Electron Libre 2: it was the best of times, it was the worst of times
Izalixe Straightheart
28 pages
https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/IzArt
https://www.youtube.com/user/izalixe
Electron Libre 2 is a black and white, US-sized half-fold perzine about life, weddings, communities, setting boundaries, sticking up for yourself, and much more.
Full disclosure: My zine ‘BUJO’ is reviewed in this zine.
Electron Libre 2 opens with a brief nod to the typewriter Persephone that, sadly, went berserk and needed to be rehomed. Iza then gives a not to the typewriter Phyllis and The Regional Assembly of Text who generously loaned Phyllis to Iza for the creation of this zine. (Thank you from Iza’s readers as well.)
From there we launch into the real introduction to the zine, which starts with taking a little poke at the tried and true ‘sorry I haven’t made a zine in so long’ before getting into the whirlwind of events that kept this zine from coming into being up until now. (‘Now’ being November 2020 when it came out.)
This introduction is a raw and open sharing of experiences Iza has had being with and then being married to someone with a mental illness. Good times, bad times… They are all there in Iza’s ‘this is my life, so take it or leave it’ kind of way that is also reflected in her YouTube videos. I had to admire Iza not only for sharing things that are clearly painful and complicated but also for sticking with the decisions she has made. Whether you agree with her or would make the same decisions, you have to respect a person who knows that they want in life and knows who they are and what they want in life.
From there, Iza writes about YouTube communities (yes, I remember video responses!) and the evolution of not only the site itself but her channel as well. With being ‘out there’ comes hate and trolls as well, which Iza has taken a healthy approach to dealing with. She also writes about zine fests, new habits, workout tips, reviews, and more.
As I mentioned, Iza reviewed my Bujo zine. That hasn’t influenced my review of this zine whatsoever, but I must say that it was quite lovely and made me smile. The review and the zine itself is refreshingly unapologetic. Iza loves, hurts, and has joy just like all of us, and her writing voice and style embrace all of it with no expectations from the reader.
Unlike with the first issue of Electron Libre (https://seagreenzines.com/zine-review-electron-libre-1/) there are no pieces written in French. While I fully support writing in any language you want to write in, it was nice not to have to break out Google translate before I could wrap up this review.
Electron Libre 2 is a great edition to a series I have come to really enjoy. Iza’s wandering ways are so different from the life I know that it’s all quite fascinating to me. I like the variety of topics in this zine as well as the fact she includes reviews.
I recommend checking out this and Iza’s other zines.