ZINE SPOTLIGHT: How to Stage a Coup [NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE AND FOR DISTRO]
Earlier this year Helen Luu donated her original flat for How to Stage a Coup: An Insurrection of the Underground Liberation Army (2000) to POCZP, which we scanned just in time for POCZP’s participation at Allied Media Conference in Detroit.
Yes, it’s here!!!
READ & SHARE ‘HOW TO STAGE A COUP’
POCZP’s mission is to make zines by people of color easy to find, distribute and share. We are thrilled to share this legacy zine with the world in digital form and will be providing (sliding-scale priced) print copies at all Race Riot! tour events this fall.
HTSAC will be free for all POC attendees at Race Riot! tour events.
***This zine is best viewed online or via mobile in full-screen mode***
TITLE: How to Stage a Coup: An Insurrection of the Underground Liberation Army
EDITOR: Helen Luu
PUBLISHED: 2000
DESCRIPTION BY POCZP TOUR MEMBER MIMI THI NGUYEN IN 2000:
Helen Luu recently edited a compilation zine called How To Stage A Coup, aimed at creating a dialogue among people of color involved in subcultural pursuits (including punk rock) around race, racism and politics. Contributors like Lauren Martin (You Might As Well Live, Quantify), Lynn Hou (Cyanide), Celia Prez (I Dreamed I Was Assertive), Elizabeth Martinez (Colorlines) and Vincent Chung address a wide variety of issues from organizing and identity politics, to activist dynamics and punk rock betrayals. What does it mean to look at the photographs of Third World suffering on the covers of grindcore records? What does it mean to talk about “pride”? Where was the “color” in Seattle/WTO? What comes first – “being brown or being famous”? The contributors to this compilation ask important questions that need asking, again and again, and Helen Luu brings it all together.
Click here for the rest of Mimi’s interview, and check out Helen’s DJ projects as MissRuckus.
DO YOU WANT TO DISTRO ‘HOW TO STAGE A COUP’?
We announced on our Facebook page that we have two digital downloads available:
1) Print version
This version was made from a scan of the original flat. It was created with the intention of sharing with folks for distribution of the print version.
2) Read-version
This is the online-friendly version you can see in the embed above. This file is best viewed in e-readers or printed with the expectation that it will be page by page and not the same as the flat.
HOW TO ACCESS HTSAC FILES
We’re raising funds to make 200+ print versions of How to Stage a Coup to give away during tour, so we’re asking folks interested in gaining access to either files to email poczineproject@gmail.com with information about how they plan to use it.
Based on that info (and our relationship with that person/collective), we will ask for a sliding scale donation in exchange for access to a secure file.
We will be providing free access to both downloads on a case-by-case basis. In the meantime, enjoy the read-only version above.
We look forward to seeing more copies of How to Stage a Coup in circulation and on shelves in venues/zine libraries/archives worldwide!
Please note that, per Luu’s donation statement, “This zine and the parts within it are not to be used for profit (paying for expenses is okay though).”
We’ll have more details about who follows up to distro and archive How to Stage a Coup in the coming weeks and months.
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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
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posted 16 June, 2013
by poczineproject - 8 notes for this post
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Let’s Talk About: Zines In The Classroom—Pros and Cons
[DESCRIPTION: Liana Velazquez and her zine “Diffeguajira Mixrand” at KIPP San Francisco Bay Academy]
Words and photos by Liz Mayorga, POCZP West Coast Coordinator
I met Liana Velazquez while working at KIPP: San Francisco Bay Academy, a charter school. Liana came in to enroll as a 5th grader. She was shy, but her eyes did not miss a detail. She studied the office as well as the people in it. I soon learned that Liana was not normally reserved. She had just moved to San Francisco from Cuba. Liana was about to start school in a new country, where everything - especially the language - felt foreign. She suffered in school because of the language barrier. Not only did she have a hard time understanding the lessons, but she felt alienated from her classmates. Liana spent a lot of time in the office, where I tutored her. I translated some of her assignments and helped her with her English.
Three years have passed. In that time, I have witnessed Liana’s curiosity and persistence grow even more.
This year, it came through in her writing. Her eighth grade English teacher, Mr. Patrone, encouraged her to continue writing as many stories as possible. He had his students keep a journal, and Liana’s was filled with a series of short stories (both fictional and personal). Patrone and I are good friends, so I always ask him about the kids. He was happy to tell me about Liana’s progress. “It would be awesome to see her and the other kids push their creativity. See where it will take them,” he said.
We brainstormed ways in which to encourage creative freedom, while following the school’s curriculum. I suggested zines. Patrone agreed that a zine workshop would be a perfect way to end the school year, so after the students finished their CSTs, he assigned a zine project. I came in a once a week (for the last three weeks of school) to look through the student’s work and give them feedback. I was impressed by everyone’s projects. They wrote book reviews, song lyrics, created amazing visual art, and told stories about the things that mattered to them. Even the kids who were “too cool” to care became interested in their assignment.
I asked Patrone if I could give one of these kids a zinester spotlight. He checked with the administration to make sure it was okay, and then he told me to look at Liana Velazquez’s zine. I was not surprised to know her zine was phenomenal. What did surprise me was how much her creativity had flourished in such a short amount of time.
Patrone and I set some time aside for me to interview Liana about her zine. Our interview took place on Friday, May 24, 2013.
