June Graveyard vanessaberryworldATgmail.com
This zine happened to arrive in my mailbox the very week that I began reading The Unabridged Journals Of Sylvia Plath. Brought to you by Vanessa Berry of I Am A Camera, this 24 page zine chronicles Vanessa's trip to Sylvia Plath's grave. It just happens that Vanessa's grandfather is from the very same small town in England where the grave is located, so she was already there visiting with family. She writes about first discovering Plath's work as a young girl and becoming inspired to write, the way she felt when she finally made it to the grave and the various notes and gifts that had previously been left by Plath's readers. It was very interesting and touching; a must-read for any fan of Plath's work.
Functionally Ill robotmadATgmail.com
I recently received the first four issues Laura-Marie's zines as part of a trade and they kept me occupied during several days worth of bus and subway trips to and from school and downtown. She writes about being diagnosed with bipolar and her subsequent dealings with the county mental health programs. Her stories are laid out in a very bare-bones manner, describing every detail from the decorations on the walls of her therapist's cubicle to the random thoughts that came to mind during meetings and wait times. She writes very descriptive accounts of her own feelings during episodes of depression and mania and includes a few transcripts of the voices she hears. I thought these transcriptions were one of the most interesting parts, because they reminded me of voices that I often heard as a child (though they mostly faded away as I got older). I really get the feeling from these zines that she wants to help out other people dealing with mental health issues as well - the way she writes is just so simple yet detailed, it's almost as if you could have her holding your hand through your own ordeals. I reviewed a zine by Laura-Marie in the past as well, called Sexuality As Hidden. Both titles are highly recommended.
Doublespeak doublespeak.etsy.com
This is another excellent series of zines that I've been reading throughout the last few weeks. There are currently four issues available. I ordered them from Amelia's Etsy shop at the recommendation of a friend and was not disappointed. She writes short accounts of daily happenings and accompanies them with charming drawings of herself and her surroundings. Amelia is a vintage lover and writes much about her style and tips for other vintage clothing collectors, and includes vegan recipes. All around cute stuff. Not only are her zines great, but she is also into embroidery and there are many beautiful pieces in her shop, including a vintage slip embroidered with one of my favourite phrases: Buy me a whiskey.
For Lack Of Better Words sleepswthghostsATyahoo.ca
Sarala makes the series Beautiful Mess and Sleeps With Ghosts and is also my zinefest tabling buddy. We met at a craft fair earlier in the year and have since become good friends. For Lack Of Better Words is her latest work, a one-shot quarter-size zine comprised of love letters sent and received. It's no secret that I love receiving mail, but to get a chance to peek at other letters is entertaining in a whole new way. Sarala doesn't tell you which letters were written by her or which ones were meant for her eyes only, nor does she correct the errors from the original copies. The letters range from confessional to straight-up cute and were lovingly re-written on a vintage typewriter and put together cut and paste style. There is a limited print run, so get your copy while you can.
Telegram Ma'am #18 / Your Pretty Face Is Going Straight To Hell #9 schoolformapsATgmail.com / tukruklovesyouATgmail.com
This is the much-anticipated split zine from two of my favourite people: overseas pen pal Tukru and my sister Maranda. Although the original intention of the zine was to discuss loneliness and long-distance friendships, the stories strayed a little but are all the better for it. Maranda was inspired to write when people kept asking her how she managed to ride such a ridiculously colourful streamer-clad bicycle and dress up in strange outfits when she is often attacked by loneliness and anxiety. Her half is all about her bicycle Jolene and the things she has learned through riding her small town's streets and learning how to repair the bike. She includes tales of graffiti nights, the local lilac festival and the time she was hit by a car while riding her bike (on the very same street where I was hit on my bike only a year earlier. Lindsay, Ontario residents: Be careful on Kent Street. Drivers care much more about the McDonald's drive-thru than they do about traffic or basic courtesy). She read excerpts from this during the zine reading at TZL a few weeks back and I thought it was quite moving. Tukru uses her half to write about visits from long-distance friends, her new Blythe doll, Harry Potter fangirldom, agreeing to take medication to deal with depression and a disastrous week with her brother. All cut and paste with typewritten and handwritten text, this issue is a totally epic SEVENTY pages.
High School Sucks meganspeersATrogers.com
I picked this zine up at Canzine a few weeks back. Although I left high school nearly a decade ago, the title got my attention and piqued my curiosity. Subtitled Survival tips for dorks, geeks and social rejects, from one of their own, this zine does exactly what it says it will. Each page contains tips such as making friends with the other misfits and getting a job so you can save your pennies and get the hell outta town, if you'll be happier that way. Entirely typewritten, cut and paste and full-colour, this is a great zine to pick up for a young friend or just to reminisce about your own awful high school experiences.
What I've Been Up To Lately: Tabling at Expozine, going to my French classes, seeing Peaches live and not getting enough sleep.
What I Got In The Mail This Week: Letters from Vincent, Lauren, Harley and others, the latest issue of Bust, a bunch of queer zines and a t-shirt with a beautiful phrase painted across the front: "Moi, je veux te dire que je ne te quitterai jamais. Et puis, si tu es triste, je pourrai toujours te donner un peu d'alcool pour te rechauffer le coeur." In English: "Me, I want to tell you that I will never leave you. And if you are sad, I can always give you a bit of alcohol to warm your heart."
