Zines: Independent Publishing in the Age of Widespread Mechanical Reproduction

Bob Bellerue, 1995



"'zine: one of the thousands of idiosyncratic limited-edition photocopied publications generally distributed by mail to other 'zine producers."i

"Zine: A small handmade amateur publication done purely out of passion, rarely making or breaking even. Sounds like zeen. Not short for "magazine" or written as with an apostrophe ('zine) though the derivation is from the word 'fanzine.'" ii

"magazines published by someone with an ego bigger than a budget."iii

"Zines are the little guys in the publishing world.... They're bright, brash, passionate, and decidedly different. Like the early mammals in the world of dinosaurs, they're small and flexible, and can take advantage of markets and ideas that the major media miss entirely."iv

"Zines are small press publications with a press run of 15 - 2,500. They often deal with obscure or controversial subjects, or they're about the life of the publisher, or they're about the latest underground muzak sensation. A zine is not defined by its topic so much as its funkiness, its personality and its lack of pretention. It's easier to define what a zine is *not*. They aren't slick, they aren't professional (although some of the best publishers *do* pay a lot of attention to detail and presentation) and they don't make a profit."v

"zines are like birds -- they flock together, they come and go, they create minor flaps, but are basically toothless, people watch them obsessively, and look to them for beautiful music, or at least a certain raucousness.... It's a sort of self-defining, Wittgensteinian concept."vi

Independent publishing did not begin with the advent of the photocopier, but it certainly has grown as a result. The ubiquitous nature of copy shops in American culture provides the means of production for any aspiring publisher, artist, or writer. No need for investors, nor advertisers, nor a working knowledge of the innards of complex machinery, merely access either to a copy merchant like Kinko's™ or to copiers in the workplace or school. In editions of any size for a minimum of capital investment, this is the age of widespread mechanical reproduction. And it is this fact which provides the fertile ground in which the explosion of zines has occurred, the post-modern hybrid of political pamphlets/ samizdat, little magazines of the american & european avant-garde literary & artistic renaissance, and public/ political diaries.

...[A]ccess to e-mail and the vast resources of various networking projects is still a restricted medium. The vast majority of people do not own, or have access to, the computer systems necessary for this form of communication.... Being independent allows me the control I want and need. It also makes me accountable.... I find that responsibility desirable and inspiring. My work promotes exactly what I want it to. There is no catering to others because they hold the purse strings....vii

The desire to communicate is a universal trait of human civilization, and publishing technology is a short step past word of mouth. The particularities of each innovative literary accomplishment are a product of centuries of evolution. The alternative subcultures ("otherstream") that spawn independent publications have always existed. They sometimes make their way throughout the mainstream ("knownstream")viii, eventually becoming common knowledge in some of the dominant cliques of the culture industry, or at least generating a bit of notoriety. In this respect, the phenomenon of zines measures out squarely with everything proceeding it; the advent of the photocopier merely sped up the process, allowing for a wider bandwidth of styles and content. ...between things like billboards, tv, radio, newspapers, and other humans our minds are constantly assaulted by things that we have no control over - once you've experienced something there's no way to block it out of your memory. sure if you use your melon you can still control what you think, but where did all that stimuli you're thinking about originate? hmm. maybe the last frontier has been conquered.... in this world of telephones, e-mail, fax machines, and beepers one of the sweetest pleasures is to receive a good old fashioned handwritten letter. write one today.ix

The uses of reproduction technology are twofold: efficient reproduction of vast amounts of information, primarily for business and education; and creative appropriation by the artistic and social underground. The universality of photocopier technology is the fundamental connection between all zines. A link to the urban punk rock scene of the U.S. has been made repeatedly, but a punk aesthetic is not universal though the Do-It-Yourself philosophy pervades all. Anyone with access to a copier can be a publisher, and so this might be considered the fundamental category, that of every type of small magazine which now happens to be called a "zine" because the term is in vogue. Most zines are just like publications of any other time period, except for particular aesthetic and a longer, more diverse history to which they can refer. Perhaps the most extreme and offensively graphic of zines may not have ever been seen before as regular publications, yet they are still continuing in a long tradition. Each individual zine can be counted on to embrace many universal aspects of all zines; there is no one style or format.