THE MAKING OF ‘DIFFEGUAJIRA MIXRAND’ ZINE
Liana Velazquez embraces both languages, Cuban Spanish and English, and after three years of living in the United States, dealing with language barriers, and feeling out of place, Liana has gained the confidence she needs to let her creativity shine through. Liana writes stories about love, family, and her ever-changing identity.
Her final 8th grade English assignment was to create a zine, and it proved to be the perfect platform to portray the world, as rich and complicated as she sees it.
She named her zine “Diffeguajira Mixrand,” and she explains: “Diffe stands for different and where I grew up guajiros are really humble (people). They’re poor, but they’re always going to give something to you. You can always trust them, and they’re my people – the people I grew up with.”
[DESCRIPTION: The cover of Liana Velazquez’s zine “Diffeguajira Mixrand”]
Each letter in the title forms a symbol. “Here I drew a little boat,” she points to the D, “because that’s what my dad really likes. He doesn’t have that anymore, since he lives here. We used to live by the ocean, and in Cuba, the ocean is beautiful.” Liana dotted the “I” with a candle light. “The candle protected us from the mosquitos,” she said. She looks at the “A” in “Mixrand,” which resembles a butterfly’s wing and says “The butterfly I put there because my mom loves them. I wanted to represent both my parents. And this…” She points to the bottom of the cover, “This is the address of the house I grew up in. I never forgot it. I forget a lot of stuff, like I forget names, and I always forget my address here, but I never forgot my address in Cuba.”
[DESCRIPTION: “Broken Ears,” from Liana Velazquez’s zine “Diffeguajira Mixrand”]
Liana combined all of the things that make up her identity and the daily challenges that come with love, family, and acclimating to a new country as young woman. When Liana first attended KIPP San Francisco Bay Academy, she spent her lunchtime in the office, turning to the only people in the school who spoke Spanish - the custodian, the secretary, and her bilingual peers – to translate her assignments for her. Communication was a struggle.
But three years later, Mr. Patrone (the eighth grade teacher), asked Liana and her classmates to write in their composition books every day, and Liana was surprised to see how much she had to say.
“At first, I thought it was too much,” Liana says. “I have all this homework and then I have to write, and I was afraid I couldn’t handle it. But then I got into it. I started writing down things, and I showed it to my cousin. She thought it was good. I showed it to Mr. Patrone and he encouraged me to write more. And I couldn’t stop. I wanted to keep writing. I would stay up late, until 1, 2, 3 in the morning, but it was worth it.”
[DESCRIPTION: “My Admiration is touch,” from Liana Velazquez’s zine “Diffeguajira Mixrand”]
Even though Liana already had a love for words and storytelling, this zine project proved to be particularly liberating. The idea of showing her work to other people also encouraged her to put more thought into each piece, and the visual art motivated her to create something amazing. “I was thinking that color was important,” she says, “In the journal, I was just writing. But here, since it’s a zine I know that people do drawings, but I decided to do this because the colors, the red and blue represent flag. And everything represents Cuba and me and everything that I believe in.”
[DESCRIPTION: Excerpt from Liana Velazquez’s zine “Diffeguajira Mixrand”]
Liana’s “Diffeguajiro Mixrand” is an example of how zines help teenagers express much more than words and break through creative freedom. With a mixed media approach to writing, teenagers also have a visual and tactile way to share their thoughts. The realm of communication expands, and people capture multiple pieces of their reality.
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WHEN ZINE-MAKING IN THE CLASSROOM GOES VERY WRONG
By POCZP founder Daniela Capistrano
Liana Velazquez’s story is a positive example of what a zine-making classroom experience can be like. Her final 8th grade English assignment at KIPP San Francisco Bay Academy was to create a zine and it was clearly an affirming experience for her. I’m happy that POCZP member Liz was in the classroom to support students, as she knows her stuff, when it comes to zine history and contributions by POC in zine & DIY culture.
Unfortunately, this is not every young person of color’s experience when they are first introduced to zine-making, zine culture and history in an academic setting.
During last year’s Race Riot! tour, I listened to—among other things—stories by POC attendees who shared their first introduction to zines. Depending on their age, digital literacy and other factors, feedback ran the gamut of being introduced to a zine by a friend, at a punk show, through Tumblr or as a classroom assignment.
What I noticed was that the younger the person was (23 and younger), the more likely they discovered zines this way:
1) On the Internet (Tumblr, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, intentionally searching for a specific title, etc.)
2) At a punk/DIY/house show
3) A friend gave them a zine or brought them to a zine event
4) As a (mandatory or optional) class assignment
From these four responses, a mandatory class assignment was the one that raised the most questions—and concerns—for me, and here’s why:
After one of our academic speaking engagements on the tour, a young woman of color approached and asked to speak with me privately. She didn’t want other students to hear her question, so we moved away from the crowd.
This young woman shared that she was experiencing a lot of anxiety around a classroom assignment given to her by a white male professor at the university where I was speaking with POCZP. She was supposed to make a perzine and include personal details about her “culture” and “experiences as a woman.” I didn’t ask her to clarify what the class was about because it didn’t matter—already this whole situation sounded really problematic.
What I did ask her was if her anxiety stemmed from this being a graded assignment, and she said yes. I asked her if divulging personal information about herself and her family for a graded assignment made her uncomfortable, and she said yes. She looked surprised that I knew these were her biggest concerns, but unfortunately this is not a new story to me.