I would love for someone to say that to me.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Fight Boredom in Oshawa, Ontario!
One of the reasons I started making my compilation zine, Fight Boredom, is because I was so fed up with people in my hometown of Lindsay, Ontario complaining that there was nothing to do in a small town. They were bored. I'm one of those annoying people who always says, "Only boring people get bored," so of course I had to do something about it. I started making Fight Boredom in order to encourage my friends and other small town folk to create something, to go on adventures and to have some fucking fun. I've made compilation zines and mini-zines under the title and they've been pretty popular. When I visit small towns I leave them in places like public bathrooms and coffee shops in the hopes of inspiring more and more people to be awesome.
Whilst attending Canzine 2009, I met Harley R. Pageot, who lives in Oshawa and totally shares my attitude about arts and culture in small towns. Actually, we didn't really talk much in Toronto, though he did give me an awesome typewriter pin and then we found each other on the internet a few days later. Now we're trading zines through snail mail even though we had the chance to do it face to face. So it goes. He recently started a local arts collective called Broken Arts and they are all about throwing events and raising awareness in the small city of Oshawa, Ontario. Although I'm not from there, Lindsay isn't all that far away, so I'm very familiar with the city and I've got a few friends there. His aims with his arts collective totally remind me of my own ideas when I started making Fight Boredom, so we've been talking about it lots. He sets up zine tables at local shows, which is something I've always wanted to do. Throughout the month of November, he has a zine display set up at the McLaughlin Public Library. That rules. As well, he's been throwing workshops on zine-making and zine history. If you live in or near Oshawa, I totally recommend hitting it up. The next one is happening on Saturday, January 23rd, 2010 from 1:45 - 4:00pm at the library. Facebook event here. He'll also be tabling at The Best Lil' Zine Fair in London this upcoming weekend.
From Harley:
The library display came about because I put on a zine workshop through my arts collective a few months ago, flyered like crazy, and told everyone I know and only three people came out - my friend Mike, this 16 year-old girl who was into poetry, and this 42 year-old woman who Mike grabbed off the street five minutes before I started.
I was pretty bummed out so I went to the library and talked to the girls who do the adult and teen programmes there and the teen programme director told me she did a teen zine workshop a few months earlier and she only got three people to come out herself. So we brainstormed.
I'm of the belief that anyone can make a zine because everybody's passionate about something so we figured the only reason they aren't is because they don't know what they are. So a big display might help change that. So I looked up books the library had about zines and DIY culture and I lent them a bunch of zines from my collection and the display's going to be up all November so that people will hopefully come to my zine workshop in January that I'm running there.
Tell your Oshawa friends to come out to my zine workshop on January 23rd at the library. If I can't motivate them there into making their own then they might be lost causes. It's only two hours but I talk about the history of zines, famous ones, different genres, typical contents, etc. and we do different exercises and games. I want people to come to the workshop. And, most importantly, I want people to make zines!
Oshawa is definitely a continuing struggle in terms of the arts. I moved here from Toronto at age 13 and was into the music scene during high school because all my friends were in grunge and punk bands. Then I lost interest and grew apart. I just returned to the scene this year, formed my arts collective, and started putting on art jams and booking concerts.
But just this week we had the best music venue here close down. We've got practically nowhere left to put on rock shows other than some really scuzzy redneck bars. A lot of people are so frustrated and feel like giving up but I'm persevering.
My collective's in the midst of scheduling our next music night on December 12th actually. The first was October 23rd and we had bands from Oshawa, Toronto, Peterborough, and Ottawa play. Amy and Chris and Suzanne came out for twelveohtwo and the Toronto Zine Library and tabled as well as people from the Durham Comics Guild and Oshawa Spoken Word Collective. And we had local artists hang their work and raffles.
So our next show is December and it's going to be a Christmas one. We're in the midst of finding bands and tablers right now. I've asked the gals from Worn fashion journal and Darling magazine and we've had a bluegrass group from Toronto called The Strumbellas confirm. It's going to be at this really nice coffeeshop here so I'm hoping it should go well. We're doing these shows every two months and I'm always looking for tablers.
Seriously though, everyone is always complaining about how awful Oshawa is. Now is your chance to turn it around! Go go go!
Whilst attending Canzine 2009, I met Harley R. Pageot, who lives in Oshawa and totally shares my attitude about arts and culture in small towns. Actually, we didn't really talk much in Toronto, though he did give me an awesome typewriter pin and then we found each other on the internet a few days later. Now we're trading zines through snail mail even though we had the chance to do it face to face. So it goes. He recently started a local arts collective called Broken Arts and they are all about throwing events and raising awareness in the small city of Oshawa, Ontario. Although I'm not from there, Lindsay isn't all that far away, so I'm very familiar with the city and I've got a few friends there. His aims with his arts collective totally remind me of my own ideas when I started making Fight Boredom, so we've been talking about it lots. He sets up zine tables at local shows, which is something I've always wanted to do. Throughout the month of November, he has a zine display set up at the McLaughlin Public Library. That rules. As well, he's been throwing workshops on zine-making and zine history. If you live in or near Oshawa, I totally recommend hitting it up. The next one is happening on Saturday, January 23rd, 2010 from 1:45 - 4:00pm at the library. Facebook event here. He'll also be tabling at The Best Lil' Zine Fair in London this upcoming weekend.
