Zine-Making Workshop in Columbus, OH!
[image description: flyer for the zine-making workshop. The text in the photo reads: "A zine making workshop hosted by BookSpace. Friday, March 9th at It Looks Like It's Open at 13 E. Tulane Rd. at 7pm. What is a zine? A zine (pronounced as in "magazine") is a physical book or booklet that you can make yourself. It can include all kinds of writing, comics, drawings, photos, or anything else you can think of to put on a piece of paper and photocopy. They are fun and satisfying to make and cheap and easy to reproduce and share. Learn how to make a zine, share your skills with other zine-makers, trade zines you've already made, but most of all, work on your zine in the relaxing company of other fine people. Materials provided: a printer/copier, paper, scissors, stapler, glue sticks, and some books and magazines to cut up and paste. Please feel free to bring any other such supplies or whatever snacks or drinks you'd like to bring for yourself or to share. The event is free, but donations for covering the cost of materials and use of the space are appreciated. A selection of books and zines will be available for purchase if you're so inclined."]
Confession: I was born in 1990 and have always been a little sad that I missed out on the height of the zine era. Though I've always been a writer, I was a bit too young to appreciate how revolutionary they were or even know something worthwhile to say.
Before social media, self-publishing, and blogging, zines ushered in the democratization of literature. Before we had the myriad of cheap, easy, and free tools to put our thoughts out into the world online thanks to the internet, people made zines. And zines come in every variety––some are like public diaries, where the authors share their thoughts, like a hard copy version of a Live Journal. Others cover topics like music or politics, and others are purely expressions of art, namely comics or poetry. There are no rules and the only limits are the author's imagination.
Without access to a photocopier, zines can be challenging to make and the frequency of zine-making died down with the advent of online tools. But thankfully, it never fully went away and there's a new generation of zine-makers who are tired of online tools and want to try their hand at making their own hard copy publications.
That's why I'm so excited my friend and favorite bookseller, Charlie of BookSpace Columbus, is leading a zine-making workshop. If you're in Columbus, Ohio, come hang out with us and make zines on Friday, March 9th at 7pm at ILLIO (It Looks Like It's Open) at 13 E. Tulane Rd. in the Clintonville neighborhood. Supplies will be provided and you can bring your own. The event is free, though donations are accepted with gratitude.
I've already written a fiercely feminist poem that will only be published in my zine, so if you're interested come out to the workshop if you're in town, or message me afterward if you're interested in getting your hands on a copy if you're out of town. I hope to see you there!