I then asked her if this was her first time making a zine, and she nodded yes. She leaned forward and whispered, with a nervous look on her face, “How should I make my zine? What should I put it in it?”
That is when I took a deep breathe and gave her a longer and more personalized version of what I am about to share with you all now:
“I am truly sorry that your first introduction to zine-making is through an academic institution. No one should be telling you that there is one set way to make a zine. No one should be requiring you to make a perzine as part of your overall grade.
The only way I could ever see this being justified is if you were a design, journalism, or communications major and enrolled in a class called ‘zine-making,’ and you knew that the expectation was that you would be graded on zine-making (within the parameters established by the instructor, which would be clearly spelled out in advance in the syllabus). That zine-making assignment would NEVER be a perzine, because the teacher would know and understand the history and culture of zines, and that grading someone on a perzine is like following a stranger into the toilet and grading the quality of their piss and shit. It is completely inappropriate.
I am sorry that you are experiencing anxiety when you think about making this zine for your class. I wish that instead you were feeling excited and inspired to share your stories, art, insights—and to experiment with art and design. It must be really hard to get into a positive headspace about your first zine, when you know you are going to be graded on detailing personal issues about your life for a white male professor, who has no right to make this a requirement for any class, ever.
I think it’s a huge sign of unchecked privilege for a white male professor to require any student to make a perzine and then grade their output. Your private family life and “cultural” details are none of his damn business. Here is a person who is clearly trying to be “hip” without considering the fact that sometimes, a zine assignment is not the best or most appropriate way to connect with your students or articulate a concept.
So here’s what we know: you’re going to be graded on this zine whether you like it or not. You could fight it—you could take it above his head and explain to the powers-that-be that this teacher has no business requiring you to disclose personal information for a graded assignment, but I’m not going to tell you to do that. You need to do what’s right for you.
But can I make a suggestion about how to approach this, if you do decide to make this perzine for your class to avoid getting a “bad” grade?
Don’t think of this as your first perzine or zine, because it’s not. It’s not really your zine. You are making something for a teacher’s unrealistic and inappropriate expectations. Don’t feel like you have to disclose anything you don’t want to in this zine—think of this like any other assignment you would have in a class where you know that the only way to get a good grade is to do what the teacher thinks is right, and to write that down.
So, what has your teacher indicated is the “right” way to make a zine? If you’re unclear about format, size and content, there are plenty of tutorials online that detail this information. Ask your teacher to name an example of a perzine that he likes, try to find it (or the general equivalent) and then follow that format. This way, you know what he’s looking for. You can find many examples of perzines athttp://zinelibrary.info/english/personal.
Make sure that there is no way he can slash your grade based on design flaws. Give him something that—from a purely technical point of view—falls under the category of “aesthetically pleasing” and only include the most basic personal information you feel comfortable sharing. Don’t compromise yourself (only you know what that would look like).
You could even make up an entirely fictional story and call it personal details from your life—that is what I would do, actually. How is he going to know? Let him believe what he wants to believe—he already believes that it’s acceptable for him to assume that everyone is just like him: totally free to share private details about their lives without any consequences, and grade them based on that presumed freedom.
If you don’t feel comfortable calling your teacher out privately or publicly, don’t. Do what make sense for you. Only you can make that call. Do what you need to do to feel safe.
After you turn in that “made in the belly of white privilege” fake zine and you get the A, you should feel free - if you want - to forget you ever made that zine. That wasn’t your first zine. That was the convoluted outcome of a teacher out of touch with his privilege. A zine is not materiality forced out of you by a white male instructor.
A zine is an extension of yourself. You define that, not him or anyone else.
You don’t have to hate the zine you made for class—you may even end up enjoying the process and the final product. You may decide that this zine does in fact reflect who you are, but don’t put unnecessary pressure on yourself if you can’t make up your mind about it immediately.
Take what you can from the experience of what it’s like to make a zine for a class requirement, but don’t feel bad if you don’t like the zine either, or still feel anxiety when it’s done. What you are experiencing is the totally normal cognitive dissonance one feels when someone tries to quantify the value of your inner world through forcing you to make a perzine and then grading it.
Don’t let this experience of making a zine turn you off from the medium itself, or the practice. Imagine what your first zine experience would have been like if you had been sitting at a bus stop, and next to you was a small little photocopied, stapled book, and inside were hand-drawn comics, copies of photos, and personal stories that made you laugh, cry and think. You suddenly found yourself caring for someone you never met — all because you found their zine.
You took the zine home and placed it on a shelf in your room for safekeeping, and that night you dreamt about the zine YOU would make that weekend at home — the one that someone else might discover one day.
If you decide to refuse to make this zine and take your concerns to the administration, or to make it anyway—I support your choice. But don’t let white male privilege in the classroom damage your perception of zine-making or zine culture. It does belong to you, and you get to define what that means for you—not him.”
Educators: Be in tune with what motivates you to introduce zine-making into your lesson plan. Ask yourself these questions:
1) Why do I care about introducing zine-making and zine culture to my students? What relevant information should I be sharing with them about zine culture and history — and how do my own privileges inform how I prioritize this information?
2) Does it make sense for me to only talk about zines made by white people to a classroom full of primarily students of color?
