Small Potatoes #4
Keira
https://www.instagram.com/k.huolohan/
https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/ZinesByKeira
Small Potatoes 4 is an A6 black and white perzine on cream paper about anxiety, work, and a lot more.
I’m in a chatty mood, zine friends, and there are a lot of things I enjoyed about the latest instalment of Small Potatoes.
Small Potatoes 4 opens with an introduction about little things we do even if we can’t remember the reason why we do them, Keira’s pride in finishing the zine, and the struggle to finish it while spoons were scarce (their energy was low). I identified so much with it being easier to write things happening in your life down and “just hand[ing] people the zine and hop[ing] they understand.”
This intro – and the updates on things they wrote about in previous issues – really epitomise while I like reading a while series. I adore reading about how people grow and change over the course of a zine series. This intro reads like Keira is becoming more comfortable with sharing their thoughts on paper. They also invite readers to respond and share about a zine they are making (one I’m contributing to!).
Keira writes about anxiety and medications, shares drawings and poetry, gives a driving update (congratulations on passing your driving test!), and more. They actually opened up the zine to suggestions for what to write about in this issue, and they wrote about why and how they give – my suggestion! I’d actually forgotten that I’d made the suggestion, so it was a great surprise. As someone who has experienced their generosity, it was interesting to read about their background and thoughts on giving.
In ‘Retail Work is Real Work’ Keira writes about how people abuse retail workers and make judgements about what ‘real’ work is. (Hint: These people don’t consider retail work ‘real’ work.) I’m always sad to hear about people treating other people badly, but I was impressed how Keira got angry but also fought with facts. The main fact being that there aren’t enough jobs to go around in Australia full shop.
I have a lot of love for this and the series. The variety of subjects, art, and poetry make for unexpected surprises in each issue. It’s easy to read with a clear font and contact details. There’s a lot to enjoy. Check it out.
PS. I love the subtitle.