...[T]he information highway tends to be just data. zine production is highly visual and tactual sometimes. Sometimes it even smells.... Is it art? is it news? Is it anything new? Let's just call it opinions/reality and call it a day. Of course it is art. And I suppose it is "new" because you don't get a glimpse of the person(al) in the mainstream media. Is it anything new? Perhaps not, just like all of history repeats itself. For one individual, however, it can be new and life transforming.x

There are obvious differences between the various traditions in independent publishing -- for the time being i'll just look at samizdat, the little magazines, and zines. The experience of underground samizdat writers in the Soviet Union was that of a hunted minority under watch by any authoritarian regime. They produced critical publications with meager technical possessions - often just typewriters, copied one at a time - that were passed in secret among few friends. They are the real pioneers in a Do-It-Yourself philosophy, for they had no options but to remain underground for fear of exile and/or disappearing. This is where the underground part of independent publishing comes into play, where one only has a handful of people to depend on for one's own survival as a critic, if that.

... Motivation is the key here, and it's up to the publisher of any given zine to not only maintain his/her/their momentum, but to communicate that to others, creating a network of positive, active participants. This can be a tough task, balancing one's own needs and aspirations to what others can afford to spare. With volunteerism, you have to be thankful for whatever little anyone can offer. This calls for good communicating skills, and a lot of patience. ...And, after all is said and done, have fun. If all that work (and in our case, for zero money) doesn't pay off in friendships, growth of practical experience in new skills, and a love of communication, then it's all for naught!...xi

The little magazines are examples of avant-garde publishing around both world wars, from the 1920s onward. These primarily Amerikan and Yurpean publishers were working within the confines of restricted access to mainstream publication, yet they were aided by technological developments and networks of non-local communities. While they were outside the mainstream, they shared a common aesthetic with established publications, challenging the motifs and forms of the dominant culture less often with their forms than their contentxii. There is an important variety of opinions, forms & styles expressed in the publications that come out of that era; nonetheless, the predominant trend was to use the standardized format of publication rather than to explore the options made available by surrealism, visual or concrete poetry, or mail art. Whether or not the little magazines remained interested in fitting into the accepted notions of mainstream magazines, they certainly appear to do so to this eye, in spite of their outrider status -- partially due to limited budgets, partially social conditioning.

What difference does it make? it makes a hell of a lot of difference on a more personal level than any of that technological stuff. It also encourages the old-fashioned art of letter writing.... It's a wonderful non-capitalistic way to lose your money. If we had tons of money, would the zine be as authentic? .... what would it turn out like? Probably a super glossy totally legible magazine without all the zine spirit. Whose history is it? Young, individual, revolutionary, alternative-thinking people.... Is it art? Of course it is. Not all zine makers may think that they are, but we're all artists I think. We're creators, writers, poets, illustrators, everything....xiii

There is often little to distinguish a "zine" from a "little magazine." The particularities of the social environment do not lend themselves easily to the study of idiosyncratic publications. There are similarities: an independent spirit, editorial aim towards people instead of markets, little or no money for contributors, extended local networks of distribution. Yet there is a noticeable difference. For the most part "little magazines" are alternative forums for the literary and arts community, anything like a magazine in the sense of its slickness or distributionxiv. "Zines" on the other hand are not predisposed to any type of category, and are products of the 1980s and 90s. There is a noticeable absence of nostalgia, often an anti-history sentiment based in a jaded appreciation for culture. Zines tend to be more engaging, "intimate media,"xv having a more personal content; some are slick, many more share a raw, xerographic aesthetic. Also, the numbers of writers/editors as well as the audience to which they appeal has increased dramatically; where the little magazines were numbered at 600 to 1500 in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, the zine phenomenon has been reputed to include over 10,000 individual publications and a million readers currently.xvi

I can't relate to the need to feel like a cog, such as feeling bored when not at work. I can always keep myself busy - writing, reading, making music, computering, making a zine, answering mail, cooking, whatever. In fact I'm fairly laborious, motivated, enthusiastic. ... But, unfortunately, I can't seem to transfer that motivation to other people's work which I am hired cheaply to do. For five or six bucks an hour an employer can buy my time - I have no choice but to sell it. But it would take far more than any employer could afford to buy my enthusiasm, motivation, and care.xvii

