Coffee & People 1 & 2
Craig Atkinson
https://www.instagram.com/craiganthonyatkinson/
Coffee & People 1 and 2 are black and white one-page-folded perzines with short life stories on cafes, coffee, people, and skateboarding.
I couldn’t tell you exactly what makes a title good or bad to me, but I really like the title of this zine series. It’s simple, nice, and definitely captures a ‘writerly’ vibe.
The first zine opens with setting the scene of sitting at the local cafe on a humid day. Craig, of course, writes it much more beautifully. He then takes us from a cafe in Japan to a cafe in London and a tale from days spent there. The second zine opens with a late night writing session and reflecting on how skateboarding remained a life constant in a young life that involved a lot of moving house and change.
I had to smile when I was reading these zines because I had just started thinking that Craig had a flair for writing when he mentioned in the zine that he is a writer. I’d love to read more of his descriptive writing.
There’s a special place in my zine-loving heart for short, slice of life stories. They encompass the little moments, the little things that so often have big, lingering impacts on who we are and how we think. I don’t always identify with things – the only thing I could do with a skateboard is hurt myself – but I liked reading about what it meant to Craig.
I quite liked these zines and am looking forward to reading more of Craig’s writing.