Read ‘Zines: Not-for-a-profit-but-for-the-hell-of-it-literature.
July08, culture August 8th, 2008
By Brooke Macke, July 2008
While ‘zines are celebrated in punky/anarchist/socially minded niches, they are lit worthy of wider notice and circulation. In town, the Civic Media Center has one of the largest ‘zine collections in the United States (if you believe Wikipedia) located at 1021 W. University Ave.
This review is meant to wet the appetite of yet to be savvy ‘zine fans. However, please keep in mind that zines range wildly in length, format and topic—so keep exploring.
GrinGolandia
By Celia C. Perez
Perez begins this ‘zine with a dedication to her mother. In a Zinn-like way, Perez admonishes pop media for celebrating the privileged lives of celebrities, while people like her hard working Mexican immigrant mother are made invisible. This invisibility is highlighted and complicated by the author’s own experiences. In a number of anecdotes, Perez touches on the difficulty of feeling alienated and ignored by being too Hispanic, in mainstream American culture, or too American, by her parents and other first generation migrants. And all of this is some how transmitted thru frank stories about things like, visiting a museum on Teddy Roosevelt, listening to Benny More, and watching Beverly Hills 90210.
Esto no Es Arte?
Stencils from Argentina by Claire
Esto No Es Arte means, Is this not art? This ‘zine is a snapshot of Argentinean social conscious. This ‘zine doesn’t contain much narration, but the pictures say it all. The author traveled to Mendoza, Bariloche, Buenos Aires and San Telmo. In every city, she collected photos of stenciled graffiti art—and in every city kids were tagging images about being Vegan, religion, education, police repression, support for the Palestinian struggle, and anti-Bush (I think we have something to strive for in Gainesville). With so little coverage in our media of other countries, this ‘zine gives readers an “in” to a subculture that most of us wouldn’t have otherwise seen.
The Kickstand’s Basic Guide to Bicycle Projects
By Kickstand
Kickstand (an awesome non-profit bike repair group on 722 S. Main St) has produced a ‘zine on how and why to get involved with promoting biking. As this zine points out, a bicycle is an eco and environmentally friendly means of transportation; it’s also a great way to get in shape and better connect with your surrounding community. Kickstand has also provided sections with tips on working with youth, fundraising and insurance for nonprofits, and bike safety. Nifty!
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Read ‘Zines: Not-for-a-profit-but-for-the-hell-of-it-literature.
July08, culture August 8th, 2008
By Brooke Macke, July 2008
While ‘zines are celebrated in punky/anarchist/socially minded niches, they are lit worthy of wider notice and circulation. In town, the Civic Media Center has one of the largest ‘zine collections in the United States (if you believe Wikipedia) located at 1021 W. University Ave.
This review is meant to wet the appetite of yet to be savvy ‘zine fans. However, please keep in mind that zines range wildly in length, format and topic—so keep exploring.
GrinGolandia
By Celia C. Perez
Perez begins this ‘zine with a dedication to her mother. In a Zinn-like way, Perez admonishes pop media for celebrating the privileged lives of celebrities, while people like her hard working Mexican immigrant mother are made invisible. This invisibility is highlighted and complicated by the author’s own experiences. In a number of anecdotes, Perez touches on the difficulty of feeling alienated and ignored by being too Hispanic, in mainstream American culture, or too American, by her parents and other first generation migrants. And all of this is some how transmitted thru frank stories about things like, visiting a museum on Teddy Roosevelt, listening to Benny More, and watching Beverly Hills 90210.
Esto no Es Arte?
Stencils from Argentina by Claire
Esto No Es Arte means, Is this not art? This ‘zine is a snapshot of Argentinean social conscious. This ‘zine doesn’t contain much narration, but the pictures say it all. The author traveled to Mendoza, Bariloche, Buenos Aires and San Telmo. In every city, she collected photos of stenciled graffiti art—and in every city kids were tagging images about being Vegan, religion, education, police repression, support for the Palestinian struggle, and anti-Bush (I think we have something to strive for in Gainesville). With so little coverage in our media of other countries, this ‘zine gives readers an “in” to a subculture that most of us wouldn’t have otherwise seen.
The Kickstand’s Basic Guide to Bicycle Projects
By Kickstand
Kickstand (an awesome non-profit bike repair group on 722 S. Main St) has produced a ‘zine on how and why to get involved with promoting biking. As this zine points out, a bicycle is an eco and environmentally friendly means of transportation; it’s also a great way to get in shape and better connect with your surrounding community. Kickstand has also provided sections with tips on working with youth, fundraising and insurance for nonprofits, and bike safety. Nifty!
