Month: June 2018

Self-Care for Zinesters
Maranda Elizabeth
https://marandaelizabeth.com

Self-Care for Zinesters is a black and white A6 size zines about self-care for zinesters at zine events, on the road, and at home.

I feel a little weird reviewing this zine because I remember reading the related blog post (https://marandaelizabeth.com/2013/01/03/self-care-for-zinesters/) before I went to my very first zine fest, and it feels like reviewing something that’s famous. Alas, here we go.

Self-Care for Zinesters opens with an intro by Maranda in which they talk about their labels (mental health, etc). I had just started thinking, “This is especially important in a zine like this so you know where they are coming from” and Maranda actually writes:

“I’m prefacing all this with a bunch of labels I’ve applied to myself so you have an idea of where I’m coming from, and what my experiences might be like.”

If that’s not a good start, I don’t know what is. Haha.

Maranda goes on to discuss ‘zinester life’ and how many zinemakers feel overwhelmed and overstimulated at zine events (me, too!). From there, they go into self-care tips for zinesters on the road, at zine events, and zinesters at home. With tips like finding out what the coffee situation is and writing things down, I kept finding myself nodding along and thinking, “Yes! That’s so important!”

I feel like the blog post came into my life at just the right time, and now this zine has done the same. The zine had more than I thought it would be, and many of the things – especially self-care at home – struck a chord with me.

Writing for friendship was an especially sweet section in which Maranda writes about intimidation – a feeling many of us have felt even in the zine world with people who seem more ___ than you/your zines. Maranda recommended making friends with those who intimidate you. I actually ended up taking that advice and have been delighted with the friendships that have emerged.

All up, this is a great zine, and I highly recommend it.

PS. I hope no one is intimidated by me! You can always say hello.

Newspaper Blackout Poetry
Wolfram-J VK
https://www.instagram.com/queercontent/

Newspaper Blackout Poetry is an A5 black and white zine about what blackout poetry is and how it works.

If you’re not familiar, blackout poetry is the process of using pieces of text that already exist and blacking out everything except chosen key words, turning that piece of text into something new.

Newspaper Blackout Poetry opens with a bit of history about blackout poetry and how it’s actually an older process than you probably think. From there, we dive into various examples.

Blackout poetry is probably the poetic space I feel most comfortable in, so I was fairly sure I was going to enjoy this zine anyway. However, this zine went above expectations.

The first few examples are of ‘traditional’ blackout poetry with lines of text blacked out. The blackout didn’t quite completely obscure the text beneath. While that may have been an annoyance in others’ eyes, it made it all the more interesting for me. I liked comparing how I would have done it to how it was done for the zine.

The last two examples are very interesting. They take blackout poetry and turn it into visual as well as literary art. They add on lines, dashes, and small sketches to create something that’s pleasing to look at as a whole as well as at the smaller details.

The second half of the zine is made up of a ‘now it’s your turn’ section with pieces of text ripe for turning into blackout poetry. I always feel a little weird about zines that encourage you to write and otherwise change them, but that doesn’t make me love the idea any less.

My one nitpick is a lack of contact details, but you do at least have Wolfram’s name on the back to go on.

All up, I think this is a fun zine and it would be a great start for anyone wanting to dive in.