POC ZINE PROJECT

SCENE REPORT: Pocket Zine Workshop with Girl Scout Troop 30280

By Joyce Hatton, POCZP Midwest Coordinator

Back in February of 2013, Joyce independently led a pocket zine workshop with Girl Scout Troop 30280, an all Native Girl Scout Troop in Fargo, North Dakota. Here is her recap:

On Wednesday February 20th I taught Girl Scout Troop 30280 how to make pocket zines. It was especially meaningful to me because Troop 30280 is an all Native Girl Scout Troop. I was grateful for an opportunity to pass on zine making skills to youth of color. (I wrote more about the troop here).

I met with them at the Native American Center, where the troop holds their meetings. The girls in the troop range from about 5 to 11 years old. One of the first questions I asked was how many of the girls were artists or writers, and all of them said they were!

I told them a little bit about the history of zines, which they weren’t very impressed with. They were, however, very impressed when I got out a stack of an unfolded pocket zines I’d written and told them “On this one sheet of paper, I wrote a book. And I published this book myself. I made twenty copies of my book for two dollars.”

I told them how cool zines were because they can be about anything you want. I asked some of the girls what they were interested in, and what they would want to make theirs about—overall the group was pretty interested in animals.

So I told them “You can make a zine about your favorite animal, and then you can copy it, publish it, and give it to your friends. Zines are a really cool way to teach your friends about things that you’re interested in.”

The girls seemed to be really excited about that. I felt like a broken record reiterating that “you can write about anything at all, anything that is important to you,” and “there’s no wrong way to make a zine,” but I really wanted to dissolve the fear of doing it perfectly so the girls could just dive in. Dive in they did!

Here are some pictures of the zines they made that evening:

Photo #1: A. doesn’t like to draw, so she wrote about animals in the zoo.

Photo #2: I was really impressed with the art in D.’s zine. She told me all about her technique for finger-painting with markers.

Photo #3: S. loves to read, so she wrote her zine about books. The book on the cover is called “Book of Doom.

Photo #4: The picture of this zine is cropped to keep identifying information out. M. had a huge blond streak in her hair, and talked about her mom’s salon quite a bit.

Photo #5: N. started out drawing animals, but decided to draw animals pooping.

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MAKE YOUR OWN POCKET AKA MINI-ZINE

Video by pinkyshow

DO YOU WANT TO BE A POCZP COORDINATOR LIKE JOYCE?

If you are in the Midwest and want to support POCZP with Joyce, let us know! We are also looking for representatives in every state, as well as regional support, as we build toward the National POC Zinester & Ally Conference/Convergence. Ideally you have some experience with organizing events and building community, but experience is not required. All are welcome. Priority will be given to people of color who apply but allies are definitely welcome.

Contact poczineproject@gmail.com for more details with “regional coordinator” as the subject line.

If you are outside the U.S. and want to be a part of our emerging POCZP Global Ambassadors program, email poczineproject@gmail.com as well to stay informed as opportunities arise.

SUPPORT POC ZINE PROJECT

If everyone in our community gave $1, we would more than meet our fundraising goal for 2013. If you have it to spare, we appreciate your support. All funds go to our 2013 tour, the Legacy Series and the poverty zine series.

DONATE link via PayPal: http://bit.ly/SHdmyh

COMMUNITY SUBMISSION: Women Who Rock ‘Zine #1 (2013)

ZINE NAME: Women Who Rock: Making Scenes, Building Communities

AUTHOR: NA (compilation of POC and ally voices)

RELEASE: February 2013

ORIGIN: Los Angeles, California, USA

DESCRIPTION: Women Who Rock ‘Zine #1 is based on material created for, during, and inspired by the Women Who Rock Conference, which highlights both contemporary and past movements in and outside of Seattle by bringing together musicians, activists, writers, advocates, and scholars to talk about questions of female representation and access for women with music scenes. The first conference was held Feb. 17-18, 2011 in Seattle, Washington.

The ‘zine makes conference material accessible beyond typical academic journals.

READ NOW

As part of our advocacy, POCZP has made this publication available as an embed and free download so you can share as you like <3 Our dear ally Kate Wadkins has an essay you should check out on page 3 under Essays!