3) Is it really necessary for me to grade the zines—can they simply get a pass or fail based on completing the assignment?
4) What am I leaving out of my retelling of zine history that is silencing and oppressive to my students of color?
5) If I don’t have much information about zines by people of color, what steps will I take to educate myself BEFORE introducing zines to my students?
COMMUNITY: If you are an educator or youth workshop facilitator who uses zines in the classroom, send us your experiences to poczineproject@gmail.com with “zine teacher” as the subject line. We want to share a wide range of voices on this topic. Also, feel free to leave your comments in a reblog.
Want more? Read POCZP Midwest Coordinator Joyce’s recap of her zine-making experience with an all Native girl scout troop.
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“Let’s Talk About” is an experimental series by POCZP created to share communal knowledge, resources and reflections on a wide range of topics affecting communities of color.
If you are a person of color—or a white person with a history of supporting POC Zine Project— who wants to contribute to “Let’s Talk About,” submit to poczineproject@gmail.com with “Let’s Talk About” in the subject line.
All submissions to “Let’s Talk About” will be compiled into a zine (print & digital) that will be released by POCZP in December of 2013.
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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
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posted 16 June, 2013
by poczineproject - 64 notes for this post
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ZINE SPOTLIGHT: Not Straight Not White Not Male
TITLE: Not Straight Not White Male
AUTHOR: rosi
ORIGIN: Los Angeles, USA
RELEASE: December, 2012
DESCRIPTION BY AUTHOR:
I wrote this zine because there is a lack of media that I can really, truly relate to. It is glaringly obvious that this radical scene is comprised mostly of heteros, of whites, and of males. I am Asian, I am hella gay, and I am female.
Disclaimer: I wrote this for me a lot more than I wrote it for you. There is a lack of solution offering, and at the same time a lot rambling, because it is cathartic for me. It is highly anecdotal; I write from experience. Don’t assume that my aim is to educate ignorant fucks. It is not my job to cry and bleed so that they can fucking evolve.
Always for the greater gay,
xROSIx
ROSI, IN HER OWN WORDS:
I am Vietnamese-American, female and hella gay (also vegan, straightedge, intersectional-feminist, anti-theist/agnostic and non-pacifist). So this is written from that perspective.
POCZP REVIEWS ‘NOT STRAIGHT NOT WHITE NOT MALE’
By Joyce Hatton, POCZP Midwest Coordinator
Yesterday I was leaving the gym with a friend of mine, and we were debating the existence of the “Lobster and Lefse Festival.” I said “But it’s a whole weekend! How can you make a whole weekend out of lobster and lefse?!” Two older white women started chatting with us and assured us that it was a real thing, and yes, it was a weekend long. It was a friendly chat until one woman said “Here in North Dakota we can make a weekend out of anything,” and suddenly my friend and I weren’t laughing.
It hurts when people assume that I’m not from here, that their culture is not my culture. It burns, because I know the only reason they think that is because I’m black. I am steeped in Uff da culture, this is my home, but I am always treated as in outsider in my home.
I recently read “Not Straight Not White Not Male” by rosi, and it was a balm to my irritated soul. In the disclaimer she said “I wrote this for me a lot more than I wrote it for you. There is a lack of solution offering and at the same time a lot of rambling, because it is cathartic for me. Don’t assume that my aim is to educate ignorant fucks. It is not my job to cry and bleed so that they can fucking evolve.”
rosi addresses many issues, her relationship with her mother, who rosi sometimes felt embarrassed by, because of her mother’s lack of assimilation into American culture; privilege; a desire to be white/internalized racism; becoming comfortable with her Asian identity; misogyny; animal rights, and more. rosi writes about these topics very honestly and with so much anger, but amazingly, no bitterness. It was very helpful and eye opening for me to read, as I struggle with many similar issues.
I think that, in addition to “just” being cathartic, zines such as this contribute to a person’s growth. For a person of color to admit to themselves that they want/had wanted to be white is a huge thing, and to share that with someone else is so powerful. Internalized racism is partnered with shame, and so to be able to open up and communicate about these issues, and learn that other people feel this way to, is a huge step to decolonizing the mind.
In “Proving Myself: as an Asian and as a Female” rosi shares the way her thoughts influence her actions. For example, if a man notices them checking the oil level in her car, she will go buy oil and add some, just to show the man that, yes, she, a woman, knows how to replace her oil! It seems that rosi has had her competency called into question so often that she feels the need to preemptively display her ability. It is so unfortunate when we modify our behavior to suit or defy those people, because that means we are less free. We think we are defying the bigotry, but really it is winning because we are still letting it control us. rosi knows this, and as she noted, she offers no solutions, but it’s a big, wonderful deal to know you’re not alone in that struggle.
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CONTACT ROSI + ORDER NOT STRAIGHT NOT WHITE MALE
forthegreatergay.tumblr.com/ask
forthegreatergay@gmail.com
ORDERING NOTE FROM ROSI:
GEEEET IIIT:
- i won’t charge you if you live in vietnam.
- if you need a shipping option for your country added, let me know
- real-life friends, you don’t have to pay me, doopies.
- can’t afford it? wanna trade for your zines? message me
- if you want a pdf instead of a hard copy, message me before even adding it to you cart.