From Harley:
The library display came about because I put on a zine workshop through my arts collective a few months ago, flyered like crazy, and told everyone I know and only three people came out - my friend Mike, this 16 year-old girl who was into poetry, and this 42 year-old woman who Mike grabbed off the street five minutes before I started.
I was pretty bummed out so I went to the library and talked to the girls who do the adult and teen programmes there and the teen programme director told me she did a teen zine workshop a few months earlier and she only got three people to come out herself. So we brainstormed.
I'm of the belief that anyone can make a zine because everybody's passionate about something so we figured the only reason they aren't is because they don't know what they are. So a big display might help change that. So I looked up books the library had about zines and DIY culture and I lent them a bunch of zines from my collection and the display's going to be up all November so that people will hopefully come to my zine workshop in January that I'm running there.
Tell your Oshawa friends to come out to my zine workshop on January 23rd at the library. If I can't motivate them there into making their own then they might be lost causes. It's only two hours but I talk about the history of zines, famous ones, different genres, typical contents, etc. and we do different exercises and games. I want people to come to the workshop. And, most importantly, I want people to make zines!
Oshawa is definitely a continuing struggle in terms of the arts. I moved here from Toronto at age 13 and was into the music scene during high school because all my friends were in grunge and punk bands. Then I lost interest and grew apart. I just returned to the scene this year, formed my arts collective, and started putting on art jams and booking concerts.
But just this week we had the best music venue here close down. We've got practically nowhere left to put on rock shows other than some really scuzzy redneck bars. A lot of people are so frustrated and feel like giving up but I'm persevering.
My collective's in the midst of scheduling our next music night on December 12th actually. The first was October 23rd and we had bands from Oshawa, Toronto, Peterborough, and Ottawa play. Amy and Chris and Suzanne came out for twelveohtwo and the Toronto Zine Library and tabled as well as people from the Durham Comics Guild and Oshawa Spoken Word Collective. And we had local artists hang their work and raffles.
So our next show is December and it's going to be a Christmas one. We're in the midst of finding bands and tablers right now. I've asked the gals from Worn fashion journal and Darling magazine and we've had a bluegrass group from Toronto called The Strumbellas confirm. It's going to be at this really nice coffeeshop here so I'm hoping it should go well. We're doing these shows every two months and I'm always looking for tablers.
Seriously though, everyone is always complaining about how awful Oshawa is. Now is your chance to turn it around! Go go go!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Fight Boredom with Canzine 2009! Part One.
Holy epic weekend. Shall I begin from the beginning? I spent Thursday night with Lindsay. We went to this excellent little restaurant for a late dinner of veggie burgers and fries and beer, where we were approached by a couple with apparent journalistic dreams. They came and sat in our booth and asked us to name one thing we did that day. I said, "I took a bus from Montreal to Toronto." Lindsay said, "I worked." They made fun of her for having such a boring life (it's cool, Lindsay, I know your life isn't actually boring). They told us that they wanted to ask the same question of all the restaurant's patrons, but they began with us because we were the least intimidating people in the place. After we paid our tab, they moved on to another lovely dining couple. I sort of imagined that they were doing a 24-hour zine just in time for Canzine, but I never ran into them again. Anyway, that was my first of three interviews that weekend. Friday night I dressed up as Pippi Longstocking, partied with the Tripping Hazard people, drank way too much wine and danced with the likes of Frank Zappa, Willy Wonka, The Blues Brothers, Alice In Wonderland (complete with "drink me" bottle) and Medusa.
Then Saturday came around, the day of my very first zine reading! I was much more hungover than I would've preferred, but it was nothing that a four-cheese omelette, home fries and a whole lotta ice water couldn't cure. Jen, Joel and I had a really excellent breakfast at The Pump, then headed on over to the Toronto Zine Library to truly begin the zinester adventures. As my luck would have it, I was the first person to go on. Although I'd practiced several times at home, I had never stood before such a large audience before - I don't know how many people were there, but the room was packed and there were people lined up in the hallway - good turnout! So I stood up, introduced myself as Pippi and began reading an excerpt from issue #20 of Culture Slut. My hands were shaking and I hoped I wasn't reading too fast. People laughed at the funny parts and made sympathetic faces at the serious parts, so I guess I did alright. I got a lot of compliments afterward and was even interviewed by a McGill journalism student, so that was cool. There were more readings by my sister Maranda (Telegram Ma'am), Teri Vlassopoulos (Cement Flour Saints), Chris Landry (Kiss Off), Suzanne Sutherland (My Bad), Jeff Miller (Ghost Pine), and of course, Alex Wrekk of Brainscan and Stolen Sharpie Revolution. The readings were all diverse and well-presented, though, hilariously enough, there seemed to be a running theme of vomit stories going on. I read about my worst cunt exam ever and being queer, Maranda read about bicycle adventures and living in a small town, Teri read about how she first got into zines... It was all pretty excellent stuff. After consuming the last of the hot apple cider and vegan treats, we packed up our things and headed to Victory Café for a zinester celebration. Had a chance to try the pumpkin ale that everyone's always talking about. I must say, it is so nice to be able to sit down with a group of friends and talk about zines without first having to explain WHAT ZINES ARE. Nothing better. Later on, we headed back to Amy's place for a slumber party complete with zinester gossip and Lisa Frank fangirldom. I won several rounds of Rock, Paper, Scissors, meaning I was the lucky girl who slept on the couch while the others took the floor. The best part was when Alex woke up in the morning and said, "There are five tabs of Lisa Frank images open on my laptop!"