MORE INFO ABOUT WOMEN WHO ROCK http://womenwhorockcommunity.org/

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Editor’s Note: A Community Submission post results from POC folk submitting their own zine or zine call to be featured on the POC Zine Project Tumblr and other digital platforms. If you would like to share your zine with the POC Zine Project community, here’s how to do it.

When you submit, feel free to add some background, a description of your work and art and your mission statement. If you just send us the name of your zine, we’ll simply link back to a source for purchasing it and use the language you already have on your site.

As long as the zine was created/co-created by a person of color, we will always share Community Submissions. Enjoy!

POCZP accepts anonymous submissions and zine donations from POC. Click here for submission guidelines.

posted 03 May, 2013
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COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: Janelle Monáe - Q.U.E.E.N. feat. Erykah Badu

This video, forever. <3 #janellemonae #pleasemakeazine

If Q.U.E.E.N. inspires you to make a zine (so many incredible visual references and symbolism), let us know!

“Thank you for bringing the joy of reading back to my life!” - Xicana Aguila on FB

#whywedothis #weloveourcommunity

If you identify as a person of color and you’re working on a zine - or have one you’d like to share on our platforms - let us know! Email poczineproject@gmail.com with any questions <3 Please allow 3-5 days for a response.

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ABOUT POC ZINE PROJECT

POC Zine Project’s mission is to makes ALL zines by POC (People of Color) easy to find, distribute and share. We are an experiment in activism and community through materiality.

ABOUT THE RACE RIOT! TOUR

POC Zine Project held it’s first-ever Race Riot! Tour, producing 20 events in 14 cities, which included speaking engagements at six universities. Our time at the University of Maryland was part of the tour. Click here to view photos from the POC Zine Project: 2012 Race Riot! Tour tour finale at Death By Audio in Brooklyn and access all the tour stop recaps.

STAY INFORMED

We will be taking the Race Riot! tour through 14 more cities in 2013.

Facebook.com/POCZineProject

Twitter.com/poczineproject

poczineproject.tumblr.com

SUPPORT POC ZINE PROJECT

If everyone in our community gave $1, we would more than meet our fundraising goal for 2013. If you have it to spare, we appreciate your support. All funds go to our 2013 tour and the poverty zine series.

DONATE link via PayPal: http://bit.ly/SHdmyh

You can also send well-concealed cash or a check! Email poczineproject@gmail.com for details or if you have questions.

Info about the poverty zine series: http://bit.ly/RLVTVt

ZINE SPOTLIGHT: ‘Colita de Rana: Love, Identity & Panochas’ and ‘Watermelon: and other things that make me uncomfortable as a black person’

By Cata, POCZP Intern

“Colita de Rana…Love, Identity & Panochas” by Tracy García and company (2012)

This zine opens with a labeled cartoon vagina. Ok, wait. Back story: Colita de Rana = frog tail—it’s from a saying that signifies healing. And: Panochas = Pussy.

The ideas in this zine were loved into pages by anger, angst and ambition. I know this because I saw it’s spirit awake when one of my friends (a co-author) attended a QPOC, Queer People of Color conference back in the day and we took a Panocha workshop. The most powerful experiences, people, books, zines, movies, artwork plant the seeds of future creation. This is the fruit of one of those seeds. In Colita de Rana there are plenty of female anatomy lessons, self-love reminders and a gesture to genetic trauma.

My favorite page is a poem by a lady from Inglewood (my dad’s old stomping grounds). She talks about the domestication of love… “how did love become so scary? was it the moment it got domesticated?” This a powerful question hidden on the third page of the zine.

Seeing this quote through the zine’s title can lead the question: How can we heal from domesticated love? What is that? Certainly it involves government control and production of a certain kind of love.

Page 8 displays a cut-out of a dinosaur called a “clitosaurus” above the prehistoric animal is a quote about the deportation of lesbian undocumented immigrants in the 1990’s. Shit is real. Colita de Rana lets us know.

