collective. And we had local artists hang their work and raffles.
So our next show is December and it's going to be a Christmas one. We're in the midst of finding bands and tablers right now. I've asked the gals from Worn fashion journal and Darling magazine and we've had a bluegrass group from Toronto called The Strumbellas confirm. It's going to be at this really nice coffeeshop here so I'm hoping it should go well. We're doing these shows every two months and I'm always looking for tablers.
Seriously though, everyone is always complaining about how awful Oshawa is. Now is your chance to turn it around! Go go go!
Whilst attending Canzine 2009, I met Harley R. Pageot, who lives in Oshawa and totally shares my attitude about arts and culture in small towns. Actually, we didn't really talk much in Toronto, though he did give me an awesome typewriter pin and then we found each other on the internet a few days later. Now we're trading zines through snail mail even though we had the chance to do it face to face. So it goes. He recently started a local arts collective called Broken Arts and they are all about throwing events and raising awareness in the small city of Oshawa, Ontario. Although I'm not from there, Lindsay isn't all that far away, so I'm very familiar with the city and I've got a few friends there. His aims with his arts collective totally remind me of my own ideas when I started making Fight Boredom, so we've been talking about it lots. He sets up zine tables at local shows, which is something I've always wanted to do. Throughout the month of November, he has a zine display set up at the McLaughlin Public Library. That rules. As well, he's been throwing workshops on zine-making and zine history. If you live in or near Oshawa, I totally recommend hitting it up. The next one is happening on Saturday, January 23rd, 2010 from 1:45 - 4:00pm at the library. Facebook event here. He'll also be tabling at The Best Lil' Zine Fair in London this upcoming weekend.
From Harley:
The library display came about because I put on a zine workshop through my arts collective a few months ago, flyered like crazy, and told everyone I know and only three people came out - my friend Mike, this 16 year-old girl who was into poetry, and this 42 year-old woman who Mike grabbed off the street five minutes before I started.
I was pretty bummed out so I went to the library and talked to the girls who do the adult and teen programmes there and the teen programme director told me she did a teen zine workshop a few months earlier and she only got three people to come out herself. So we brainstormed.
I'm of the belief that anyone can make a zine because everybody's passionate about something so we figured the only reason they aren't is because they don't know what they are. So a big display might help change that. So I looked up books the library had about zines and DIY culture and I lent them a bunch of zines from my collection and the display's going to be up all November so that people will hopefully come to my zine workshop in January that I'm running there.
Tell your Oshawa friends to come out to my zine workshop on January 23rd at the library. If I can't motivate them there into making their own then they might be lost causes. It's only two hours but I talk about the history of zines, famous ones, different genres, typical contents, etc. and we do different exercises and games. I want people to come to the workshop. And, most importantly, I want people to make zines!
Oshawa is definitely a continuing struggle in terms of the arts. I moved here from Toronto at age 13 and was into the music scene during high school because all my friends were in grunge and punk bands. Then I lost interest and grew apart. I just returned to the scene this year, formed my arts collective, and started putting on art jams and booking concerts.
But just this week we had the best music venue here close down. We've got practically nowhere left to put on rock shows other than some really scuzzy redneck bars. A lot of people are so frustrated and feel like giving up but I'm persevering.
My collective's in the midst of scheduling our next music night on December 12th actually. The first was October 23rd and we had bands from Oshawa, Toronto, Peterborough, and Ottawa play. Amy and Chris and Suzanne came out for twelveohtwo and the Toronto Zine Library and tabled as well as people from the Durham Comics Guild and Oshawa Spoken Word Collective. And we had local artists hang their work and raffles.
So our next show is December and it's going to be a Christmas one. We're in the midst of finding bands and tablers right now. I've asked the gals from Worn fashion journal and Darling magazine and we've had a bluegrass group from Toronto called The Strumbellas confirm. It's going to be at this really nice coffeeshop here so I'm hoping it should go well. We're doing these shows every two months and I'm always looking for tablers.
Seriously though, everyone is always complaining about how awful Oshawa is. Now is your chance to turn it around! Go go go!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Fight Boredom with Canzine 2009!
Holy epic weekend. Shall I begin from the beginning? I spent Thursday night with Lindsay. We went to this excellent little restaurant for a late dinner of veggie burgers and fries and beer, where we were approached by a couple with apparent journalistic dreams. They came and sat in our booth and asked us to name one thing we did that day. I said, "I took a bus from Montreal to Toronto." Lindsay said, "I worked." They made fun of her for having such a boring life (it's cool, Lindsay, I know your life isn't actually boring). They told us that they wanted to ask the same question of all the restaurant's patrons, but they began with us because we were the least intimidating people in the place. After we paid our tab, they moved on to another lovely dining couple. I sort of imagined that they were doing a 24-hour zine just in time for Canzine, but I never ran into them again. Anyway, that was my first of three interviews that weekend. Friday night I dressed up as Pippi Longstocking, partied with the Tripping Hazard people, drank way too much wine and danced with the likes of Frank Zappa, Willy Wonka, The Blues Brothers, Alice In Wonderland (complete with "drink me" bottle) and Medusa.