- infoshops, distros, galleries; let me know in what spaces you plan on hosting this zine
‘NOT STRAIGHT NOT WHITE NOT MALE’ CONTENTS
Hand-designed cover
Introduction note
“And Ode to Chinkophiles: Y.e.l.l.o.w.F.e.v.e.r”
”Chauncey: This fucking guy” - a detailed account of the wildly inappropriate escapades of a middle-aged white man projecting his yellow fetish onto yours truly
“I Have Discovered the Words with Which to Express my Visceral Resentment of White Cockiness” - where I bitterly examine my aesthetic inferiority complex
(^ and a follow-up clarification on the preceding essay)
“Sorry, Mom” - being vietnamese-american in america can be fucking irritating..
“Pre-Gay” - some things i want to say to old friends and family
“But Really, Come On, You Surely Know By Now” - about the differences in expectations in ‘female’ attire and aesthetic and ‘male’ attire and aesthetic
”Dysfunction Over Fashion” - how my boi-complex fucks with my wardrobe choices
“Proving Myself: as an Asian and as a Female” - where I discuss, shortly, my relentless need to prove to everyone that I can be “better” than my stereotype
(^ and a follow-up clarification on the preceding essay)
“Your Masculinity is Under Attack: In response to the new onslaught of ad campaigns that perpetuate sexism under the guise of ‘making fun of sexism through exaggeration’” - an obnoxious, satirical piece
“A Documentation of Vocalized, 21st Century Gendered Bigotry” - where i list just a few months’ worth of sexist, patronizing remarks
“A Documentation of Vocalized, 21st Century Racial Bigotry” - where i list some racist remarks I’ve received throughout my life
“Not Asian Enough / Too Asian: month one - working in a Vietnamese restaurant couched in white O.C.”
”Broken” - a weird arty thing symbolizing South East Asian-American diasporic identity crises idk
“E.S.L.” - short and dry. about my being a 1st generation American in my family and not understanding American customs
“A/S/L? 13/M/CA” - a short essay about how i used to create online role-playing characters to live out my dreams and escape my identity
”Don’t Tell Your Parents I Think They’re Racist: (unless I’ve asked you to)” - PSA to white allies. In summary, don’t decide for me when I should have race talks/race fights, and don’t decide for me which relationships I must now compromise for the “greater good”
“White People Making White People Jokes” - where i discuss why i don’t think it’s always appropriate
”Sup, Hypocrites” - shortly addressing skinny-shame, prude-shame, and femme-shame
”Microcosms of Patriarchy” - hiding from the world in the radical scene does not mean hiding from non-consensual, intimate contact, unfortunately
”Being Conscious of Womanhood” - an analysis of the unconscious things i do because i am hyper-aware of what it means to be a woman in this society
”On Privilege, Allies, and Bitterness” - me listing and rambling for a page about the aforementioned topics
“Cathartic Vomit” - me being pissed about this and that
comic relief
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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.
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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
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posted 13 June, 2013
by poczineproject - 74 notes for this post
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March 8th & 9th, 2013: Inclusivity at CZF 2013
An anonymous survey taker said in regards to CZF’s inclusivity: I think organizing a poc-specific zine branch of any kind is too much like segregation, even if the organizers’ hearts were in the right place. It’s not inclusion to specify the skin color of authors and it was already an extremely welcoming place to be for everyone involved, making the poc zine thing redundant.
CZF response: There may be some misunderstanding about the POC zine groups that were present/involved in Chicago Zine Fest 2013, so we wanted to clear that up. Two groups tabled at/participated in CZF that had POC in their names: the POC Zine Project, and Chi-POC. Both of these groups are self-identified and named themselves as well as providing their own bios with self-identifications to be read in introduction at the Exhibitor Reading, and they are autonomous entities that are not associated with the CZF organizers; we would never presume to categorize or label anyone! We support both groups and the rights of all zinesters who self-identify as POC to do so, as well as the reasons behind each group’s choice to use POC in their names and do what they do.We highly recommend checking out both of these projects to find out more about them in their own words:
POC Zine Project: poczineproject.tumblr.com
Chi POC: onstruggling.tumblr.com
*We will be publicly responding to a few of the anonymous comments made in our Post CZF 2013 Participant/Attendee Survey here over the next couple of weeks in order to foster transparency and dialogue. Please contact us if you have any comments or questions!
We appreciate CZF organizers putting this statement out there. We had a great time presenting and tabling at CZF, while affirming & supporting zinesters of color. Advocacy engines/platforms for poc zinesters will never be “redundant” as long as institutional racism exists in zine & DIY communities - oh yes, and in everything else. #boom #muchlove
- POCZP
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posted 12 June, 2013
by poczineproject - Reblogged from chicagozinefest
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I’m also really eager to see what People of Color (POC) Zine Project is bringing. They’re based out of the Bronx and do really important work in bringing non-whites to the forefront of zine communities. This is something that AZF Is highly lacking, and I really appreciate their presence this year.”—Amanda Mills, co-founder and organizer of Atlanta Zine Fest
Source: clatl.com
POCZP founder Daniela Capistrano will be tabling on behalf of POC Zine Project at the inaugural Atlanta Zine Fest on June 8 and 9. The table will feature a selection of POCZP zine partner titles, as well as some zines, art and jewelry by local ATL zinesters of color. <3
Be sure to stop by the POCZP table to purchase a fresh copy of Mixed Up! A zine about Mixed-Race Queer & Feminist Experience (you can read and download here for free as well), selections from Free Poet’s Press and be sure to get your issue of masConsumption before we run out of copies!
