1-800-I-Felt-Okay
Joe Ledoux
2 pages (1 folded in half)
https://www.joeledoux.com
https://www.instagram.com/joeledouxmagic/
1-800-I-Felt-Okay is an A5 glossy zine leaflet with a single poem called “Somehow I’m Okay”.
Oh my gosh, all the nostalgia. I felt so much of this down to my bones. From not wanting to become a teenager to skipping prom (I didn’t go skateboarding but I did choose that date to get my wisdom teeth taken out) and even summoning the courage to finally talk to certain people when you’re just about to graduate.
With the leaflet style, we are immediately put right into the poem “Somehow I’m Ok” and accompanying illustrations that take us through the years. Joe writes about a very early experience with these strange humans called “teenagers” and through to the end days of being one.
I feel like everything in this zine serves to suit the ‘feel’ of the overall vibe. Joe’s art style is fun and something I can totally imagine drawn in a bored student’s notebook while a lecture is happening. The drawings reflect the written words, which gives it another level of interest. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an illustrated poem before. At least, not recently anyway.
This time of the poem spans a number of years, and I feel like poetry really fits that feeling of the time flying by in a blink, as quickly as the words are read on the page (even if done slowly and savoured). Even the length of the zine – one page folded in half – lends itself to that ‘done all too soon’ quality.
It all comes together really nicely. And while I still can’t claim to have a grip on poetry as a writing form as such, the nostalgia took me in and carried me all the way through.
I’m just sad I’ve never tried that soda mix.
I really enjoy things I can sympathise and empathise with, and 1-800-I-Felt-Okay is a quick read that I enjoyed several times over.