Finally, it was time for Canzine! The reason we had all descended upon the city of Toronto in the first place. Like most people, I'd had major problems with acquiring a table in the past, so we showed up super early and hung out on the front steps of The Gladstone Hotel until the organizers were ready to let us in. Our vigilance prevailed and we got the best seats in the house - right below the beautiful ceiling-high windows and in front of the bar. It was so nice to be tabling with all of my friends, and to meet so many people. I got a chance to meet some zinesters I've admired for a long time, as well as people that I'd previously only conversed with through the internet and snail mail. It was definitely a very overwhelming day, and I forgot people's names on more than a few occasions, but it was a good time. Sold enough zines that my weekend adventures had paid for themselves, and I traded quite a few as well. Was interviewed by another journalism student - hopefully I'll find all this stuff online sometime! I think the only downside was the fact that I missed Zoe Whittall's reading upstairs. She wrote a really excellent book called Bottle Rocket Hearts, all about a couple of queer girls living in Montreal. It would've been cool to see her, but hey, another time.
I'd already been wearing a Halloween costume for two days, and although I shed it for Canzine, I did go with a theme: typewriters! I wore a typewriter-printed skirt, a typewriter necklace and proudly displayed my typewriter tattoo. A fellow zinester noticed and added a typewriter pin to my collection. Awesome! (Click on photos to enlarge and see captions and credits.)
Left to right: Maranda (Telegram Ma'am), Kate (Riot Wife), me (Culture Slut & Fight Boredom), Amy (twelevohtwo distro), Sarala (Beautiful Mess), Alex (Brainscan & Stolen Sharpie Revolution) and Jeff (Ghost Pine). Big thank-you to everyone who participated in the reading and the fair, all my zine grrrls for being so awesome, everyone who documented the weekend with photos and interviews, everyone who bought my zines and traded with me, and all my long-distance friends who made the time to hang out with me during my brief trip.
What I Got In The Mail This Week: Some excellent zines, including four issues of Doublespeak, Mélange and List #7, letters from Amy and Katie, the latest issue of Bust magazine (Hello, Ellen Page!) and a twenty dollar bill with a note saying, "Send me whatever you can for this!" It was really fun making up a package in reply.
What I've Been Up To Lately: Mostly just feeling overwhelmed and trying to recuperate. I've got a cold, so I'm taking long, hot baths, drinking tea and hot toddies, reading the ridiculous stack of zines I picked up over the weekend and getting my boyfriend to mail out zines for me. A little sad that I missed two French classes this week, but I'll return in the morning and hope that I haven't missed too much. I should be working on my tattoo designs if I want them to be finished by the end of the year.
Then Saturday came around, the day of my very first zine reading! I was much more hungover than I would've preferred, but it was nothing that a four-cheese omelette, home fries and a whole lotta ice water couldn't cure. Jen, Joel and I had a really excellent breakfast at The Pump, then headed on over to the Toronto Zine Library to truly begin the zinester adventures. As my luck would have it, I was the first person to go on. Although I'd practiced several times at home, I had never stood before such a large audience before - I don't know how many people were there, but the room was packed and there were people lined up in the hallway - good turnout! So I stood up, introduced myself as Pippi and began reading an excerpt from issue #20 of Culture Slut. My hands were shaking and I hoped I wasn't reading too fast. People laughed at the funny parts and made sympathetic faces at the serious parts, so I guess I did alright. I got a lot of compliments afterward and was even interviewed by a McGill journalism student, so that was cool. There were more readings by my sister Maranda (Telegram Ma'am), Teri Vlassopoulos (Cement Flour Saints), Chris Landry (Kiss Off), Suzanne Sutherland (My Bad), Jeff Miller (Ghost Pine), and of course, Alex Wrekk of Brainscan and Stolen Sharpie Revolution. The readings were all diverse and well-presented, though, hilariously enough, there seemed to be a running theme of vomit stories going on. I read about my worst cunt exam ever and being queer, Maranda read about bicycle adventures and living in a small town, Teri read about how she first got into zines... It was all pretty excellent stuff. After consuming the last of the hot apple cider and vegan treats, we packed up our things and headed to Victory Café for a zinester celebration. Had a chance to try the pumpkin ale that everyone's always talking about. I must say, it is so nice to be able to sit down with a group of friends and talk about zines without first having to explain WHAT ZINES ARE. Nothing better. Later on, we headed back to Amy's place for a slumber party complete with zinester gossip and Lisa Frank fangirldom. I won several rounds of Rock, Paper, Scissors, meaning I was the lucky girl who slept on the couch while the others took the floor. The best part was when Alex woke up in the morning and said, "There are five tabs of Lisa Frank images open on my laptop!"
