Last update: 7/31/06 at 9:43 AM PST
Zine revival
Club promotes grassroots journalism
CHRIS NEUMANN
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Science-fiction culture geeks in the 1960s and 1970s published sci-fi comics and fanzines of popular writers. A decade later punk rockers took it on as an art form to spread political ideologies. In the 1990s, zines were part of the Riot Grrrl Movement, a branch of feminism that alternative female bands such as Sleater-Kinney, Babes in Toyland and Seven Year Bitch led, Western freshman Jessyca Murphy said.
"The basic definition of a zine is an independent publication," said Murphy, who is the president of the Associated Students club Zine Embarkment of Bemusing Rhetoric and Action (ZEBRA). "Anyone can make them, and they can be about anything. To clarify 'independent,' it basically means something that is created by real people, not a corporation, without any sort of profit motive."
Photocopy machines have been the heart and soul of zine publication since it began. Punks pirated copies from copy stores without paying and gave them out free or for the cost of printing or postage, Murphy said. "Instead of using energy and constantly trying to write stories on useless things, you can write about whatever you want, right now, right away, in however way you want to present, in whatever angle, and it can be biased," said Leif Holmberg, Western sophomore and vice president of the zine club.
Holmberg said zines can discuss anything: anarchy, feminism, music, politics, reproductive rights, recipes for vegans and vegetarians, and most importantly, a "do-it-yourself" ideology.
"You don't need to go and get a bunch of useless shit to create something," Holmberg said. "All you need is paper and a copy machine ... You don't need to rely on someone else to promote it or someone else to help take care of income. It's just a cool way of taking care of what you feel you need to take care of."
The club received $50 from the board of directors and raised approximately $300 playing host to a benefit concert and selling zines on Vendors Row. The club uses the money for copying zines, and they play host to events such as movie showings, zine readings and zine showcases. ZEBRA also is planning a trip to the August Zine Symposium in Portland, Ore.
Holmberg said approximately 50 members are on the club contact list, and the club has published two issues of the ZEBRA club zine, available now for free in the Peace Resource Center, where the club is organizing a zine library. "All over the world, there are zine libraries that seek to preserve zines for future generations," Murphy said. "Since zines are often short-lived and limited in amount, it's crucial to find a place to keep them safe."
Western's zine library has more than 300 publications preserved and catalogued. Kyle Crawford, Western freshman and zine club member, donated approximately 200 zines.
"People who feel disenchanted or don't have a voice -- or have a voice that differs -- don't have to internalize all their emotions," Crawford said. "They can write it out and get it out to people."
His zine, Frail Roots, is a perzine, a zine that contains personal content. Perzines discuss the personal, practical and political, Crawford said. He writes about the emotions resulting from events in his life.
"I try to make it more interesting than just reading about my life," Crawford said.
The second issue of Frail Roots covered his thoughts about city life, a bike ride, recipes, the rain, Greyhound buses and punk camaraderie. The third and most recent issue documented a road trip with two friends.
Crawford said the most important element of zines as an artistic form is the freedom to not edit. He said it is a truth statement.
"We want people to have the free opportunity to get their voice out, however they may do that," he said.