Then Saturday came around, the day of my very first zine reading! I was much more hungover than I would've preferred, but it was nothing that a four-cheese omelette, home fries and a whole lotta ice water couldn't cure. Jen, Joel and I had a really excellent breakfast at The Pump, then headed on over to the Toronto Zine Library to truly begin the zinester adventures. As my luck would have it, I was the first person to go on. Although I'd practiced several times at home, I had never stood before such a large audience before - I don't know how many people were there, but the room was packed and there were people lined up in the hallway - good turnout! So I stood up, introduced myself as Pippi and began reading an excerpt from issue #20 of Culture Slut. My hands were shaking and I hoped I wasn't reading too fast. People laughed at the funny parts and made sympathetic faces at the serious parts, so I guess I did alright. I got a lot of compliments afterward and was even interviewed by a McGill journalism student, so that was cool. There were more readings by my sister Maranda (Telegram Ma'am), Teri Vlassopoulos (Cement Flour Saints), Chris Landry (Kiss Off), Suzanne Sutherland (My Bad), Jeff Miller (Ghost Pine), and of course, Alex Wrekk of Brainscan and Stolen Sharpie Revolution. The readings were all diverse and well-presented, though, hilariously enough, there seemed to be a running theme of vomit stories going on. I read about my worst cunt exam ever and being queer, Maranda read about bicycle adventures and living in a small town, Teri read about how she first got into zines... It was all pretty excellent stuff. After consuming the last of the hot apple cider and vegan treats, we packed up our things and headed to Victory Café for a zinester celebration. Had a chance to try the pumpkin ale that everyone's always talking about. I must say, it is so nice to be able to sit down with a group of friends and talk about zines without first having to explain WHAT ZINES ARE. Nothing better. Later on, we headed back to Amy's place for a slumber party complete with zinester gossip and Lisa Frank fangirldom. I won several rounds of Rock, Paper, Scissors, meaning I was the lucky girl who slept on the couch while the others took the floor. The best part was when Alex woke up in the morning and said, "There are five tabs of Lisa Frank images open on my laptop!"
Finally, it was time for Canzine! The reason we had all descended upon the city of Toronto in the first place. Like most people, I'd had major problems with acquiring a table in the past, so we showed up super early and hung out on the front steps of The Gladstone Hotel until the organizers were ready to let us in. Our vigilance prevailed and we got the best seats in the house - right below the beautiful ceiling-high windows and in front of the bar. It was so nice to be tabling with all of my friends, and to meet so many people. I got a chance to meet some zinesters I've admired for a long time, as well as people that I'd previously only conversed with through the internet and snail mail. It was definitely a very overwhelming day, and I forgot people's names on more than a few occasions, but it was a good time. Sold enough zines that my weekend adventures had paid for themselves, and I traded quite a few as well. Was interviewed by another journalism student - hopefully I'll find all this stuff online sometime! I think the only downside was the fact that I missed Zoe Whittall's reading upstairs. She wrote a really excellent book called Bottle Rocket Hearts, all about a couple of queer girls living in Montreal. It would've been cool to see her, but hey, another time.
I'd already been wearing a Halloween costume for two days, and although I shed it for Canzine, I did go with a theme: typewriters! I wore a typewriter-printed skirt, a typewriter necklace and proudly displayed my typewriter tattoo. A fellow zinester noticed and added a typewriter pin to my collection. Awesome! (Click on photos to enlarge and see captions and credits.)
Left to right: Maranda (Telegram Ma'am), Kate (Riot Wife), me (Culture Slut & Fight Boredom), Amy (twelevohtwo distro), Sarala (Beautiful Mess), Alex (Brainscan & Stolen Sharpie Revolution) and Jeff (Ghost Pine). Big thank-you to everyone who participated in the reading and the fair, all my zine grrrls for being so awesome, everyone who documented the weekend with photos and interviews, everyone who bought my zines and traded with me, and all my long-distance friends who made the time to hang out with me during my brief trip.
What I Got In The Mail This Week: Some excellent zines, including four issues of Doublespeak, Mélange and List #7, letters from Amy and Katie, the latest issue of Bust magazine (Hello, Ellen Page!) and a twenty dollar bill with a note saying, "Send me whatever you can for this!" It was really fun making up a package in reply.
What I've Been Up To Lately: Mostly just feeling overwhelmed and trying to recuperate. I've got a cold, so I'm taking long, hot baths, drinking tea and hot toddies, reading the ridiculous stack of zines I picked up over the weekend and getting my boyfriend to mail out zines for me. A little sad that I missed two French classes this week, but I'll return in the morning and hope that I haven't missed too much. I should be working on my tattoo designs if I want them to be finished by the end of the year.
