This zine is made by contributors under 30 who have suffered from mental illnesses, including manic depression and unipolar depression. The second issue focuses on the treatment of mental illness. A large percentage of the contributions are devoted to commentary on medication. The hopelessness and frustration of the contributors is quite apparent. Raw pain is present on the pages and is not always a pretty sight. Valerie Kalynchuk’s piece about her frustration with the ability of Montreal hospitals to deal with people having nervous breakdowns is quite strong, as is Aurora’s piece about her struggles to find proper treatment for her bipolar disorder. The poetry is dark, disturbing and a little cliché. The first issue of Fire and Reason examines the interactions between people with mood disorders, and others. The people responsible for the creation of Fire and Reason do a good job approaching this topic. Besides a significant amount of poetry, there is a wonderful contribution by Aurora, who talks about her hypomania and how it affects other people. She has fantastic flow and tone in her writing, not to mention a great deal of energy. The piece called “Natalie” explores the emotions which arise when a friend commits suicide. It is raw, painful, and revealing, which is characteristic of most of the work in Fire and Reason. (Alexis Keinlen)
zine, vol, #2, 30 pages, Ariadne Patsiopoulos and Tamara Sztainbok (eds), $2, PO Box 99099, 1245 Dupont St. Toronto, Ont, M6H 4H7, [email protected]