Zine World
I can’t think of a single reason why you haven’t already sent these folks your zine. With Factsheet Five gone, this is yankee-zine headquarters, and it seems to welcome its Canuck cousins warmly. And frankly, though not as exhaustive as the old warhorse that was the Five, ZW feels closer to the ground, more broadly based and somehow more adamant. The news section at the front features interesting coverage of the strange and sometimes surreal that transpires in USAland where kids apparently get periodically expelled from school for zine activity. Although its classic American ‘freedom of speech at all costs’ bent may (or may not) seem overly paranoid for the Canadian context, and though some of the stories betray idiosyncratic political perspectives, at least they make no pretense of being “all the news that’s fit to print.” And indeed who else is covering this important part of the scene? As well, there’s a lively letters section, which in this issue debates the relative merits of scathing reviews, with all the Canadian letter writers weighing in with the revealing “just don’t review them if they suck” attitude. Then of course there are pages and pages and pages of reviews by a bevy of zinesters from across the country. Hey!? What are you doing still reading this? Go get your stamps and envelope, and tell ’em we sent you, ’cause there can’t possibly be too many people clanging the DIY press gong, and ZW’s loud and in for the long haul. And don’t forget to stick three bucks in too, so you can get a ZW of your own.(HC)
zine, 102pgs, #10, $3, 537 Jones St, San Francisco, CA, 94102, USA