Finally, it was time for Canzine! The reason we had all descended upon the city of Toronto in the first place. Like most people, I'd had major problems with acquiring a table in the past, so we showed up super early and hung out on the front steps of The Gladstone Hotel until the organizers were ready to let us in. Our vigilance prevailed and we got the best seats in the house - right below the beautiful ceiling-high windows and in front of the bar. It was so nice to be tabling with all of my friends, and to meet so many people. I got a chance to meet some zinesters I've admired for a long time, as well as people that I'd previously only conversed with through the internet and snail mail. It was definitely a very overwhelming day, and I forgot people's names on more than a few occasions, but it was a good time. Sold enough zines that my weekend adventures had paid for themselves, and I traded quite a few as well. Was interviewed by another journalism student - hopefully I'll find all this stuff online sometime! I think the only downside was the fact that I missed Zoe Whittall's reading upstairs. She wrote a really excellent book called Bottle Rocket Hearts, all about a couple of queer girls living in Montreal. It would've been cool to see her, but hey, another time.
I'd already been wearing a Halloween costume for two days, and although I shed it for Canzine, I did go with a theme: typewriters! I wore a typewriter-printed skirt, a typewriter necklace and proudly displayed my typewriter tattoo. A fellow zinester noticed and added a typewriter pin to my collection. Awesome! (Click on photos to enlarge and see captions and credits.)
Left to right: Maranda (Telegram Ma'am), Kate (Riot Wife), me (Culture Slut & Fight Boredom), Amy (twelevohtwo distro), Sarala (Beautiful Mess), Alex (Brainscan & Stolen Sharpie Revolution) and Jeff (Ghost Pine). Big thank-you to everyone who participated in the reading and the fair, all my zine grrrls for being so awesome, everyone who documented the weekend with photos and interviews, everyone who bought my zines and traded with me, and all my long-distance friends who made the time to hang out with me during my brief trip.
What I Got In The Mail This Week: Some excellent zines, including four issues of Doublespeak, Mélange and List #7, letters from Amy and Katie, the latest issue of Bust magazine (Hello, Ellen Page!) and a twenty dollar bill with a note saying, "Send me whatever you can for this!" It was really fun making up a package in reply.
What I've Been Up To Lately: Mostly just feeling overwhelmed and trying to recuperate. I've got a cold, so I'm taking long, hot baths, drinking tea and hot toddies, reading the ridiculous stack of zines I picked up over the weekend and getting my boyfriend to mail out zines for me. A little sad that I missed two French classes this week, but I'll return in the morning and hope that I haven't missed too much. I should be working on my tattoo designs if I want them to be finished by the end of the year.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Fight Boredom in Toronto This Weekend!
I'm getting really excited about this upcoming weekend. I'll be taking the Megabus from Montreal to Toronto this Thursday (holy cheap tickets!) and meeting up with my lovely friend Lindsay from Lindsay for some drinks and good old-fashioned girl-talk. I'm spending the next day with Jennifer Hall, my favourite cotton-candy-haired friend, then attending a Samhain celebration in style - as Pippi Longstocking. On Saturday afternoon I'll be participating in a zine reading alongside Alex Wrekk and some other amazing zinesters (see flier below) at the Toronto Zine Library (upstairs at the Tranzac). I've never actually done a zine reading before and I know that I'll be a little nervous in front of a crowd, but I've been reading my piece aloud to myself for practice and I think it's going to go well. I'm really looking forward to the experience, and to hopefully participating in more readings in the future. I guess reading my zines out loud to an audience is sort of my version of playing in a band, since I've never had the discipline to learn how to play an instrument, as much as I want to.
Of course, the big day is Sunday, when hundreds of zinesters, artists and readers will converge at the Gladstone Hotel for an afternoon of excitement - meeting up with pen pals and zinester friends, partaking in readings by various Canadian authors and of course, buying, selling and trading zines. That's right, it's time again for Canzine. As much as I have problems with their (dis)organization and the general execution of the event, I'm still looking forward to tabling with my new zinester friend Sarala and checking out the wares available. Hope to see you there!
What I've Been Up To Lately: Mailing my zines to places as varied as England, Australia, Portugal and Israel, planning my Halloween costume, drinking white wine, watching a bit of French television, writing my Level 3 French exams, writing lots of letters, putting the finishing touches on my Ontario plans, watching Sebastian sleep in my suitcase, reading The Unabridged Journals Of Sylvia Plath and making yummy nachos.
What I Got In The Mail This Week: Lots of zines, including Fallopian Falafel and June Graveyard, plus some Halloween goodies.
