The creator of AZ, whose name appears nowhere on the zine itself, has decided to leave her journalism training behind. She’s had enough of the callousness and limitations of mainstream media, and she’s written her “Dear John” in zine form. AZ is more of an anthology of the work that inspires her than a true creative project of her own. The idea is to have a good, thorough wallow in the work of talented writers as an antidote to all the poor writing and bullshit she’s trying to escape. The pieces she chooses are a mixed bag of the known and unknown, but they are all variations on the narrative style that she seems to prefer: nonfiction written with the kind strong voice and lyrical delivery usually reserved for fiction. Near the end she finally throws in some of her own work, a series of meditations on her trip to New Orleans after Katrina. She went as a journalist, and the reader may begin to understand why she burned out after reading these. In the end, I’m not sure how I feel about AZ, except that I have no qualms about telling other people to read it for themselves. (J. Blackmore)
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