Disarming dinosaurs still deliver through history. Our history, herstory unknown rather wished erased and gone but still lingers at the bottom of some hearts. This anatomy textbook for the “exploration of love, identity and panochas” is humble but proud. Check yo’ self, she says.

Page 10: heterosexual questionnaire. It’s your turn, straight folks, to have your coming of age story be commodified, died this hue then this shade and retried again and again —tooth combed for possible in-congruencies or untruths.

I love this zine and I hope they keep on the riot. This zine would be a great new friend to all questioning and angry Xican@s. Bring them on.

READ & DOWNLOAD COLITA DE RANA

“Watermelon…and other things that make me uncomfortable as a black person” by Whit Taylor (2011)

I found this gem at zine fest in dc this past July. Really, nothing can beat a fantastic new zine in the dead of summer heat when you think who is so noble and great that they are out promoting their zine? And then, there is someone.

Besides the fortuitous timing Whit Taylor is a great mini story shower/teller. In her zine she is showing us why certain things don’t roll so smooth for her. She keeps the tone light even during more serious topics. Taylor is able to do this because of a dry and even tone through out the story. Her drawings rock. They remind me of the drawings from Tina’s Mouth, another awesome lady comic.

Watermelon can easily find a place among folks working to deconstruct the stereotypes that can plague different communities. Humanizing an experience is a big part of breaking down stereotypes. When you don’t know someone personally its easier to paint them as something their not.. literally. Tayor does a great job at this. In fact my favorite quote from her is: “I love Alice in Chains, which according to my uncle makes me a teenage white boy. I grew up on my parents’ 1960’s & 70’s soul music but became a victim of 90’s suburban life. So sue me.”

Her honesty is fresh. And yet it leaves me wondering about somethings… like what about her cousins in the frame about New Orleans? What kind of comic/zine would they write? Would they agree with her? These are questions that often come up for myself as I and many other creators find pieces of their autobiographies show up in their work…would my family/community agree? How do they see it?

And this is what’s great about Watermelon. This is how Taylor experienced growing up where she did, being who she is. Really that’s all we got: our experience and it’s one that others are either going to learn from or identify with. And zines really open up a space for folks who usually don’t show up in books or magazines to share their version.

Thanks Ms. Whit Taylor, for sharing yours.

Watermelon is a great zine about one girls’ reflections on the stereotypes that live in her world. Specifically this zine helps to thwart the power these stereotypes might have on others by simply humanizing them and breaking them down. After all it did spark a pretty humorous discussion in my house about our own battles with awkward/embarrassing moments striving to straddle the lines between our cultures and the way others see us in our culture.

It’s a daily deal, as is shown by Whit Taylor in Watermelon.

ORDER WATERMELON HERE.

LEARN MORE ABOUT WHIT TAYLOR whimsicalnobodycomics.com

COMMUNITY: Do you want to review zines for POCZP? Learn more about POCZP internship & volunteer opportunities here. We are still accepting applications.

If you are interested in POCZP leading a workshop or other event in collaboration with your organization - worldwide - email poczineproject@gmail.com.

ABOUT CATA

Cata is a two-spirit mixed race writer/yogi/graphic novel reader/zine lover in Washington, D.C., originally from the LBC (Long Beach California).

http://agraphiclens.wordpress.com/

http://uchueca.tumblr.com/

Just last month, Hatton was named Midwest coordinator of The POC Zine Project, a nationwide organization dedicated to making zines by people of color easy to find and enjoy.

“Joyce embodies somebody with a lot of strength and a lot of courage. And frankly, she’s also somebody who’s in a position to do a lot of good where she is at,” said Daniela Capistrano, POC Zine Project’s executive director/founder.

Big thanks to Diane Miller of the High Plains Reader for covering POCZP efforts in the Midwest.

COMMUNITY: Learn more about POCZP internship & volunteer opportunities here. We are still accepting applications.

If you are interested in POCZP leading a workshop or other event in collaboration with your organization - worldwide - email poczineproject@gmail.com.