Another connected tangent is mail art, which came out of a similar set of conditions but was more obvious of its anti-commercial philosophy, at least by the heavy-thinking end of its early proponents. The mythic zinesters are not always as conscious of the implications of their activity as Guy Bleus is when he wrote: "The history of art is often a solidified lie dictated directly or indirectly by comedians, merchants, and rulers. Likewise, the history of mail art will degenerate into an objective assumed lie...."xviii For these artists the end of history was already at hand; one had to keep up with the moment of existence through the creation of momentary magnificence. The mimeograph and later xerographic reproduction made it possible to make an art that is perfectly formatted for the post-modern industrial society, for there is no concern about authenticity: the original is the duplicate, the value is intrinsic to the content, to the creator (who may remain anonymous) and to the holder of the object. The future is the past. Likewise, no one seems to wonder about the future of zines, except for academics & journalists; the zinesters themselves either subsume that discussion into the past futures of any & every other revolutionary aesthetic activity (surrealism, beatnism, hippie/yippie/zippie-isms, punk rock, etc), or drop the topic in favor of the latest in OJ's trial(s), or the price of coffee, etc. Most artists in the world today are aware of the convergent histories in which they sit, in fact most people are aware of much more than they may need to be; nonetheless, the zine aesthetic is remarkably varied, and there is no single history to which one can pledge allegiance & bow before in order to keep in line w/ the ancient & godly. The fact that there was no regular mention of zines in libraries & knownstream media sources until the early nineties shows how young a history it is, if there is one to begin with. There have always been publications which were low-tech & produced quickly on cheap paper w/ a million scattered subjects under its header; only now may we call them zines and hence find a place for them in the hallowed vaults of academia.
Fuck that g-string shit, BUILD YOURSELF A POEM LIKE A PICK-AXE AND GO AFTER 'EM WITH A VENGEANCE. . . . never mind what people think of what you're throwing out there, be it publishing or whatever. image is ultimately pointless. consider yourself on the break line in a major forest fire. stay upwind and keep your shovel handy.xix

There are many types of zines. A first category of zines are published in order to make connections between widespread aggregates of fen (plural of fan). Science Fiction "fanzines" (such as AMAZING STORIES, THE COMET, THE PLANET, and THE TIME TRAVELLER)xx are considered the oldest practical examples, and their moniker is from where the root for "zine" comes. Cartoonists (BOILED ANGEL, WORLD WAR III ILLUSTRATED), Pinball players (MULTIBALL), poets (STEW, BASURA, ARTICHOKE), punks (MAXIMUMROCKNROLL, GENETIC DISORDER), and rave dancing computer hackers (THE IRON FEATHER JOURNAL) have their own fanzines that they trade or sell to others with similar interests.
I received a submission for HEATHEN one time. I rejected it saying I needed something more intense. He sent some poems that had fuck in them and a note that said if I published him he'd subscribe. I wrote him back saying that putting fuck in a poem doesn't make it intense and that he could subscribe if he wanted to but that I'd only publish something if I thought it was good and I wanted to. He sent a note that said "those who do not criticize well do not write well" -Dionysus. I wrote back and said form letter rejection slips are beautiful things. xxi

A second group publishes for the sake of personal expression. These "perzines" (EXISTE!, BOREDOM SUCKS) take form using diary entries, epiphanous poems, rants and stories that connect the publisher-editor-author with friends and anonymous acquaintances. This can be considered a common aspect to most zines, who fill out their pages with personal stories, recipes, letters, or other random objects of life, such as receipts, doodles, labels, trash from the street, basically anything which looks neat, especially after a triple xerox job & then overlayed upon a formal letter from a boss. That's one of the most common aspects of a zine aesthetic: anything goes. This is yr/our life. The personal is political, or at least publishable: a public poetic diary. (though many people hate poetry so don't fixate upon it.)

never let anyone control what you think or how you feel

I offer no excuses for what I've written; I offer no explanations for what I've done. Those of you who know me well enough will understand, the rest of you will know me better afterwards.

maybe I should have shut up
long before I said anything xxii

A third type of zine comes from the need for radical expression that is not possible within the confines of the more traditional mainstream media, or even in the midst of their creators' personal lives. Queer & sex zines (HOLY TIT CLAMPS, UNCOMMON DESIRES NEWSLETTER, PINK PAGES, QUIMBY PRESENTS), some political zines (CENSORSHIP NEWS, FIFTH ESTATE, LOVE AND RAGE), riot grrrlz (NOT YOUR BITCH, AIM YOUR DICK), psycho fringe dwellers (ANSWER ME!, FUCK, ARMAGEDDON BULLETIN, GUN FAG MANIFESTO, PARANOIA), occultist (WIGGANSNATCH), religious (A THIEF IN THE NIGHT, SLEEPY FOOT), most hacker zines (FRINGE WARE REVIEW) -- these tend to be committed to a higher intensity of expression, with subjects that are risque or illegal, a fact which excludes them from mainstream publications.

