The Way the Lights Went Out: A Hurricane Sandy Zine Benefit

The Way the Lights Went Out: A Hurricane Sandy Zine Benefit

RSVP: http://bit.ly/sandyzinebenefit

This event will be both a zine reading and zine sale to benefit The Ali Forney Center, a Manhattan-based organization which provides housing to homeless LGBT youth. Part of the Center’s facility is located near the Hudson River and was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. The event will include readings by zinesters as well as the sale of zines generously donated by many zinesters. 100% of proceeds will go to this important community resource.

We are aware of recent critiques of the Ali Forney Center*, and we concur with TransRadical blog** that it is crucial to rebuild AFC in order to continue creating safe and welcoming communities for LGBTQ youth everywhere.

READERS:

Kate Angell (My Feminist Friends, A Thousand Times Yes)
Jamie Varriale Vélez (Sinvergüenza)
Jenna Freedman (Lower East Side Librarian, Barnard Zine Library)
+ more!

ZINE DONORS:

Stranger Danger Zine Distro, Kathleen McIntyre (The Worst), Lauren Denitzio (Get it Together), Kate Wadkins (International Girl Gang Underground), For the Birds Collective, Kate Angell, Amber Dearest (Fight Boredom Distro, The Triumph of our Tired Eyes), Maranda Elizabeth (Telegram), PonyBoy Press, Aimee Lusty (Booklyn, Pen15 Press), Amanda Stefanski, Jami Sailor (Your Secretary), Jordan Alam (The Cowation), Alycia Sellie (Brooklyn College Zine Library), Cindy Crabb (Doris), Natty Koper & Sivan Sabach (Bangarang This), Chella Quint (Adventures in Menstruating), Shawn Smith (Black Lesbians in the 70s Zine), Elvis Bakaitis (Homos in Herstory), Sarah Rose (Tazewell’s Favorite Eccentric, Once Upon a Distro), Maud Pryor (Marmalade Umlaut), Jenna Freedman

Zinesters are welcome to contact us with zines to donate! 100% of event proceeds will be donated to hurricane relief.

CONTACT
Kate Angell at myfeministfriends@gmail.com
Kate Wadkins at mskatherinewadkins@gmail.com

(more info to be updated on the Facebook event page)

* http://transradical.tumblr.com/post/20347951835/i-meeting-with-the-deputy-executive-director-of
** http://lizvseverything.tumblr.com/post/35113227079/please-reblog-ali-forney-drop-in-center-of-homeless

GRATITUDE DAY 1: P.O.C. ZINE PROJECT

Race Riot tour banner by Cristy C. Road

POC Zine Project's mission is to make all zines by (People of Color) easy to find, distribute and share. We are an experiment in activism and community though materiality.

POC Zine Project produces community-building experiences, curates a traveling POC zine exhibition, is establishing an archive, and produces a website that shares POC zines while providing grants, tools and events for zinesters.

I've had the pleasure of collaborating with founder Daniela Capistrano and People of Color (POC) Zine Project since 2010. In the past 2 years, POCZP has grown from a nascent group of zine enthusiasts with a mission, to an absurdly well-organized, determined group of artists, makers, historians & theorists. They are changing the ways we write, tell, and make history--from zines, to the academy, to the culture at large.

Earlier this Fall, POC Zine Project took the Race Riot! Tour through 14 American cities, bringing people of color-authored zines to populations all over the country. POCZP also partnered with homeless activist Carey Fuller to release a zine series in Spring of 2013 by and for people living at/below the poverty line, as a community-building tool and training resource for agencies, academic programs, grassroots collectives and anyone else interested in ending poverty. Follow POCZP's social channels to stay informed about new and legacy zines by people of color, the 2013 Race Riot! tour through the Southwest/West Coast, and more:

poczineproject.tumblr.com
facebook.com/poczineproject
twitter.com/poczineproject

Jenna Freedman of Barnard Zine Library, Daniela Capistrano of POC Zine Project, & myself
@ "Meet Me at the Race Riot," Barnard College

Working with POC Zine Project has helped me better understand coalition-building between people of color-led movements and white allies. The depth of knowledge, experience, and partnership that Daniela and POCZP have brought into my own life is immeasurable. Thank you for all that you have done, and all that you continue to do!

