Graffiti From an American Refugee
Pockets
https://www.instagram.com/pocketsthepoet/

Graffiti From an American Refugee is an 11cm x 9.5cm accordion fold, black and white zine of poems.

When it comes to reviews of poetry zines, I always preface the review with letting you know that I know nothing about poetry other than what I like. I took a poetry unit at university, and I still know nothing about poetry. Now with that out of the way…

Usually I jump right into what comes after the cover at this point, but – as is habit – I looked at the front and then the back. And I have to mention the back, which is one of the coolest introductions to a person I’ve seen. I won’t quote it, because I enjoyed it so much I feel like that would be a spoiler, but it felt like ‘punk poetry’. Comfortable and cool.

Inside Graffiti From an American Refugee, you find four poems. To me they read like slam poetry. I read the words and could almost hear the emphasis on certain words and almost see someone in front of a mic delivering them. I couldn’t always quite get into a rhythm as such, but the messages were clear and left me feeling inspired.

Aesthetically this zine is fun. The accordion fold is different than the usual fold, the type is easy to read, and there are a few images to help keep visual interest.

All up, I enjoyed this a lot. Not finding a rhythm here or there didn’t stop me from getting into the overall feel of this zine. It was interesting and fun – one to check out and see if you like.

Proper Use of a Condom
Debbie Bamberger
https://www.instagram.com/debbiebamberger/

Proper Use of a Condom is a black and white, US-sized, one page folded mini-zine that is about exactly what the title says.

To be honest, the title made me think this zine was going to be for a giggle. But it’s exactly what it says it is, and I love it even more.

Proper Use of a Condom starts beautifully with “obtain enthusiastic consent” and takes you from there through the few, clear steps on how to use a condom. Every step is written in clear writing and accompanied by simple line drawings to illustrate. Even in something fairly straightforward, Debbie does inject a bit of humour to make you smile.

I love the idea of taking on instructional type minis for things a lot of people might take for granted as common knowledge. I also love the idea of zines being a source of information for things that might otherwise be prohibited in certain situations for young people. It’s plain, simple, and that’s awesome.

Proper Use of a Condom is great and worth picking up if you’re interested. I’d love to see it as part of a whole series of ‘quick and practical’ mini-zines for all sorts of things.

Untitled
Latibule
https://linktr.ee/latibule_art

Untitled is a full-colour, A7, one-page folded mini-zine about the distance between two people.

In few but impactful words and watercolour art, Latibule taps into the sad but yet somehow still hopeful feelings that come with knowing someone from a distance. It’s not specified whether it’s a friendship or a romantic relationship, but it doesn’t have to be. Distance is hard on people who just want to be in each other’s presence. And I think the feelings that come through in this zine are relevant in whole new ways since last year.

I love watercolours, and Latibule uses my favourite colours – blues, greens, and purples. Her style has a touch of surrealism without taking away from the feelings that come from the words or the overall feeling of the zine itself.

This is a mini-zine that is very bittersweet, but it hit me right in my heart as someone who has a lot of friendships overseas. i have read this many times, and I know i will come back to it many more.

Sometimes People Don’t Suck #5
HRW
https://www.etsy.com/shop/HRWzines
https://www.instagram.com/hrw7005/

Sometimes People Don’t Suck #5 is a black and white, one-page-folded, US-sized one-page zine containing a beautiful true story about sharing and mulberries.

If this title sounds familiar here on the blog, it’s because I reviewed Sometimes People Don’t Suck 1, 2, & 3 (and loved them).

Set on patterned backgrounds, the typed text tells a sweet story that swept me away with pleasant images of a day spent berry picking – with the positive surprise of strangers sharing. It is a quick read, but such a lovely one that I read it twice. As it’s short, I don’t want to go into too many details, but I will say the kindness shown in this zine had me smiling.

One nit pick that I also mentioned in the previous review is that there aren’t any links of any sort for following up. There absolutely may be a reason for this, which is why I call it a nit pick. But it does niggle me just a touch more in a series because, for instance, I would like number four to complete my set. If I didn’t know where this zine had come from “HRW” wouldn’t be a lot to go on. Searching the title itself means you have to tag on ‘zine’ as well to get close to results about this actual zine.

Anyway, that’s a touch of a tangent there, but it goes to show just how much I like this series. (I want more people to read them!) There’s so much out there about how awful people are. It’s so lovely to me to see some positive human interactions documented in zine form.

Pick up the whole series.

Positive Affirmations
Weirdo Brigade
https://linktr.ee/WeirdoBrigade

Positive Affirmations is a full-colour, 9cm x 10.5cm zine with lovely affirmations.

How you talk to yourself is incredibly important, and zines like this can help guide you when you’re at a loss for what to say.

Weirdo Brigade opens right into the positive affirmations with one affirmation (save for one across the middle spread) on each colourful page. WB’s handwriting is big and oh-so-easy to read, and the colourful backgrounds of each page are fun, adding to the positive vibes without being distracting or overwhelming.

This is one of those zines that is as quick a read as you make it. It could be nice to read over for a quick pick me up, or you can take your time and really ponder what each statement means to you personally. There aren’t a lot of affirmations in this zine, so I won’t share any. However, I will say that it has some that I have never read before, and I definitely took the path of taking my time to think about what each meant in my life.

Positive Affirmations is a pick-me-up zine to pick up.

Do It Yourself Care 3 – Self-Care During Christmas
Nina Echozina
https://echopublishing.wordpress.com/

Do It Yourself Care 3 – Self-Care During Christmas is a full-colour A7 size zine about taking care of yourself during the holidays.

Okay, so it’s not Christmastime, but I think it’s useful for pretty much any group social occasion…

In this third issue in the series, Nina reminds the reader that their feelings are valid – especially during the holidays, which can be a provoking time for a number of reasons. Nina continues to give everything I could want and more in a self-care zine. We read about why the holidays can be hard, ideas for making a horrible family gathering less horrible, and more.

The fun inside bonuses when you unfold the zine even makes the zine itself a way to entertain yourself at the aforementioned horrible family gathering.

Do It Yourself Care 3 – Self-Care During Christmas has bit of a Christmas focus, but I love that so much of it can be applied to other holidays and/or family gatherings.

Definitely pick up this and the first two in the series as well.