Of course, the big day is Sunday, when hundreds of zinesters, artists and readers will converge at the Gladstone Hotel for an afternoon of excitement - meeting up with pen pals and zinester friends, partaking in readings by various Canadian authors and of course, buying, selling and trading zines. That's right, it's time again for Canzine. As much as I have problems with their (dis)organization and the general execution of the event, I'm still looking forward to tabling with my new zinester friend Sarala and checking out the wares available. Hope to see you there!
What I've Been Up To Lately: Mailing my zines to places as varied as England, Australia, Portugal and Israel, planning my Halloween costume, drinking white wine, watching a bit of French television, writing my Level 3 French exams, writing lots of letters, putting the finishing touches on my Ontario plans, watching Sebastian sleep in my suitcase, reading The Unabridged Journals Of Sylvia Plath and making yummy nachos.
What I Got In The Mail This Week: Lots of zines, including Fallopian Falafel and June Graveyard, plus some Halloween goodies.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Fight Boredom with Queer Girls and Perzines!
Your Pretty Face Is Going Straight To Hell #8 tukrulovesyouATgmail.com
Another lovely zine from Tukru! As usual, she's done some amazing cut and paste work with comics, movie stills, clippings and drawings, as well as hand-rendered and typewritten text. And glorious hand-coloured covers! I'm always excited to get her latest in the mail. This one's a bit of a downer with Tukru writing about her evil boss who makes the ladies cry and her boyfriend recently losing his charity shop job, but she balances it out with yummy recipes, tales of Harry Potter fandom and a list of things that have been keeping her sane - including goat's cheese and The Long Blondes - two things that I love, too. She also included a tiny mini-zine held together by a pink staple. Delightful! I feel inspired every time I flip through a zine from her collection.
Motor City Kitty #13.5 motorcity_kittyATyahoo.com
Bri is another one of my favourite zinesters. You can check out an interview I held with her earlier this year here. This is the latest issue in her series, and a submission for the 24-Hour Zine Thing. She writes about the disappointments within her locally-formed riot grrrl group and trying to talk to the boys who felt left out (refusing to understand that sometimes girls are more comfortable talking in girls-only spaces and that that doesn't mean that boys can't participate in the revolution). As well, she writes about a fling with a co-worker and learning how to say "no" in sexual situations, being distracted by the winter blues and trying to become motivated again. She also includes a copy of the first vegan recipe she concocted after recently discovering that she's got an allergy to dairy products (I can relate - I'm not vegan, but if I drink a glass of milk, I will be in pain for the rest of the day. So, soy milk it is!). Cut and paste, mostly written on a vintage typewriter.
Exploding The Myth #2 kira_swalesATyahoo.co.uk
Kira is a new zinester who's showing some potential. Issue #2 of her half-size perzine is full-colour and made up of drawings, comics, photos and computer-rendered and typewritten text. I think the most interesting part was her piece on her current relationship with a partner who is transitioning from female to male. She wonders what will change when she is no longer perceived as a lesbian or queer girl, but rather as a heterosexual girl, which she isn't. And how she will be able to identify as queer and still feel like she can talk about her experiences living as a queer person and being gay-bashed consistently throughout school. There are definitely some lighter pieces, like a Rebellion Festival 2009 Diary, her love of the East Bay punk scene, an awesome comic about her reaction to the question, "Are you a boy or a girl?" and some super cute drawings of her friends (I'm partial to Daisy's pink dreadlocks, myself). I can really tell that this series is just gonna keep on getting better.
All My Best Work I Do At A Slanted Angle trollgirlcentralATgmail.com
I guess it's been a really good mail week 'coz Bernard?'s zines are among my favourites as well. They made the excellent queer zine series Honey Tunnel, which recently morphed into All My Best Work I Do At A Slanted Angle. Mostly the same style, it's a perzine with a queer angle and they like to write about train-hopping and dumpster-diving with their friends, but I feel like their style has matured. In this issue, Bernard? writes about childhood memories and traveling and consent and pronouns and the way their friends and acquaintances sometimes refuse to call them by their given name. Also included are some book reviews, including one for The Ethical Slut, which I also read recently (and was amazed by). Cut and paste, awesome style.
A beautiful rainbow, as seen from my balcony.
Another lovely zine from Tukru! As usual, she's done some amazing cut and paste work with comics, movie stills, clippings and drawings, as well as hand-rendered and typewritten text. And glorious hand-coloured covers! I'm always excited to get her latest in the mail. This one's a bit of a downer with Tukru writing about her evil boss who makes the ladies cry and her boyfriend recently losing his charity shop job, but she balances it out with yummy recipes, tales of Harry Potter fandom and a list of things that have been keeping her sane - including goat's cheese and The Long Blondes - two things that I love, too. She also included a tiny mini-zine held together by a pink staple. Delightful! I feel inspired every time I flip through a zine from her collection.
Motor City Kitty #13.5 motorcity_kittyATyahoo.com
Bri is another one of my favourite zinesters. You can check out an interview I held with her earlier this year here. This is the latest issue in her series, and a submission for the 24-Hour Zine Thing. She writes about the disappointments within her locally-formed riot grrrl group and trying to talk to the boys who felt left out (refusing to understand that sometimes girls are more comfortable talking in girls-only spaces and that that doesn't mean that boys can't participate in the revolution). As well, she writes about a fling with a co-worker and learning how to say "no" in sexual situations, being distracted by the winter blues and trying to become motivated again. She also includes a copy of the first vegan recipe she concocted after recently discovering that she's got an allergy to dairy products (I can relate - I'm not vegan, but if I drink a glass of milk, I will be in pain for the rest of the day. So, soy milk it is!). Cut and paste, mostly written on a vintage typewriter.