... Who do I think I am? I'm just a chump who can't work for or with other people - I can't submit to mainstream mags, because I can't "tone down" my comix, so I print them myself! It's mostly for fun (though sometimes there actually is profit)..... It's nothing really new... same old crappe, just by me this time.xxiii

The sheer numbers being produced allow a wider accessibility to different sources of information, xerographic technology enabling one to spread one's work out to an audience wider than one's immediate physical reality. With the common practice of trading zines and printing one anothers' addresses, networks of contacts can be found in most zines. This indicates a fourth category, those that specialize in zine reviews (FACTSHEET FIVE, TAPROOT REVIEWS, ALTERNATIVE PRESS REVIEW, ASYLUM FOR SHUT-INS), which are a vital part of the interactive nature of the zine world.

...because i like being melodramatic
...because i don't have to separate the harmful from harmless
...because i feel like peeling my lips to the bone
...because i treasure going through all the motions, physically, late at night, cutting and pasting and walking back from Kinko's watching not to step on landmines.
...because on certain days my skin feels too itchy
...because you can't just shout all of the time
...because i can give something in return, i've taken all along (still am)
does it make a difference? absolutely, if you let itxxiv

The barter system is a prime factor in the process of "cross-pollenation" that some zines hold as a community-oriented tenet (though they may not know how to say it). By removing money from the act of acquiring a zine, it becomes possible to be in touch with more of them than just those you have happened to run across or are able to afford, and the creative mental circuits involved in a daily routine can be activated by the overlapping connective tangents, extending yr thought processes in exponential ways. It can also be easier to trade with someone on the other side of the world than in your home town, getting to know them but never to meet in person.

Why is everyone always referring to the dehumanization of creative thought by the information super hi-way as progress? Zine publishers are the ones intent on perpetuating tangible reality instead of virtual reality.... These things you call "zeens" are written/put together by people who are doing nothing that would be considered by most to be newsworthy. Small people living inconsequential lives, not shooting people or planning corporate mergers or anything important like that.... I guess all the political ranting aside I just look at it as our own way of networking in an increasingly impersonal world.xxv

The phenomenon of zines has more to do with combating a stale sense of culture than achieving a certain level of acceptance into the dominant publishing society. Some zine publishers recognize the convenience of their non-mainstream status, because rebellion is an accepted status, if they care at all. For some in the comfortable progressive world, the expression of radical opinion and aesthetic does not jeopardize one's existence in real terms anymore, as opposed to the experience of Mumia Abu Jamalxxvi. There are a few who do earn headlines with criminal counts: Mike Diana, for example, who earned a hefty obscenity rap for his cartoon zine BOILED ANGELxxvii. His case is an example of the risks involved with being independent within this culture, and the insidious extent to which many people who believe in artistic freedom will enforce their morality upon artistry. The censorship that exists in this country is mostly accomplished with ignorance and avoidance, not secret police and bureaucrats (except maybe in Florida).

It was pretty cool to see people this fired up over my artwork. Somehow the people here think that I'm the reason there are all these problems in Florida. They blame me for all the murders in Florida. When I was publishing that stuff, I never thought there would be anyone that would actually get that angry over it - or at least act that angry - where they feel that the whole morals of the state of Florida are riding on me getting convicted and going to jail.
After having gone through the trial, I take my art more seriously now. Art has a purpose... but I didn't know it could cause that much of an impact. I never thought my art could be used that powerfully. Up until then, I never thought of my stuff as being political.xxviii

For most of us, the biggest drawback we might experience in being an independent charmer is the burnout that ends up consuming your innocent abilities when faced with increasing demands for production. This is the bind of the zine martyr: how to keep up with the outside world as the hobby takes over your space and still remain as interested in your project as you were when it was a simple thing you did after work or parties with your friends. (Long hours in late-night copy centers make for unsightly eye baggage.) One doesn't need to become professional to get it done better and more efficiently, but common sense and a balanced schedule becomes more necessary - which is often the anti-thesis of what the project is about. It is only too commonplace that the ones with the greatest abilities in promoting active change end up the most burned out and cynical.

Your zine is self-expression on cruise control.... [T]oner laughs at you behind your back.... Your zine won't lead people to create or destroy.... Your zine is the reason the world will end soon, because your zine is a staggering example of straight-arrow mediocrity.... It isn't the extremists, it's the average people who are killing the planet.... I'm ready to die for my magazine - are you ready to die for anything? Are you ready to sweat for anything?... I try harder than you do. I call it dedication. You call it slickness. We put more thought into one article than you put into a lifetime.... The shit won't stop, zine bitches. Just when you were peering out your front door, hoping not to see me outside with my gun, there I was, hiding in your mailbox....xxix

One way of easing the toll of a publishing habit is the crucial element for an extensive minority in the under-ground arts movement -- the "Xerox™ subsidy," which is quite common practice for many zines, and applies as much to friends who work at Kinko's™ as well as the photocopier at the office or school. The appropriation of technology for the purpose of producing a zine is defended on anti-capitalist grounds. The amount of white paper and toner used for an edition of BASURA or ANODYNE is very little in comparison to the volumous production of one day of business, and more fun for the copy workers if they can catch a peek. What it implies for those inside the circuit is not the scandal of crime but more an unspoken endowment for the arts from the business class -- fruits of the age-old dispute between the haves and have-nots.

