Saturday, January 16, 2010

sick zine, call for submissions

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS ON PHYSICAL ILLNESS

Sick: A Compilation Zine on Physical Illness collects peoples' experiences with illness to help establish a collective voice of those impacted by illness within radical/left/diy communities. The zine is meant to be a resource for those who are living with illness as well as those who have not directly experienced it themselves. We're doing a second issue of Sick now and are looking for submissions.

Submissions should be 750-2500 words. Somewhat longer pieces may be considered, or may be hosted on the Sick zine website. We are open to submissions in other media, such as comics, drawings, photography, or collage. For more information on the previous edition and the ongoing project, see our website: http://sickzine.blogspot.com

Please be in touch with questions and submission ideas: sickzine at gmail dot com

(Some) Potential Topics:
Personal narratives of living with illness • Illness and support within left/ radical / DIY scenes • Current or historic examples of community-based groups that focus on the politics of illness or support of community members • Intersections of race / gender / sexuality / class / culture and illness • Experiences with doctors, hospitals and treatments • Body image / identity and illness • Bridging the space between disability and illness • Disempowerment / empowerment of illness • Mental health and physical illness • The experiences of being a caregiver • Living with multiple diagnoses • Insurance • The financial burden of illness • Sex and illness • Illness and creativity • The invisibility of illness • Providing support to someone living with illness • Creating and sustaining community support networks

In addition to pieces by individuals, we'd like to include a few pieces about the work that community-based groups have done to address the politics of illness and to support those dealing with illness. If you are a member of such a group, please feel free to write!

THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS ARPIL 17th, 2010

Please forward this message on, and spread the word!

Additionally, if you know anyone who would like to donate funds of any amount to support the printing of this issue, please have them contact sickzine at gmail dot com

Saturday, January 9, 2010

new zines to the distro

New zines to the riotgrrrrdistro

Rad Dad 16
Rad Dad won the "best zine of 2009", and I'm so proud! It's a great compilation zine about being a father and a radical. It "Brings together voices that are asking different questions and telling different stories about what it means to be a parent in a fractured, unequal, comsumerist society." written by "...queer parents, parents of color, radical feminist parents, parents who are redefining what family means."
Adrienne Skye Rogers interviews her dad about, among other things, growing up as a Communist's son, what he remembered about his father's arrest (during the McCarthy Era, he was arrested for conspiracy to overthow the US government).
there's a story by James Allardice about doing a charity bike ride with his dad, and how their roles changed during it, as he started taking care of his dad in new ways. also: Top Ten Books for the Whole Family, a review of My Baby Rides the Short Bus, and more.

Rad Dad #15
a story by Mark Ali about teaching English, talking to students about how people judge eachother outside first, inside last, and how he made decisions in defiance of the expectations of him. There's an article about kids on the playground, dealing with bullies with "a diversity of tactics, escalating to direct action". There's an article where a new parent asks different revolutionary parents "If you could communicate one thing to a radical parent to be, what would it be?", Concrete Things You can Do to Support Parents or ChildCare Givers
and more.

Rad Dad #14
has an interview with Claude Marks, a revolutionary who was (I think) an underground revolutionary in the 70's; an article about objects and consumerism; one about a kid who was murdered by cops, and how the father wishes he could honestly explain the racist world to his daughtor; one called Principles for Unconventional Parenting.
3.75 us, 4.30 intl

Kerbloom! #80
These little pretty zines have been coming out forever, every two months. They are done on letterpress, which is the kind of printing press where you have to put each letter in one at a time.
Issue 80 is about being sober, and whether she is secretly straigtedge even though she doesn't like hardcore music or straightedge thugs. It's pretty funny and sweed.
2.60 us, 3.60 intl

Ker-bloom 81: Artnoose and the Terrible Horrible No-good Very Bad Year
"It was suppose to be my Bounce Back Year. Instead it seemed like my Knock Down Year." failed relationship, loss of personal power, her Inner Nietzsche, wolves wearing human skin. It ends with the Dream Shop of 2010.
2.60 us, 3.60 intl

Scenery is Free #1
I don't normally like travel zines very much, but this one is from Malasia, and written in
English, and the English in it is so strange and beautiful that even a rant about consumerism becomes like poetry, and allows me to rethink the thoughts again.
Like this: "Please don't heritage to email us before May 2006 because we want to go to United State to do shitty jobs at White House in Washington DC. Then we go to Los Vegas, Hollywood and California for gambling, shopping and surfing. If they are allowed us enter their country. That's cool. It's about dealing with all the people who living in a world full of illusions and afraid by their shadows."
Mostly this issue is about traveling around Europe. It's pretty great.
3.50 us, 5.00 intl