Then Saturday came around, the day of my very first zine reading! I was much more hungover than I would've preferred, but it was nothing that a four-cheese omelette, home fries and a whole lotta ice water couldn't cure. Jen, Joel and I had a really excellent breakfast at The Pump, then headed on over to the Toronto Zine Library to truly begin the zinester adventures. As my luck would have it, I was the first person to go on. Although I'd practiced several times at home, I had never stood before such a large audience before - I don't know how many people were there, but the room was packed and there were people lined up in the hallway - good turnout! So I stood up, introduced myself as Pippi and began reading an excerpt from issue #20 of Culture Slut. My hands were shaking and I hoped I wasn't reading too fast. People laughed at the funny parts and made sympathetic faces at the serious parts, so I guess I did alright. I got a lot of compliments afterward and was even interviewed by a McGill journalism student, so that was cool. There were more readings by my sister Maranda (Telegram Ma'am), Teri Vlassopoulos (Cement Flour Saints), Chris Landry (Kiss Off), Suzanne Sutherland (My Bad), Jeff Miller (Ghost Pine), and of course, Alex Wrekk of Brainscan and Stolen Sharpie Revolution. The readings were all diverse and well-presented, though, hilariously enough, there seemed to be a running theme of vomit stories going on. I read about my worst cunt exam ever and being queer, Maranda read about bicycle adventures and living in a small town, Teri read about how she first got into zines... It was all pretty excellent stuff. After consuming the last of the hot apple cider and vegan treats, we packed up our things and headed to Victory Café for a zinester celebration. Had a chance to try the pumpkin ale that everyone's always talking about. I must say, it is so nice to be able to sit down with a group of friends and talk about zines without first having to explain WHAT ZINES ARE. Nothing better. Later on, we headed back to Amy's place for a slumber party complete with zinester gossip and Lisa Frank fangirldom. I won several rounds of Rock, Paper, Scissors, meaning I was the lucky girl who slept on the couch while the others took the floor. The best part was when Alex woke up in the morning and said, "There are five tabs of Lisa Frank images open on my laptop!"
Finally, it was time for Canzine! The reason we had all descended upon the city of Toronto in the first place. Like most people, I'd had major problems with acquiring a table in the past, so we showed up super early and hung out on the front steps of The Gladstone Hotel until the organizers were ready to let us in. Our vigilance prevailed and we got the best seats in the house - right below the beautiful ceiling-high windows and in front of the bar. It was so nice to be tabling with all of my friends, and to meet so many people. I got a chance to meet some zinesters I've admired for a long time, as well as people that I'd previously only conversed with through the internet and snail mail. It was definitely a very overwhelming day, and I forgot people's names on more than a few occasions, but it was a good time. Sold enough zines that my weekend adventures had paid for themselves, and I traded quite a few as well. Was interviewed by another journalism student - hopefully I'll find all this stuff online sometime! I think the only downside was the fact that I missed Zoe Whittall's reading upstairs. She wrote a really excellent book called Bottle Rocket Hearts, all about a couple of queer girls living in Montreal. It would've been cool to see her, but hey, another time.
I'd already been wearing a Halloween costume for two days, and although I shed it for Canzine, I did go with a theme: typewriters! I wore a typewriter-printed skirt, a typewriter necklace and proudly displayed my typewriter tattoo. A fellow zinester noticed and added a typewriter pin to my collection. Awesome! (Click on photos to enlarge and see captions and credits.)
Left to right: Maranda (Telegram Ma'am), Kate (Riot Wife), me (Culture Slut & Fight Boredom), Amy (twelevohtwo distro), Sarala (Beautiful Mess), Alex (Brainscan & Stolen Sharpie Revolution) and Jeff (Ghost Pine). Big thank-you to everyone who participated in the reading and the fair, all my zine grrrls for being so awesome, everyone who documented the weekend with photos and interviews, everyone who bought my zines and traded with me, and all my long-distance friends who made the time to hang out with me during my brief trip.
What I Got In The Mail This Week: Some excellent zines, including four issues of Doublespeak, Mélange and List #7, letters from Amy and Katie, the latest issue of Bust magazine (Hello, Ellen Page!) and a twenty dollar bill with a note saying, "Send me whatever you can for this!" It was really fun making up a package in reply.
What I've Been Up To Lately: Mostly just feeling overwhelmed and trying to recuperate. I've got a cold, so I'm taking long, hot baths, drinking tea and hot toddies, reading the ridiculous stack of zines I picked up over the weekend and getting my boyfriend to mail out zines for me. A little sad that I missed two French classes this week, but I'll return in the morning and hope that I haven't missed too much. I should be working on my tattoo designs if I want them to be finished by the end of the year.
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