We’ll also have limited edition POCZP buttons for sale/trade! <3
Judith (see her latest call for submissions to Tom Girl zine here), a local POC zinester, will be tabling with POCZP in Atlanta.
Judith Jones is a writer, blogger, zinester and feminist. She contributes to the online magazine Inconnu and she blogs at Simple But Chic. She can be contacted at pigsthatfly.tumblr.com or simplebutchic247@gmail.com.
I will be bringing issue one and two of Tom Girl and artist trading cards. Also, I’ll bringing a few pieces of my dad’s jewelry to sell. It’s handmade. I’m also bringing various button rings and earrings that I made by myself.
POCZP will also be joined by Chantelle Kodua, an environmental enthusiast who enjoys working on various DIY projects in her spare time. When she isn’t out saving the world, by digging recyclables out of trash cans, she can be found spending copious hours on tumblr. She can be contacted at chantellephone.tumblr.com.
Daniela is attending Atlanta Zine Fest on behalf of POCZP to connect with the zine community and local zinesters/writers/publishers/artists of color in preparation for the POCZP tour date in Atlanta in October.
POCZP is sharing tabling space with local zinesters of color, as part of our advocacy to make zines by people of color easy to find, distribute and share.
If you are interested in collaborating with POCZP in Atlanta, contact poczineproject@gmail.com. We are especially interested in hearing from artists/zinesters/activists of color and white folks interested supporting POCZP’s efforts.
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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
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posted 06 June, 2013
by poczineproject - 18 notes for this post
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COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: ABQ Zine Fest registration is OPEN!
The 3rd Annual ABQ Zine Fest will be held on Saturday and Sunday, October 5th and 6th, 2013 at the The Tan Gallery and the Tannex 1415/1417 4th Street SW, Albuquerque. The table standard this year is half tables, with very few exceptions. $15 for half table with one chair. (If you think you need a full table, please contact the organizers FIRST.)
If you are interested in exhibiting at the upcoming fest, there is currently one way to register. Please submit your registration fees via Paypal. Thank you for helping to make the ABQ Zine Fest 3 the best one yet!
If you have any questions, please email us: abqzinefest@gmail.com. REGISTRATION ENDS— Thursday, August 1, 2013 @ Midnight. Mountain Standard Time! DON’T FORGET: Please pay for your table when your register (unless you are requesting a full table)! Thanks!
This registration is only for tablers, folks! If you just want to come to the ABQ Zine Fest, is a FREE community event.
THANK YOU!
ABQ Zine Fest
The mission of the ABQ Zine Fest is to bring zinesters in the city together— to affirm the exciting and vibrant zine culture that exists in Albuquerque, and to foster a non-competitive, queer-friendly, ethnic-rich environment of creation in written, zine-ic form. Through an exchange of ideas, energy, skill sets, discussions and workshops, ABQ Zine Fest hopes to nourish the expansion of zine creation in Albuquerque, and to highlight the diversity of zine making.
Sign-up for their newsletter on google groups, like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter. They’re on We Make Zines, too. If you’re a zinester, and you’d like to table about ABQZF, registration is open. Click here!
POCZP met Marya Errin Jones, zinster/producer of ABQ Zine Fest, at this year’s Chicago Zine Fest.
Marya will be supporting POCZP 2013 Race Riot! tour date/logistics needs in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
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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
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posted 05 June, 2013
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POC Zine Project ‘Let’s Talk About’ column #1: ‘I Make Books…That’s My Shit’
I Make Books…That’s My Shit: Notes on How I Came to Media Making
By POCZP Midwest Coordinator Chaun Webster, founder of Free Poet’s Press
I make books…that’s my shit. Love the smell of the pages. I can recall more than a few embarrassing moments as a child with my head stuck in them as I sat in the library taking deep breaths in. But more than just the book object, I love reading. Sci-fi of the order of Octavia Butler, Wild Seed, YES PLEASE!
Prison Letters from George Jackson, Autobiography by Assata Shakur, Biomythography of Audre Lorde or Maxine Hong Kingston. I can’t get enough of the magic of language, the dance of the letters on the page as meanings collide in the sometimes challenging, sometimes breathtaking moments. From Eduardo Galeano, to Ben Okri, to Gloria Anzuldia, I continue to be baptized.
But more than just reading perhaps it is story that draws me, for I cannot remember my mother ever reading me something that she ever wrote down, but she could tell a story masterfully. Whether the mysterious, the anecdotal or the epic, she knew how to draw from the powers of her experiences and bear witness.
This is some of the spirit with which I came to my own form of media making, the writing and publishing performing the same gesture that my mother’s storytelling did. Though I don’t believe she was cognizant of it her stories were a gesture of power, of recognizing that we are here, and that though the legitimate records have criminally left us absent, we will continue to bear witness. That witness can serve the purpose of balm or explosive strapped to the structures that assault us day to day.
In my journey with books I would read the record of David Walker and his Appeal, make my own connections to that account and Nat Turner’s rebellion. There was a sense I came to about the interrelation of culture and resistance. Whether it was with this narrative or the work of Ida B. Wells, Lewis Michaux, Dudley Randall or Haki Madhubuti and their respective presses or bookstores, there was something to be said about culture and movement-making.