It's fast, it's easy; one person's sentiment, or, rather, thoughtless, knee-jerk reaction, can be printed and distributed in one great sour smelling orgasmic flowering of self-important masturbation and, AND, supposedly be worth something because it made it on an available page.... [W]e make a concentrated effort in putting out each issue and really would rather consider ourselves a magazine than simply something abbreviated, contracted, hyphenated, whatever.... My stupid job in a corporate copyshop allows me the opportunity to thieve the ability to produce my project. It's a way to start.xxx

The time has never been better for independent publishing. The local printshop is taken for granted because it is just another invisible step in history. While its assets to business and education have been incredible, the existence of zines and mail art would not be conceivable without it. The photocopier alone may be the central feature of the current zine explosion. In the past one would have been a printer or had a patron in order to publish affordable, alternative literature. Now, the ease of operating a photocopier keeps artistic control with the artist (albeit aided by the omniscient copy-service provider) and leaves the decision of edition numbers to the venerable letterpress and off-set. The incorporation of technological involvements in everyday life has provided the ability to explore them for one's own interests, and has given us the ability to catch up with the repressive conditions of making art in this culture.

Imagine: some people come to your town and want to know about the inspired up & coming local characters & so they come knocking on your door, asking Hey What's Going On? & You're s'posed to be polite to them? Share your know-how, that's American Ingenuity or Christian Charity or something, whatever. The TV comes to Real Life, and brings back stunning footage of Real People Doing Real Things On Their Own Time Because They Love To. stand up w/ me & say: Fuck God/ the TV icon Eye. (wow: Not just dramatics! Real Feeling! Opinions!)xxxi

The flowering of independent publications that is called Zines is another step in a tradition as old as printed language: the hidden side of mainstream publication, a subculture of the civilization of books. It is only now in the age of re-discovery of one's roots that this other literature is being discussed by the academies in canonical terms and considered valid cultural expression. The debates will never end, not nearly with the media hysteria over a handful of "hip" & "alternative" zines. What it all comes down to is the difference individual publishing can mean for the writer/ editor/ publisher, and for those of us who think and read, and we can only find that out one at a time.

Phrases I keep seeing in your mag: 'I don't understand poetry' 'I don't like modern poetry' etc. Well don't feel ignorant or guilty, you're not missing much. The poetry industry churns out publications at an amazing rate, most of it vanity crap. Keep digging.xxxii

ENDNOTES:

iAndrew Kopkind, "Chilling Tales," THE NATION, May 2, 1994, p. 581.
iiR. Seth Friedman, "The Big Glossary." FACTSHEET FIVE #52 (undated, c. 1994), p. 131.
iiiJames Corsaro, "A Micropress in Every Home," manuscript of address delivered at the Society of American Archivists meeting, (4 September, 1993), p. 1. (Found in Gunderloy Zine Collection, State Library of New York Archives, Albany, NY.)
ivMike Gunderloy, "Access To Zines," WHOLE EARTH REVIEW, Spring 91.
v jerod pore, Zines FAQ: General information about zines, ezines, Factsheet Five and Factsheet Five - Electric. Updated 22 June, 1995. (downloaded off the internet newsgroup alt.zines.) note: "This file is Shareright 1995; you may (and please do) copy, reproduce, replicate and distribute this information however, wherever and in whatever format, and as often as you wish, as long as this sentence is included."
viCarol Reid, "Zines," manuscript of address delivered at the Music Library Association Conference, (2 October, 1993), p. 1 to 4. (Found in Gunderloy Zine Collection, State Library of New York Archives, Albany, NY.)
viiJeb Branin/ THE CRASS MENAGERIE/ NOT FRAGILE, letter to the author. (see Appendix)
viii luigi-bob drake, introduction to TAPROOT REVIEWS #5, p. 2, though later attributed by him to another Bob, to whom i have not made contact.
ixbruce michael barbarasch/ THIS IS ECURB #1, unpaginated.
xAshley Parker Owens/ Global Mail & ARG CATAZINE, letter to the author. (see Appendix)
xiTim Yohannan, "Yo Mama," MAXIMUM ROCK & ROLL #23 March 85, unpaginated.
xii In light of Olson's quote of Creeley, "form is never more than an extension of content," this may have been their intention. See "Projective Verse,"in The New American Poetry, Donald Allen, ed., Grove Press (New York), 1960. p. 386, or Olson's Selected Writings, New Directions, p. 15. if you got the time you might as well read the whole thing. it's fun.
xiiiLauren Martin/ BOREDOM SUCKS, letter to the author. (see Appendix)
xiv the only one to which i've had any real exposure that seems more like a zine & quite out-of-the-ordinary is FUCK YOU: A MAGAZINE OF THE ARTS, published/edited by Ed Sanders, 1962-1966(?).
xv attributed to Peter Lamborn Wilson.
xvi uhh, the little magazine numbers were probly culled from the transcripts of the Little Magazine conference sponsored by the Library of Congress in the mid-1950s. the zine numbers were probly pulled from Mike Gunderloy's Whole Earth Review essay. you cd fershur find something like it in the Gunderloy Zine Collection, State Library of New York Archives. sorry i don't remember from exactly where i got them numbers. so sorry.
xviimike thain/ SLEEPY FOOT, #4, unpaginated.
xviii Guy Bleus, "Art as Collective Mythology: Mail Art," forward to Mail Art: An Annotated Bibliography by John Held, Jr., The Scarecrow Press (Metuchen, N.J. and London), 1991. p. ix.
xix stephan felactu, letter to the author.
xxfor a more thorough history see Michelle Rau, "From APA to Zines," Alternative Press Review, Spring/Summer 1994, p. 10-11.
xxiKen Wagner, postcard to Mike Gunderloy (publisher of FACTSHEET FIVE), undated.
xxiiwayne alejandro/ EXISTE! #3, unpaginated.
xxiiiD.B Velveeta/ QUIMBY PRESENTS, letter to the author. (see Appendix)
xxivJulie Shapiro/ANODYNE, letter to the author. (see Appendix)
xxvBrinda Coleman/ MULTIBALL, letter to the author. (see Appendix) note: i used to spell zine as "zeen" just to be cool. i don't anymore cos it's old.
xxvi african-american activist and journalist, framed for the murder of a Philedelphian cop after the police bombed MOVE (a radical african community group to which he was associated in his trial), currently on death row awaiting review of his case under a stay of execution.
xxvii The sentence includes three years of probation, 1200 hours community service, psychiatric counseling, prohibition of contact with minors (no stopping in at the arcade), prohibition of creating any "obscene" artwork even for his own purposes (with 24-hour access by probation officers into his house), a $3000 fine, and a requirement to take an Ethics in Journalism class. He is the first comic artist/ publisher ever busted for obscenity. The Comic Book Defense Fund is taking his case to appeals.
xxviiiMike Diana, "Boiled Rights," WORLD WAR THREE ILLUSTRATED #21, p. 43.
xxix Debbie Goad, "Your Zine Is The Reason The World Will End Soon," ANSWER ME ! #4, p. 131.
xxxS.D. Soule/ MULTIBALL, letter to the author. (see Appendix)
xxxibob bellerue, "The Healthy Cynic," manuscript. (see Appendix)
xxxiiJohn Wright, "POET MANIFESTO", FACTSHEET FIVE #18, unpaginated.

15 APPENDIX: the ZEEN RAMBLE
(sent to a variety of zine publishers September 1994)
listing a bunch of questions, will be sent under separate cover

Responses to the ZEEN RAMBLE

D.B Velveeta/ QUIMBY PRESENTS

... Who do I think I am? I'm just a chump who can't work for or with other people - I can't submit to mainstream mags, because I can't "tone down" my comix, so I print them myself! It's mostly for fun (though sometimes there actually is profit).... My zine has me $8,000 in debt. I'll definitely spend my $ on Drugs or Beer rather than my zine, if I need to - I need Drugs to keep me alive, and I can't very well publish when I'm Dead.... My zine is "Entertainment"- based roughly of the Tihijuana bibles of the '20s & '30s. It's nothing really new... same old crappe, just by me this time.

