Quick Zine Recs
I apologize for the lack of posts in the past week or so. Between the oppressive heat, shifting into high gear at work, and an extra-long commute due to the idiots at SEPTA, all I’ve wanted to do is just collapse into air conditioning at the end of the day. However, I do want to mention that I had a wonderful time at the Philadelphia Zine Fest a few Sundays ago, at the Rotunda in West Philadelphia. It was very well organized, and thanks for providing the icy cold bottles of water to keep us from melting.

Met new zine people, caught up with some others, and traded and picked up a nice little stack of zines for El reading. Two I want to mention right away, because they are really worth your time and money:

Emma Goldman / #3 / $2.00+2 stamps or just send $2.50 / 48p / Digest
Available from Rebekah B., PO Box 3482, Philadelphia PA 19123
Rebekah is a PhD student in Urban Education, and still manages to publish a zine. I don’t know when she sleeps. This issue includes rants about white men who can’t accept their granted privileges, moving, overviews of classes and her dissertation, the politics of Live 8, and some Philly-only material, such as the photographs of images of women around the city, from murals to the Bottoms Up strip club sign. This is a really great zine that expertly blends the political and the personal.

I Hear You Like Stories! / #3 / $2 / 32p / Quarter-sized
Available from Meg Favreau, 300 Parker Ave., #201, Philadelphia PA 19128, or check her site Gladys Sells Things
There a really nice personal essay in here about deciding to leave, but what I really enjoyed was the short fiction piece “Old Mother Hubbard.” Fiction in zines is often hit or miss, but this was an excellent short story. Meg also makes strange collages out of clip art – the one of a bunch of asparagus with arms is captioned: “With its short, stalky body and closeness to the ground, bunched asparagus is great at horseshoes.”

More goodies from the Philadelphia Zine Fest to come!

(Also, if you find yourself in Philadelphia on Tuesday, July 26, Chuck Klosterman will be reading at the Free Library of Philadelphia main branch at 7PM.)
- posted by Synd-e @ 10:40 PM