Exploding The Myth #2 kira_swalesATyahoo.co.uk
Kira is a new zinester who's showing some potential. Issue #2 of her half-size perzine is full-colour and made up of drawings, comics, photos and computer-rendered and typewritten text. I think the most interesting part was her piece on her current relationship with a partner who is transitioning from female to male. She wonders what will change when she is no longer perceived as a lesbian or queer girl, but rather as a heterosexual girl, which she isn't. And how she will be able to identify as queer and still feel like she can talk about her experiences living as a queer person and being gay-bashed consistently throughout school. There are definitely some lighter pieces, like a Rebellion Festival 2009 Diary, her love of the East Bay punk scene, an awesome comic about her reaction to the question, "Are you a boy or a girl?" and some super cute drawings of her friends (I'm partial to Daisy's pink dreadlocks, myself). I can really tell that this series is just gonna keep on getting better.
All My Best Work I Do At A Slanted Angle trollgirlcentralATgmail.com
I guess it's been a really good mail week 'coz Bernard?'s zines are among my favourites as well. They made the excellent queer zine series Honey Tunnel, which recently morphed into All My Best Work I Do At A Slanted Angle. Mostly the same style, it's a perzine with a queer angle and they like to write about train-hopping and dumpster-diving with their friends, but I feel like their style has matured. In this issue, Bernard? writes about childhood memories and traveling and consent and pronouns and the way their friends and acquaintances sometimes refuse to call them by their given name. Also included are some book reviews, including one for The Ethical Slut, which I also read recently (and was amazed by). Cut and paste, awesome style.
A beautiful rainbow, as seen from my balcony.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Fight Boredom with Culture Slut!
Culture Slut #19 I guess I would call this something of a "coming out" issue. I write a lot about being queer and how this affects my romantic relationships with dudes, as well as my frustration with the constant assumption that I’m straight. ‘Coz, you know, I’m not. I’ve also included some reviews of excellent queer zines for further reading. Please note, I've written a little bit about abuse, so please keep that in mind and read this zine in a safe space.
Quarter-size, 26 pages, black and white, hand-coloured covers.
Culture Slut #20 This is the latest issue. I write about queerness and (in)visibility, the corporate takeover of Pride, moving from small-town Ontario to Montreal, learning French, riding my bike and being a cat lady. I tell the story of my first period, spread some information about my much-loved menstrual cup and share some more zine reviews with my readers.
Quarter-legal-size, 38 pages, black and white, hand-coloured covers.
Each issue is $2.00 Canada/US and $3.00 International. I also have Culture Slut Superpacks available here. You can purchase these zines at my Etsy shop, Paypal to polaroid.panicATgmail.com or mail well-concealed cash to:
Amber Forrester
10124 Ave. Hébert #8
Montréal, Québec
H1H 3W6 Canada
What I've Been Up To Lately: Dyeing my hair red, baking, hanging out with Sarala, tying a corset for the first time ever, watching Coronation Street, seeing Daniel Johnston live, celebrating my 24th birthday with cheesecake and wine, and preparing for a zine reading at the Tranzac in Toronto (as well as Canzine, Expozine and Halloween).
What I Got In The Mail This Week: Letters from Melissa, my sister and my grandparents, birthday money and a new dress.
Quarter-size, 26 pages, black and white, hand-coloured covers.
Culture Slut #20 This is the latest issue. I write about queerness and (in)visibility, the corporate takeover of Pride, moving from small-town Ontario to Montreal, learning French, riding my bike and being a cat lady. I tell the story of my first period, spread some information about my much-loved menstrual cup and share some more zine reviews with my readers.
Quarter-legal-size, 38 pages, black and white, hand-coloured covers.
Each issue is $2.00 Canada/US and $3.00 International. I also have Culture Slut Superpacks available here. You can purchase these zines at my Etsy shop, Paypal to polaroid.panicATgmail.com or mail well-concealed cash to:
Amber Forrester
10124 Ave. Hébert #8
Montréal, Québec
H1H 3W6 Canada
What I've Been Up To Lately: Dyeing my hair red, baking, hanging out with Sarala, tying a corset for the first time ever, watching Coronation Street, seeing Daniel Johnston live, celebrating my 24th birthday with cheesecake and wine, and preparing for a zine reading at the Tranzac in Toronto (as well as Canzine, Expozine and Halloween).
What I Got In The Mail This Week: Letters from Melissa, my sister and my grandparents, birthday money and a new dress.
Monday, October 12, 2009
What is a Culture Slut?