How do we imagine what has happened or what is possible? What force shapes the way we desire or negotiate and even dare to undermine the structures that govern, if not a cultural force?
Knowing of these stories and of their power was what made me so perplexed by “zinesters” who located that practice in something that was most often raced white and gendered male. The idea of DIY as chic, or a form of branding, misses the substance of the politically performed practice of enslaved Afrikans for whom writing was made illegal. Those same Afrikans who wrote anyway to bear witness that we were here, and will remain. It omits the work of the Black and Brown women who have held the traditions together and whose words work as mortar and sledgehammer.
I make books because there was something humanizing in seeing Jessica Care Moore’s Moore Black Press. It’s power signified something local in knowledge production, that that act was not always external.
I make books because there is a space between oppression and resistance that culture occupies, because cultural revolution is the weapon and because I intend to be fully armed.
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Free Poet’s Press is a small publishing company started in 2009 by Chaun Webster (POCZP Midwest Coordinator) with the intent of empowering Black and Brown artists to control their own images.
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“Let’s Talk About…” is an experimental series by POCZP created to share communal knowledge, resources and reflections on a wide range of topics affecting communities of color.
If you are a person of color—or a white person with a history of supporting POC Zine Project— who wants to contribute to “Let’s Talk About…” submit to poczineproject@gmail.com with “Let’s Talk About” in the subject line.
All submissions to “Let’s Talk About…” will be compiled into a zine (print & digital) that will be released by POCZP in December of 2013.
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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
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posted 05 June, 2013
by poczineproject - 6 notes for this post
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ZINE SPOTLIGHT: Mixed Up! A Zine about Mixed-Race Queer & Feminist Experience [READ & DOWNLOAD]
POCZP helped support the call for submissions to Mixed Up! A zine about Mixed-Race Queer & Feminist Experience last fall. We’ll be distributing copies at Atlanta Zine Fest this weekend <3
AUTHORS: Zine editors Lil Lefkowitz, Lee Naught & Lior and contributors to “Mixed Up!”
TUMBLR: http://mrqfzine.tumblr.com/
PUBLISHED: April 24, 2013
NOTE FROM LIOR TO POCZP:
Thanks so much for your email, and for uploading Mixed Up to your Issuu. We’d love it if you made the zine available in whatever way you feel like! So totally feel free to post the printable, so folx can make and distribute their own. And, of course, if you wanna make copies and sell them, by all means!
READ ‘MIXED UP!’ NOW
POCZP’s mission is to make zines by people of color easy to find, distribute and share. In that spirit, we’ve added a readable version online that you can also download, courtesy of the “Mixed Up!” editors.
ORIGINAL ‘MIXED UP!’ CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Hey, mixed-race folks, how do you respond when you get asked what you are? Do you feel at a loss for words when trying to describe your racial, ethnic, or cultural background? Do you find yourself struggling to understand where you belong in the context of prominent racial paradigms? Do you run into a POC-white binary that is reductive, incomplete, or simply not enough? What does it mean that there often isn’t an easy answer? And what happens when you add gender, feminism, and queerness into the mix?
Hey, queers and feminists, let’s respond to the lack of representation of mixed-race folks like us. Yes, we are deeply indebted to the countless beautiful queers and feminists of color who have demanded to be heard; who fight, survive, and die on a daily basis. We are indebted to colonized people and feminists of color around the world and in the states who have taught us that black and brown are beautiful; who have shown us how to act with compassion and love and thoughtful rage in the face of white supremacist violence. This zine is a call to continue this work; to build upon the work of anti-racist and decolonial literature, given the nuances of our lives as mixed-race queers and feminists, so often living on stolen land while refusing to forget the land stolen from our ancestors.
No doubt, racism against folks of color is fucking real, and those of us who are mixed race and sometimes or always pass as white are much less prone to the multiple forms of violence faced by black and brown folks. However, too often, that’s the end of the conversation. This zine strives to challenge the narrow conception of POC vs white, a binary which doesn’t allow space for many folks’ experiences or for more complex identities (even among POCs and white folks).
As mixed-raced queers and feminists, we refuse to whitewash our histories. We refuse to label individuals based solely upon our perceptions of their skin color or features. Colonialism attempts to whitewash, erase, assimilate and subjugate through violence and oppression. We refuse to finish this work. We invite you to collectively participate in this refusal.
A Working Definition of Mixed-race: While this may not be the perfect term, we are using it to frame a very broad set of experiences and identities, which may include tracing all or part of one’s culture or heritage to brown people and colonized people, inclusive of all skin tones. This may also include being raised with multiple cultures or with immigrant experience.
Why Queers & Feminists? Not only are we interested in the ways that mixed-race folks’ identities interact with queerness and feminism, but we also believe that it is important to prioritize stories from queers and feminists, whose voices are often marginalized. Moreover, with a topic as broad as race, we want to anchor our discussions in some common politics. This anchor is important because it is a big part of how we (the editors) choose who to organize with, live with, form community with, fuck, and, in this case, write zines with.