12 DAYS OF GRATITUDE

NEVER BE UNGRATEFUL, Y'ALL

2012 was a hard year, right? Especially for New Yorkers.

In the month or so after Hurricane Sandy, and in tandem with the holiday season, I've been feeling grateful in a profound way. In the spirit of our fallen hero, Adam Yauch a.k.a. MCA (who passed away this May), I will be writing about one person, project, or thing that I am grateful for, each day until Christmas.

Stay tuned! Post #1 of 12 Days of Gratitude to follow.

PUNK ANTERIORS: GENEALOGY, THEORY, PERFORMANCE

18 months in the making: Punk Anteriors: Genealogy, Theory, Performance, a special double issue of Women & Performance: a journal of feminist theory has been published.

I've mentioned a few times over the past year that I would have a big announcement to make, eventually. I submitted my article "'Freakin' Out': Remaking Masculinity through Punk in Detroit" to the editorial board of Punk Anteriors back in July 2011 and have been diligently working on edits in between peer reviews and board reviews, and reviews of reviews. Finally, it's gone to print!

My article is a 21-page piece that riffs off of themes found in my Master's Thesis, which I wrote for the Women's & Gender History program at Sarah Lawrence College. It seems cliché to use words like "honored" in times like these, but I am, truly honored and humbled to be published in my first academic journal alongside such a superb group of writers and culture-makers.

That list includes: editors Fiona I.B. Ngô & Elizabeth A. Stinson, Mimi Thi Nguyen, Nia King, Alice Bag, commentary by Osa Atoe, Jasmine Mahmoud, Gigi McGraw, and Lisa Darms. The "Soundtracks" section, with extras and mix tapes, includes Lydia Brawner & Elizabeth Stinson, Mariam Bastani, Iraya Robles, Ceci Moss, Mimi Thi Nguyen, and myself. Still, there are reviews by Joshua Javier Guzmán, Jessica N. Pabón, and Ethan Youngerman.

If you have academic or university access, you can download the issue here. Information is forthcoming about how to obtain a print issue. My mix for the "Soundtracks" section, titled making sure the FREAKY ladies get represented, will appear here, in the form of a Wisdom Tooth mix tape.

SPEAKING AT NYU TONIGHT!

This evening I'll be presenting in NYU's "Gender and Performance" class on zines, and specifically, my zine International Girl Gang Underground. The class has been instructed to author a zine as their final project, so I'll be speaking about my motivations for creating IGGU (with co-editor Stacy Konkiel) as well as leading a zine how-to segment and leaving plenty of time for questions.

I broke out these "Frankenstein" zine pages to show the students--you know the ones, made up of layers of glue, ink, and cut-up paper. The ones you eventually xerox to become your first set of flats. It's interesting to see these pages as objects unto themselves.

It's exciting for me to have the chance to discuss my zine--and zines in general--in an academic context. That said, contact me if you are looking for someone to lead a workshop / presentation / event at your university on these topics!

PUBLISH OR PERISH

WEIRD WORLD photo zine--my photos at left.

December is the month for print!

Booklyn Artist Alliance has just released WEIRD WORLD, a photo zine to accompany the exhibition by the same name. The zine features 21 artists--many from the show itself, but some hangers-on, too, myself included. I'm happy to be a part of anything Aimee curates, and also to finally publish some of my photos in print.

You can purchase WEIRD WORLD at the newly-launched Booklyn web store, and in person next weekend at the Booklyn Book Shop (details below):

I also contributed a drawing to the Women Who Rock Coloring Book Vol. 2, to benefit Girls Rock! Rhode Island--a project I am really passionate about. Girls Rock! RI had an opening party for the coloring book last night, with performances by graduates of Girls Rock! and drawings from the book projected on the wall. Might make an awesome holiday gift? So check 'em out online at Etsy.

Women Who Rock Coloring Book Vol. 2 release party (photo via)

Cover art courtesy of Girls Rock! Rhode Island

AND--if you've made it this far in the post, I will be announcing the major project that I've worked on in the past year, which will finally be available at the end of December. Stay tuned!