Month: February 2018

Diary of a Lavender Plant
Rae White
@wings_humming
raewhite.net

Diary of a Lavender Plant is an A5 black and white zine about the journey of a lavender plant through poems.

If you’ve been reading these reviews for any length of time, you know that poetry makes me nervous… but I usually have a go anyway.

I’ve always believed that the crucial goal of any piece of writing or art is to make the person taking it in actually feel something. Frankly, I had no idea why the line breaks were where they were or what it meant. That being said, the language Rae used make me feel.

I paused and closed my eyes, thinking of sleeping in the sun at the mention of daytime naps. I laughed at the not overt but clear to me disdain for noisy, destructive children. I absolutely loved the use of the strongest memory inducer – smell. The smell of ripe tomatoes is so distinct, and I immediately remembered it when I read the words.

I’m not a gardener, not a poet, and I’m not even a fan of the scent of lavender. But I still think this zine is lovely.

Fragments Issue 5
Fragments
https://fragmentszine.weebly.com

Fragments is a ½ fold black and white text-only (except the covers) perzine about a number of different life thoughts and subjects.

Right from the get go, Fragments gives you a look into their life and thoughts with a writing voice that is unflinching and confident. I was just as fascinated by their writing voice as I was by what had been written. The intensity I thought may have been reserved for the intro ended up carrying all the way through. I was taken in by this interesting combination of strength of conviction and thought alongside admitting they are still learning and growing.

From their annoyance about empty words, to creativity, to parenting, Fragments covers a lot of subjects big and small in mostly short sections. I had to smile as I increasingly got the feeling that Fragments likes documentaries – even sharing notes on one of them in one section.

I get the impression that Fragements is someone who doesn’t just think that people can be and do better – they know it. There are no illusions about what people often are, and yet there is this impression of realistic optimism about the potential of people – including Fragments.

I must confess that there is a section of the zine that I wasn’t able to read because of my own stuff, but I admire the bravery in being able to share what one has been through. There’s also mention of physical abuse as well, but it’s not explored to the same degree.

Fragments Issue 5 was an intense (in many ways), interesting zine about many different life moments. If you want to check out a perzine by someone with a strong writing voice and don’t mind the content warnings, definitely check out this zine.

PS. Fragments also offers free handwriting analysis, which sounds really cool to me.

Intimacies Volume 2
Dara Idris
intimacieszine.bigcartel.com

Intimacies Volume 2 is a black and white ½ fold zine about Dara’s journey with physical intimacy, sex, and expectations told through a collection of short essays.

Dara starts volume two not with an essay but with a snippet about separating sex and even romance from the need to touch and be touch. While it doesn’t state these things directly, I feel like it does a fantastic job of setting up the fine distinctions that are to come.

Where I felt volume one was more about being unsure and contemplating the meaning of intimacy, I feel volume two is more what intimacy means and continues to mean after firsts are happening and growing relationships are explored. Simply put, there is a lot more kissing and sex in this one, but there are still questions to be answered as well as keenly feeling the difference in oneself after the firsts have happened.

It’s nice to read something that give such gravity towards firsts and ‘small intimacies’. Each essay shares a moment or a conversation about intimacy, touch, and or sex, and yet each is granted the same amount of thoughtfulness and gravity. Each is respected as a moment of change.

The only thing that got a little confusing was the use of ‘you’. I absolutely understand the use of second-person writing – especially to help with the identities of those involved, but the writing feels somehow less intimate with the reader despite the intimate writing because I’m not sure who you is from piece to piece. One might assume that you is one person, but it’s made clear in the first few essays that you is at least two different people.

I fully admit that it’s a nitpick, though. It’s something that my editor brain is picking up on, and I don’t think that it takes away from the writing in a significant way. After all, this zine isn’t so much about who as involved as it is about what’s happening.

Aesthetically, this is a text-heavy zine with very few illustrations. While you certainly won’t breeze right through it, it is possible to pick it up and put it down because of the shortness of the essays.

On a side note: I looked back at my review of Intimacies Volume 1 and realised I’d already mentioned the copyright note on the back. Still, I think “Don’t be a dick is a good rule, isn’t it?” is worth another mention.

I found Intimacies Volume 2 a tasteful and thoughtful collection of essays about intimacy, relationships, and sex. While I do think the volumes should be read in order, I think they can stand on their own if you can only grab one for any reason.

Fully Sick, Chronically Sad
Amber is Blue
https://www.instagram.com/flindersstreetstation/
http://amberisblue.bigcartel.com

Fully Sick, Chronically Sad is a black and white comic zine with a colour cover somewhere between A5 and A6 about mental illness.

I struggled a lot with this zine. Not so much with the zine itself but because I’ve been there – and am there still in many ways.

In various drawings, Amber is Blue takes us through what it’s like having a mental illness and the constant struggles coming from inside and the world around us in dealing with it. Medications can be wonderful, but wonderful meds that work are often not affordable. Therapy helps, but the current system doesn’t exactly help with consistency.

Amber is Blue doesn’t mince words when it comes to dealing with these frustrations and more. There is no mystery when it comes to how Amber is Blue really feels about these things.

As I mentioned, I identify a lot with Amber is Blue and all of the nonsense that comes with these things. I think it’s valuable to share these experiences so people don’t feel alone. While this zine stirred up a lot of feelings in me, one of those feelings was a desire to write more about my own experiences with mental illness.

I do feel I should mention one content warning, though, in that suicidal thoughts and dealing with suicidal thoughts are mentioned.

There weren’t any contact details in the zine itself, but I’ve dug up some links for you if you’d like to check out more of Amber is Blue’s work. Fully Sick, Chronically Sad has a part two and three, which I’m looking forward to checking out.