Possible Topics: Privilege. [Not] Passing. Sex, relationships & dating. Conflicting and conflated identities (especially related to race and queerness, transness, feminism, class, dis/ability). The POC/white binary. Cultural appropriation. Structural and institutional oppression. Art, music & creativity. [Not] Belonging. Cultural estrangement. Immigrant experiences. Families & histories. Colonizing processes in family, work, activisms & relationships. Being too brown/not brown enough. Home. Diaspora. Performing identities. Physical manifestations of race, and intersection with other forms of identity and presentation. Preserving and paying respect to heritage & history (eg: interviews, oral histories, folklore). Remembering. Tracing origins and roots. The importance of race/ethnicity/culture to political formation. Mixed-race community. Food & recipes. Remedies. Developing new language(s). Race/religion overlap (and exclusion). And much, much more.
Media and formats: Poetry, prose, essay, visuals (B&W for zine, possibly color online), audio (for online), interviews, and other formats (pitch them to us!— we’re good catchers).
Deadline for submissions: Extended to January 15th, 2012. Submit to mrqfzine [at] gmail [dot] com.
Contact:
mrqfzine [at] gmail [dot] com
www.mrqfzine.tumblr.com
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HELP DISTRIBUTE ‘MIXED! UP’ ZINE
Download a read-only and a PRINT version here, courtesy of the ‘Mixed Up!’ zine editors.
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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
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posted 04 June, 2013
by poczineproject - 34 notes for this post
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SPOTTED: POC Zine Project’s East Coast intern Cata in the South Bronx, preparing for D.C. Zine Fest!
Today Cata dropped by POCZP HQ in the South BX to pick up inventory for tabling at this year’s D.C. Zine Fest!
Be sure to support the fest and drop by our table, where Cata will have her own zines, as well as a selection of issues from our zine partners. Get a free poster and button and learn more about POC Zine Project!
D.C. ZINE FEST INFO
The 2012 DC Zinefest will be held on July 28th at St. Stephens Church (1525 Newton St. NW) from 11 am to 5 pm. This event is free and open to the public.
Check out the Facebook invite for more information.
Photo description: POC Zine Project’s east coast intern Cata stands in front of a refrigerator at POCZP HQ in the South Bronx. She is holding POCZP founder Daniela’s latest mini-zine, “Cat Genie.” Cata is making a fierce face,revealing excitement. Behind her on the fridge is a poster from POCZP’s tour last year, as well as a poster from Midwest Zine Fest, where POCZP midwest coordinator Joyce Hatton was in attendance.
Photo by Daniela Capistrano
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DO YOU WANT TO SUPPORT POC ZINE PROJECT?
We are 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 and internship info” 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
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posted 01 June, 2013
by poczineproject - 8 notes for this post
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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS for POC centered Zine Distro by Nyky Gomez, creator of Skinned Heart zine
POCZP featured Skinned Heart back in 2012 and added it to the archive. We are thrilled to learn that another POC-run distro has emerged (check out People of the Sun Distro and SlushPilePress as well). We look forward to exploring ways to support Nyky’s efforts <3
FROM NYKY
Hey Followers,
After many years of writing a zine, buying zines, trading zines and observing zine culture I have decided to start a zine distro! Recently I was browsing distros all over the internet looking for zines pertaining to Women of Color and found that we are seriously under represented in many of the zine distros despite the fact that there are enough zines created by women of color and gender-marginalized POC to present in zine distros. I was frustrated about going through pages and pages of catalogs of zines and finding only a handful of zine, most of which I had. I went through my zines and found so many zines written by POC that were not being distributed.
After being frustrated about this I decided I wanted to create a distro dedicated to our struggles, our projects, our zines. Zine culture is not white culture. D.I.Y. culture is not white culture. Punk is not inherently white culture. So in the spirit of resistance, in the spirit of visibility and in the spirit of celebrating our cultures and intersectionality: Brown Recluse Zine Distro.
Currently I am looking for zines written by POC from all walks of life and gender identities and expressions. I am looking for personal zines, political zines, punk zines, sex worker zines, zines about gender and feminism (No 101 zines plz), zines about racism and self determination, anti oppression, zines written by Indigenous and First Nations people , sobriety and harm reduction (no hateful content towards substance users), traveling zines and zines about self-care and accountability. I will not be carrying art or poetry zines. I may eventually carry zines written by white folks, but I ask that white folks not submit their zines as I will contact people with zines that I am interested in.
Please send me links to zines that you think that I should carry. Please do not send me PDF’s or links to zines available only online. Send me a quick note about yourself and your wholesale price (50% of retail price).
Please send your zine submissions to:
Nyky Gomez
PO BOX 80582
Seattle, WA 98108
SIGNAL BOOST!!!!
Besos y Abrazos,
nykyG
COMMUNITY: Do you know of other POC run/created distros (past and emerging)? PLEASE send info to poczineproject@gmail.com. We want to share an ongoing collaborative list online so that folks can easily access this information. Thanks. xo PLEASE SIGNAL BOOST.
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Editor’s Note: A Community Submission OR Call for Submissions post is usually from POC folk submitting their own zine or zine call to be featured by POCZP. If you would like to share your zine with the POC Zine Project community, here’s how to do it.
When you submit your zine, 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.
Please make sure to include pertinent info for CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: deadline, submission info/email/tumblr, related links, your own bio, etc.
As long as the zine was created/co-created by a person of color, we will always share Community Submissions. Enjoy!
POCZP also accepts anonymous submissions and zine donations from POC. Click here for submission guidelines.
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posted 30 May, 2013
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