Author: Nyx

Pieces #5 On Change
Nichole
http://wemakezines.ning.com/profile/Nichole
https://www.etsy.com/shop/fictionandnot

I’ve reviewed Pieces 1-4, so if you’d like to check them out, you can find the links in my recently updated *cough*it’sabouttime*cough* Zine Review Index.

When I first get a zine, I have a quick scan to get a sense of the layout and what kind of zine I’m about to get into. The Pieces series never fails to be a pleasurable scan. I am a huge fan of the A5/regular page half-fold zine, but there’s something about the A6(ish for US friend paper) size that makes it feel a tiny bit more like a zine. A fun little treasure just for me. Pieces #5 is a smidge smaller than A6, and I love it.

Plus, I love how she continues to use white text on black for the change to more stream-of-consciousness type writing. The visual change to go along with the writing style change is a nice touch.

Now enough about paper, Nyx. Not everyone has teh lurve for the stationery like you do.

Pieces 5 is all about, you guessed it: Change. Looking to go back into regular work, contemplating a move and facing fears are topics that we can all identify with. As with previous issues, Nichole does so with that hint of vulnerability that makes you feel like you’re having a conversation with a close friend.

It’s strange to read something that was written in the past (2011) and yet have it apply so well to things I’m dealing with now. This zine is all about change, and Nichole’s writer-ly background along with a keen craving for the creative sits her well with what 2015 Nyx is sorting through. Maybe I have a severe case of narcissism, but even when the situations are different, her questions and thoughts ring true.

The beautiful thing about a perzine is that it’s like getting to know a person. You can read all sorts of things, but they can still surprise you. Nichole’s foray into S&M was a surprise but a pleasant one. I admire her bravery in a number of ways: admitting her wants and needs to herself, pursuing them with another person, and writing about the whole lot. As I contemplate what to write in my second perzine, I read what Nichole has shared and think deeply about what I could share with the world.

Another win for Nichole in the Pieces series. I’m very happy to see that she is continuing on with Pieces and is on Pieces #12. Looks like I’ll have to catch up.

Under the Influence: The Girly Review
Alexandra B Duguid
https://www.facebook.com/undertheinfluencezines/

Here’s a zine that (I think) came as part of a multi-zine trade. I’ve seen some current calls for submissions for this one, so I was eager to have a peek.

Music might not be one of the big things in my life, but I think that just served to give me a different kind of appreciation for this zine. I didn’t know anyone mentioned inside, but I look at it as a way to check out new bands and singers. I always love an excuse to look things up on YouTube.

I liked how Under the Influence managed to surprise me. The intro and first section set up expectations for the whole zine as far as layout and content. Then they broke out with illustrations (that reminded me of Gemma Flack’s work (compliment)) I really enjoyed and lyrics breakdowns. I enjoyed the change of pace in along with the more text-heavy pieces.

Check it out. Even if music isn’t your area, you could still find something you like.

Earth Kinnection Zine Vol. 1
?
http://errthkinnection.tumblr.com/

Get your guerrilla gardening on and follow up with a sweet spot of tea…

I am a self-described black thumb. I’m probably one of the few people on the planet who actually tried to grow ivy and ended up killing it. So you can imagine that I wasn’t quite sure how much I would be into this zine. Turns out that it’s not all about the gardening.

Earth Kinnection Zine gets off to a great start. There is a table of contents, enough cut and past to make it aesthetically pleasing, and some of the articles are portrait while others are landscape. I don’t know if that bothers other people, but I love it. It makes the whole zine reading experience.

The content covers all kinds of ‘natural living’ stuff. Guerrilla gardening, what a tincture is and how to make it, and even the 7 Principles of Alchemy. I was impressed with the variety of stuff in here. Though it seems kind of wildly different, it still all fits together in a way that makes the zine itself feel organic and ‘wild’ grown. The subject areas aren’t in my active interest areas, but I did enjoy reading along and learning about things. Some parts reminded me of high school biology (which I adored), and some of it struck the ‘call to arms’ green movement.

Unfortunately, I found a bit of the content to be hard to read. I could mostly see it outdoors, but there was no way I was reading it indoors without a lamp. (Full disclosure: my indoor natural lighting sucks a bit.) Here’s a bit of what I’m talking about:

It is absolutely possible that it’s only my copy. Photocopiers do as they please when they please. However, I did think it was worth the mention. I can’t exactly hop down to Sticky to see if other copies are the same.

The other ‘stick out’ thing for me stuck out because I’m an author. Intentionally misspelled words. I certainly try not to call anyone on mistakes because I make plenty of them myself. However, I’m 99% convinced that these spelling mistakes were not typos or, in fact, mistakes. Maybe there is some sort of cultural-type stuff happening with ‘iz’ and ‘humyn’ that I’m just not aware of.

One thing I need to point out (not just because of my growing fondness for tea) is the tea of the month! I love this. Tea is delicious (albeit I add milk, which could get me shot in some places), but it also has some pretty cool properties when you get up into drinking that stuff. But I look at this from a zine-maker standpoint, too. An ‘of the month’ thing says there will definitely be more volumes (moreso than ‘volume 1’, I think, but that could be just me). It’s a fun little tick of approval to put in your brain to let you know to check back for more if you like this zine.

All up, pretty cool. Not really my usual dance, but I was interested nonetheless.

How to Be Alone 2
Bastian Fox Phelan
?
bastian.fox.phelan@gmail.com

I bought this zine when I was last at Sticky Institute – and that was a long while ago. So I can’t help but find it amusing that the content of this zine covers subjects that have been on my mind very recently.

As you may have sorted out, this zine is the second installment in a series about being alone. There is no mistaking this as anything other than a perzine. Bastian talks about things like codependency, life after issue one (hinted at being about getting off Facebook, taking a break from dating, etc), and more. There’s also a side of the mystical with talking about past lives and ‘the north node’ (a new concept for me).

This zine doesn’t start out with an introduction but with a story about a bike accident. Like most people around an accident, I couldn’t help but pay attention. It’s like the start of the book. “This zine is the first I have made using just one arm” as a first line is an excellent hook that keeps me reading.

Even better, as you read, he refers to things written about in the first zine in a way that doesn’t confuse you but does make you want to get a copy of the first zine.

I find myself hoping that Bastian is doing writing in other ways as well. He definitely has a way with words and a writing style that I enjoy. I’ll be hunting down the first zine (and hoping for more).

Check it out.