Jeb Branin/THE CRASS MENAGERIE/NOT FRAGILE

...[A]ccess to e-mail and the vast resources of various networking projects is still a restricted medium. The vast majority of people do not own, or have access to, the computer systems necessary for this form of communication.... [Paper] is more tangible.... [P]aper will be eternally compatible.
Why publish without big financial backing?... Being independent allows me the control I want and need. It also makes me accountable.... I find that responsibility desirable and inspiring. My work promotes exactly what I want it to. There is no catering to others because they hold the purse strings....
[I]t certainly isn't anything new.... The only thing unique to my work is that I focus heavily on bands from my home state. Other than my writing, many of these bands get little press attention. I don't view what I do as art.... My personal investment in my 'zines is intense, but for me that in and of itself does not constitute art.
...Little of what I do is meant as propaganda. I focus on a lighter, more fun style. I am very politically aware and active, I simply choose not to express that side of me in the 'zine format. I frown on preaching only to the converted and I'm afraid that is mostly what 'zines do. Preaching to the converted is a dangerous thing in that it hinders active and informed debate. It also fosters an atmosphere of superiority because it is a form of isolationism....

Lauren Martin/ BOREDOM SUCKS

What difference does it make? it makes a hell of a lot of difference on a more personal level than any of that technological stuff. It also encourages the old-fashioned art of letter writing.... It's a wonderful non-capitalistic way to lose your money. If we had tons of money, would the zine be as authentic? .... what would it turn out like? Probably a super glossy totally legible magazine without all the zine spirit. Whose history is it? Young, individual, revolutionary, alternative-thinking people.... Is it art? Of course it is. Not all zine makers may think that they are, but we're all artists I think. We're creators, writers, poets, illustrators, everything....

Ashley Parker Owens/Global Mail & ARG CATAZINE

...[T]he information highway tends to be just data. zine production is highly visual and tactual sometimes. Sometimes it even smells....
... This is a strange question because it recognizes authority and the power structure. I don't, so the question posed to me is a real baffler. Anyone, anytime, has the right to do whatever they want.
... I personally tend to use credit cards [for funding]. I have a 40+ day job. I just quit my additional part time teaching job, because I couldn't do it time-wise. Some day, when my cards are all at the limit and this avenue peters out, I will claim bankruptcy and start anew.
Is it art? is it news? Is it anything new? Let's just call it opinions/reality and call it a day. Of course it is art. And I suppose it is "new" because you don't get a glimpse of the person(al) in the mainstream media. Is it anything new? Perhaps not, just like all of history repeats itself. For one individual, however, it can be new and life transforming.
Julie Shapiro/ ANODYNE

...because i like being melodramatic
...because i don't have to separate the harmful from harmless
...because i feel like peeling my lips to the bone
...because i treasure going through all the motions, physically, late at night, cutting and pasting and walking back from Kinko's watching not to step on landmines.
...because on certain days my skin feels too itchy
...because you can't just shout all of the time
...because it's trendy
...because i can't force anyone to read my words
...because i can't force anyone to like my words
...because i can't force myself to like my words
...because i say too much, and not enough, and just enough
...because i can give something in return, i've taken all along (still am)
...because every act, however small, can teach you something. (t. merton)
does it make a difference? absolutely, if you let it

Brinda Coleman/ MULTIBALL

Why is everyone always referring to the dehumanization of creative thought by the information super hi-way as progress? Zine publishers are the ones intent on perpetuating tangible reality instead of virtual reality. Is it art? The word itself just conjures up images of money, art is something that you buy and display so that others can judge your taste by it. Anymore there isn't a damn thing out there that can't be considered "art." Producing something in a different realm, getting your tools out and building something, like a picnic table. News to replace what is traditionally considered news? These things you call "zeens" are written/put together by people who are doing nothing that would be considered by most to be newsworthy. Small people living inconsequential lives, not shooting people or planning corporate mergers or anything important like that. My question is who do THEY think they are for trying to target any sort of subversive cultural group with the usual mega bucks backing. Where do rags like Might fit into all of this, taking ads from Birkenstock and Specialized, trying to pretend to be zines and cash in (literally) on the whole underground publishing scene's recent popularity. Of course, as you point out, the flip-side to this is having to steal to get the job done. I prefer to look at it as giving Kinko's the opportunity to contribute to something sincere and meaningful at the expense of all their humongous business accounts who are willing to pay the outrageous (dubbed prohibitive by Kinko's execs) pricing which certainly takes into account little jobs like ours which never get paid for. If your parents are still paying for your voice you've got a problem; if your drug habit gets in the way, just do your zine cheaper, if your lover's footing the bill-- good for you. I guess all the political ranting aside I just look at it as our own way of networking in an increasingly impersonal world.

