Hax did a lovely job on the painting that graces the front cover. The back cover is a photo from her “Spring Conversation Series” and captures one of those awe-inspiring moments of nature. #4 is the Single edition, which barely escaped the fate of being spun as the Ex Issue. Lots of good ponderings about single hood, and that 20/20 retrospective ex-ray vision Easy to identify the losers now isn’t it? If only we had that spidey sense earlier on–heh. I enjoyed her “Overheard quotes and other odd bits” section, particularly the “A phobias to watch out for.” Now I can proudly call myself ataxophobic, instead of just a boring old stickler for order and tidiness. My favorite piece was the narrative of her life as a pear girl, from her basic pear shape, to being “The Girl with the Basket of Pears” and so forth. We also get an amazing peak into the life of a miner. My one recommendation would be to clean it up a bit (uhm, ataxophobia anyone?). Take those sideways pieces, handwritten scribbles, and various fonts and make the format a little friendlier to the reader. I couldn’t bear to tackle the page with the circular writing around the self-portrait; it even made my kid seasick. Otherwise a zine I will keep my eyes peeled for. (heze douglas)
www.peargirl.com, haxby.blogspot.com