COMMUNITY SUBMISSION: menudo & Herb: A Little Book to Reach for During Big Bowel Movements

ZINE NAME: menudo & Herb: A Little Book to Reach for During Big Bowel Movements

AUTHOR: Myriam Gurba

RELEASE: January 2013

ORIGIN: Long Beach, California, USA

WHERE TO BUY: http://www.etsy.com/shop/Lesbrain

DESCRIPTION: “A poetryish, smart alecky zine that has too much Spanglish”

menudo & Herb is a little book designed to do as its title suggests, ease you through those moments of hygienic struggle by “lightening your load.” It contains approximately 57 poetry-like substances, such as “Blended Families Taste Like Chicken,” “Egyptian Geese,” “Recipe for Lasagna,” “Cannabis Sisyphus,” and “Pain in My As.” If you don’t enjoy this product as a poetry collection, you might enjoy it as rolling paper.

SAY HI: lesbrain.wordpress.com

A White Girl Named Shaquanda is Myriam’s most recent novella.

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As long as the zine was created/co-created by a person of color, we will always share Community Submissions. Enjoy!

POCZP accepts anonymous submissions and zine donations from POC. Click here for submission guidelines.

COMMUNITY SUBMISSION: Mixed Girl Zine

ZINE NAME: Mixed Girl Zine

CREATOR: Sister Bell Zines

RELEASE: September 5, 2012

ORIGIN: Curated in Sydney, Australia. The submissions are from worldwide.

BUY NOW (Vol.1 & 2): http://sisterbellzines.bigcartel.com/

DESCRIPTION: ”It’s a collection of art, poetry, writings (including personal and essays) about the complicated and often contradictory experiences of being a mixed-race girl. Submissions were open to any girl who identifies as mixed, biracial, and/or multiracial.

It created a space where people understood each other as girls and as mixed race, which is something rare when being mixed race means you are often an outsider in most situations.”

SAY HI: sister-bell.tumblr.com

COMMUNITY: If you are looking for more zines about being biracial/mixed-race, you can’t go wrong by exploring Nia King’s many zines <3

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As long as the zine was created/co-created by a person of color, we will always share Community Submissions. Enjoy!

POCZP accepts anonymous submissions and zine donations from POC. Click here for submission guidelines.

sisterbellzines.bigcartel.com

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: Students of Colour Collective’s ‘PULSE’ ZINE 2013

From Jotika:

Hey poc zine project!

My name is Jotika and I am doing some work with the Students of Colour Collective at the University of Victoria (B.C. Canada) on Lekwungen Territory.

We are currently accepting submissions for our zine called PULSE It would be rad if you could help circulate the callout :)

Please note the deadline has been extended to March 29!

I’ve attached a poster as well as a text version

You all are doing such rad work!
In solidarity

Jotika

Thanks for reaching out, Jotika! Let us know when the zine is ready for us to add to the archive and how to access it. xo

PULSE ZINE CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS INFO

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS PULSE ZINE 2013

Many of us have experienced situations where we find ourselves suddenly present, in the moment. In that time and place, we are suddenly aware that we have gone through a type of metamorphosis. Whether changed through experience or finding that part of ourselves which we believed we lost or hid away, we become aware…we awaken.

We invite that you share with us what has been your experiences of awakening. Please consider submitting to PULSE, the Student’s of Colour Collective’s anti-racist zine. For 2013, the theme is awakening. We welcome any medium of expression, including but not limited to collage, poetry, silkscreens, photos, prose, paintings, and even audio/video!

Please submit by Friday March 29 2013

They can be emailed to: pulse.socc@gmail.com or dropped off at the SOCC office, University of Victoria’s Student Union Building (Room B020)

Or mailed to:
UVic Students of Colour Collective
UVIC Students’ Society, University of Victoria
PO BOX 3035 STN SCS, V8W 3P3
Lekwungen Territory, Canada

We recognize that not all folks who identify as people of colour are “visible” and that all racialized experiences are complicated, and we welcome submissions that highlight this reality. We are seeking to create a space and community where folks with racialized experiences are recognized, honoured and privileged. As such, we would love to hear a variety of voices and encourage all folks who identify as Indigenous people / people of colour including all identities and backgrounds of sexualities, genders, abilities, health and socioeconomic locations to submit!

