Zines aren’t a very old medium. The first one was probably in the 1930s, called “The Comet” and created by the Science Correspondence Club in Chicago. To be honest, I doubt that was really the first zine, but regardless of that, it’s clear that zines are pretty young-- you just can’t mistake that short history for one that isn’t rich. Since zines are self published, the format has always held space for those whose voices weren’t or aren’t allowed to be heard in a more traditional format– those of Black Indigenous people of color, of queer and trans folks, of Disabled people, of poor people. It’s held the spirit of resistance in the same vein.

Getting to work with zines, I feel their energy in everything I make– especially when i’m writing about things closely related to our collective struggle. Zines are a space where i’m reflective and happy and angry and sad and loving myself and loving my community, and when I make them, I always hope that others can sit and feel, too, when they read them-- whether it's the same things I’m feeling or something entirely different.

All my zines come from my community-- the inspiration I draw from Muchacha Fanzine and diary of a sista grrrl and pretty much every last zine at Brown Recluse Zine Distro; from Leslie Feinberg and Dolores Huerta and Sylvia Rivera and Assata Shakur; from Palestine and Cuba and Hawai'i and Aotearoa; from my closest friends and those I don’t know at all but would stand with all the same.

I know I've talked a lot about zines as if I'm an authority, but I'm still quite new to making them. They're just already quite dear to my heart as a form of expression. I've shared some of my zines below, alongside a few collages, too! I've put basic Image IDs for each zine/collage in the alt text, but if you would like to access full transcript, please visit this page, where I have them listed for every zine and collage I have posted!