Poetry Zine, Alan Ganev, Booklet #4 of The Future Gymnasium Department Series, Paper Pusher, paperpusher.ca, $10
If there was ever a “professionally-made” zine, this must be it. Presented as a “booklet of romantic collage poems” by Paper Pusher, Fatima reads like a gentle hallucinogenic trip through Alice’s Wonderland, minus the threatening Queen. Most of the poems here don’t make much sense, at least not literally. Narratives are hinted at, but one cannot quite grasp them. Emotions are present, but also just a little out of reach. But the words are the right ones, and snuggle next to each other comfortably the way they should in good poetry. The design is minimalistic and the micro poems (which generally range from two to six short lines) are printed in a dark greenish-blue on stiff, brown paper that has been salvaged. There are no illustrations save for the collage on the cover by JP King. The focus here is given entirely to the sparse, clipped poetry. Fatima reads like a dream, the one where you are not sure where you are or what you are doing, but you sort of know that you are dreaming, and it’s nice to just relax into it. (Leanne Wang)