ABOUT THE STUDENTS OF COLOUR COLLECTIVE

The UVic Students of Colour Collective is a group of self identified students of colour operating as an advocacy group out of the University of Victoria. We attempt to defy the mainstream to act from the margins placing issues of race, gender, and colonization into an anti-racist framework which builds our work, action, and political endeavours. Through Pulse and all of our work, we seek to challenge and oppose systems of racism, ableism, classism, sexism, colonization, cissexism and heterosexism.

As long as the zine was created/co-created by a person of color, we will always share Community Submissions. Enjoy!

POCZP accepts anonymous submissions and zine donations from POC. Click here for submission guidelines.

Flickr / poczineproject

Meet POCZP’s Midwest Coordinator Joyce Hatton!

Part of POC Zine Project’s advocacy is empowering new and seasoned zinesters of color in the U.S. (and soon worldwide) to share their stories while supporting other POC. Joyce is the first regional coordinator for POCZP and we are excited to share developments as this part of our experiment in activism and community through materiality unfolds.

JOYCE, IN HER OWN WORDS

I was raised in South Dakota. Being a black person raised in South Dakota is a big old can of worms.

I currently live in Moorhead, MN, border city of the better known Fargo, ND. I lived in Philadelphia for a bit, but then the drugs got the better of me, also the fact that I didn’t get every job I applied for (the low unemployment rates of the Dakotas spoiled her) so I returned to Moorhead. I spent time on an organic vegetable farm in California until I got cancer and returned to Moorhead.

Cancer did what my ongoing mental health issues couldn’t do: it forced me to get sober and confront the trauma in my life, some of which began with being raised black in South Dakota.

Growing up as a black, non-heteronormative, radical female in small town South Dakota, I experienced some difficulties. In addition to the overt racism, many of my (almost exclusively white) friends said and did racist things out of ignorance. I had no idea how to handle it. Since my mother grew up in Jim Crow-era South her advice was for me to keep my mouth shut. For her, that was the way to stay safe. On top of that, my family wasn’t a very safe space because they let me know there would be hell to pay if I wasn’t straight. And I constantly argued with my mother about feminism and other ideas that I felt defined who I was.

Last fall I was fairly distraught. For various reasons I felt disillusioned and aimless. I ended up in the psych hospital, and while I was there I made a zine. It felt so self-validating, empowering, and uplifting. Shortly after making it, I discovered POCZP. It kept me interested in zines because I found so many connections that validated what I was experiencing, and helped me learn about myself, and ideas I cared about. I felt like I was part of a community, and I felt re-radicalized.

My goals for working with POCZP are to:

1) to build community in Fargo-Moorhead, share POC zines, and create safe spaces for POC and allies to have an honest, open sharing of ideas and experiences.

2) find ways effectively and easily share the POCZP’s mission and zine making with physically, emotionally, or ideologically isolated POC in rural areas and small towns in the Midwest.

CONNECT WITH JOYCE:

http://airhornoftruthandlove.tumblr.com

https://www.facebook.com/TransformingMyMouthIntoAStrident

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COMMUNITY: Join us in welcoming Joyce. We are excited to support zine culture and POC storytelling in the Midwest! Although our 2013 Race Riot! tour does not have a tour date in this region, our National POC Zinester & Ally Conference/Convergence will be held in the Midwest. Stay tuned for details …

DO YOU WANT TO BE A COORDINATOR LIKE JOYCE?

Contact poczineproject@gmail.com for more details with “regional coordinator” as the subject line.

If you are outside the U.S. and want to be a part of our emerging POCZP Global Ambassadors program, email poczineproject@gmail.com as well to stay informed as opportunities arise.

SUPPORT POC ZINE PROJECT

DONATE link via PayPal: http://bit.ly/SHdmyh

Posts tagged POC ZINE PROJECT

SCENE REPORT: Pocket Zine Workshop with Girl Scout Troop 30280

COMMUNITY SUBMISSION: Women Who Rock ‘Zine #1 (2013)

ZINE SPOTLIGHT: ‘Colita de Rana: Love, Identity & Panochas’ and ‘Watermelon: and other things that make me uncomfortable as a black person’

Things We Loved