The topic was raised on We Make Zines recently - Where does the title of your zine come from? I started writing my perzine Culture Slut back in 2004, and named it for a photo of the Manic Street Preachers. Oddly enough, I was never a huge Manics fan. I've enjoyed their albums, sure, but their fans are known as pretty hardcore and obsessive and that just wasn't me. I bought two of their albums, and a friend in England sent me another two albums on cassette, complete with handmade artwork. Very kind of her. I'm not sure why I felt such an affinity with this photo, but something about it always struck me. Maybe because I like androgynous boys, maybe because they're sporting a picture of Marilyn Monroe... But something about those two words together - Culture Slut - it's got a nice ring to it. Sounds like a riot grrrl zine to me!
Of course, this begs the question - What exactly is a culture slut? When Lizzy of Marching Stars Distro gave a copy of my zine to Amanda Palmer (of Dresden Dolls fame), she apparently exclaimed, "I'm a culture slut, too!" According to Urban Dictionary a culture slut is a person who is obsessed with a certain culture or demographic and claims it as their own. For example: "Ugh that Mr. Miller is such a culture slut! All he does is talk about Germany and how great it is while continuously badmouthing America. Go live in Germany if it's so great there!" In my search for information, I also discovered a blog called Culture Sluts, essays on this generation's raunch culture and photos of Kate Moss, Patti Smith and myself (good company to be in, I suppose). And oddly enough, I found mention of my zine on Library Thing. The page lists Ruth Handler as the author - She was in fact the inventor of Barbie, but her photo appeared on the cover of the very first issue of Culture Slut. Seems the Library Thing user was a little confused.
Me, I've come up with my own definition of a culture slut. For one, it's someone who's totally cool with the word slut. I've written a bit about this in past issues, but much like my love of the word cunt, slut is right up there with "negative" female-centered words that I'm trying to reclaim. I've been called a slut many times (really, what girl hasn't?) and I just think it's a ridiculous insult. What is a slut? What's considered slutty? How many people is it okay to sleep with before you've had one too many and suddenly become a slut? In my books, there's no such thing. To me, a culture slut is someone who does whatever makes themselves happy and doesn't live by society's rules of what is and isn't feminine, proper, ladylike, what-have-you. A culture slut is a feminist. A culture slut is creative and inspiring and gorgeous and badass and wants to change the world. A culture slut knows how to fight boredom. She is her own person, nobody else's.
So what culture am I obsessed with? Zine culture.
What I Got In The Mail This Week: A couple of zines, including All My Best Work I Do At A Slanted Angle and Your Pretty Face Is Going Straight To Hell #8, a letter advising me to stop skipping school and some birthday money.
What I've Been Up To Lately: Frequenting my new favourite copy shop and putting the finishing touches on Culture Slut #19 and #20 (they will both be available by the end of the week), studying French, watching lots of movies (Sylvia, The Experiment, Naked Lunch...), playing with Sebastian, reading an excellent book about open relationships called The Ethical Slut, picking apples and baking with 'em, and making plans for Canzine and Expozine.
Of course, this begs the question - What exactly is a culture slut? When Lizzy of Marching Stars Distro gave a copy of my zine to Amanda Palmer (of Dresden Dolls fame), she apparently exclaimed, "I'm a culture slut, too!" According to Urban Dictionary a culture slut is a person who is obsessed with a certain culture or demographic and claims it as their own. For example: "Ugh that Mr. Miller is such a culture slut! All he does is talk about Germany and how great it is while continuously badmouthing America. Go live in Germany if it's so great there!" In my search for information, I also discovered a blog called Culture Sluts, essays on this generation's raunch culture and photos of Kate Moss, Patti Smith and myself (good company to be in, I suppose). And oddly enough, I found mention of my zine on Library Thing. The page lists Ruth Handler as the author - She was in fact the inventor of Barbie, but her photo appeared on the cover of the very first issue of Culture Slut. Seems the Library Thing user was a little confused.
Me, I've come up with my own definition of a culture slut. For one, it's someone who's totally cool with the word slut. I've written a bit about this in past issues, but much like my love of the word cunt, slut is right up there with "negative" female-centered words that I'm trying to reclaim. I've been called a slut many times (really, what girl hasn't?) and I just think it's a ridiculous insult. What is a slut? What's considered slutty? How many people is it okay to sleep with before you've had one too many and suddenly become a slut? In my books, there's no such thing. To me, a culture slut is someone who does whatever makes themselves happy and doesn't live by society's rules of what is and isn't feminine, proper, ladylike, what-have-you. A culture slut is a feminist. A culture slut is creative and inspiring and gorgeous and badass and wants to change the world. A culture slut knows how to fight boredom. She is her own person, nobody else's.
So what culture am I obsessed with? Zine culture.
What I Got In The Mail This Week: A couple of zines, including All My Best Work I Do At A Slanted Angle and Your Pretty Face Is Going Straight To Hell #8, a letter advising me to stop skipping school and some birthday money.
What I've Been Up To Lately: Frequenting my new favourite copy shop and putting the finishing touches on Culture Slut #19 and #20 (they will both be available by the end of the week), studying French, watching lots of movies (Sylvia, The Experiment, Naked Lunch...), playing with Sebastian, reading an excellent book about open relationships called The Ethical Slut, picking apples and baking with 'em, and making plans for Canzine and Expozine.
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