S. D. Soule/ MULTIBALL

? Basically, I love and hate what I'm doing with multiball. The hating is easy because it has to do with the genre: zines, and this oh so prevalent postage stamped zine culture, just reek of mediocrity. It's fast, it's easy; one person's sentiment, or, rather, thoughtless, knee-jerk reaction, can be printed and distributed in one great sour smelling orgasmic flowering of self-important masturbation and, AND, supposedly be worth something because it made it on an available page. There's no work behind it, no value. But there are a few bright moments, and I wouldn't even begin to pretend that multiball is one of them. A semi-bright moment, perhaps. I love doing it. Working with a variety of people whose work I like, the creative process, the sheer entertainment value inherent in that process--a lot of this is just making our own fun (talk about printed pretension)--we make a concentrated effort in putting out each issue and really would rather consider ourselves a magazine than simply something abbreviated, contracted, hyphenated, whatever...we're thinking big here, bigger and better and we want to be read and be a worthwhile read. Sometimes it's hellish. Of course, I seem to be speaking for a large group, when really I can only be sure I'm speaking for myself. multiball is a project. My stupid job in a corporate copyshop allows me the opportunity to thieve the ability to produce my project. It's a way to start.

Jeff Stark/ STEW
from "The Zine Thing" by Jeff Stark, SLACK, V. 2 #2

...zines are like Christmas cards, but better. They keep me in touch with friends and acquaintances. Admittedly, zines are published erratically. But at least it's more than once a year....
...We've got all the software necessary to make a slick, neat, little magazine, like the one you're reading, but we don't. I love the ink spots and filled letters I get with the dinosaur typewriters....
...Sometimes I'm embarrassed to pass out Stew. It's a rag. I fold copies and carry them in my back pocket. I try to take the pretension out of Stew because magazines like Details have declared zines the hip trend for young alternative kids....
...Stew has nothing to do with an underground scene. As people, we're no more alternative than the kid who drove the black Camero and blasted Led Zeppelin at my high school. We don't claim much more than catharsis and process....
...I dream of Kinko's packed with 30 people jockeying for position at the counter. That's 30 people out from in front of their televisions - 30 people circulating themselves, offering instead of taking.

bob bellerue/ BASURAme/ Holy Bore Ink

Underground literature is nothing new. Perhaps the "Zine Revolution" is merely a trick of the senses, maybe there are more people & better technology, so what about Revolution? There has always been an underclass, a subculture, an Other, and there always will. As long as people still have the human tendencies to bitch & moan about their friends & lovers & boss thug figures & selves, or strive to build a brighter future (violins now), there will be a difference and a diversity among the striving throng. There may be subtle but geologic shifts in our perceptions and opinions of self & other, inside-outside camp, We may feel like some age has come upon us (Aquarian, Apocalypse, Utopia, Ecotopia, Heaven), but maybe that new vision is like the Democrats & their "victory", a monotonous heavy debacle of effortous achievement, another era to withstand. At least that's what the healthy cynic in me has to say, and i'm sure not the only one. RAGE & RULE.
The Little Magazine was a big deal in the 50s & 60s when people started paying attention to the younger writers (who were by the way for the most part older when they were "discovered" than most of us 20nothings) & especially when they were getting more press & fucking all the most gorgeous people or something stupid like that (you know how people can be) BUT this is like an upper-middle class issue. Oh Wow You're Doing A Magazine, How Nice! It's like, So Fucmking What! People publishing themselves when they got no one else to do it is some kind of big deal! Imagine: some people come to your town and want to know about the inspired up & coming local characters & so they come knocking on your door, asking Hey What's Going On? & You're s'posed to be polite to them? Share your know-how, that's American Ingenuity or Christian Charity or something, whatever. The TV comes to Real Life, and brings back stunning footage of Real People Doing Real Things On Their Own Time Because They Love To. stand up w/ me & say: Fuck God/ the TV icon Eye. (wow: Not just dramatics! Real Feeling! Opinions!)
Someone wants to write a zine called BOILED ANGEL and depict priests fucking children, and dismembered sexual huff & puff, or ANSWER ME wants to do a Rape issue with a centerfold Rape Game (play Predator or Prey), and they are gross as you'd expect. so big deal? Zines are tools of communication and can reinforce gnarly habits or give someone an activity or persona to fetishize & therefore perhaps achieve more with inspiration that comes from having their fantasies reinforced --- but this is the problem with the world isn't it? and i would rather have someone say something to me in print that makes me feel & react than to brush it all under the covers and say that it's a problem they have over there. So WE'RE (or at least i am) BACK AT THE RUB OF LANGUAGE. and what gets you thinking but a good batch of offense.
Envoi: The best thought is the one that gets you to stop thinking and do something.