Zine Recommendations

Zine Recommendations
Stacey Greenberg

A Beautiful Final Tribute (#7 In Time of Emergency: A Citizens Handbook on…Nuclear Attack) by Bee Lavender is a fucking masterpiece. The entire series is stellar and this issue is the Big Bang. If you read Bee’s birth story in Mamaphiles and were blown away, then you will be thrilled to read this zine which contains both of her birth stories as well as the birth of the alternative online communities hipmama.com, mamaphonic.com, and girlmom.com. You can order the zine for $2 postage included (trade welcome) from Bee Lavender, PO Box 28870, Seattle, WA 98118, or check out http://www.foment.net.

Compost This Zine is a one off from longtime zinestress Liz Defiance. It is the result of her fixation on food politics and her desire to live a more DIY existence and self-sustainable lifestyle. This zine has a great mix of essays and information from gardening to fertility awareness, five finger discounts to biological literacy. Plus the zine has a handmade paper cover. It is a must have. $1-$3 in cash or stamps to: Liz Defiance, P.O. Box 26329, Phoenix, AZ 85068-6329 or email lizdefiance@hotmail.com.

Fit Pitcher (#1) is amazing to me on many levels, especially when it comes to layout. “Fit Pitcher” is a zine with dual themes, for multi-faceted mamas. Half is devoted to the striving, struggling, metamorphosing (and hopefully relaxing) mama in you, the other half is all about your inner rant! Sarah Cannon’s zine is a welcome addition to the zine mama revolution. Get your copy by emailing saille42@hotmail.com.

Milk (#1) is a fun new zine out of Portland. The editor, Chester Nashvegas (not her real name), is from Nashville and went to The University of Memphis, so I of course think she is cool for that alone. “Milk” has a nice mix of art, essays, quotes, and daddy haikus. The author’s “sometimes scary” drawings and the fabulous cover make this zine a must have. The reader will be both entertained and informed. Contact milkzine@aol.comfor a copy!

Wrinkle (#3) is a zine that has been growing on me more and more with each issue. Kara Fleck has been putting a lot of effort into this one and each issue is unique. She’s been playing with styles, sizes, and format, and it has been fun to see where she’s ended up. “Wrinkle” is written all by Kara and focuses on her stay at home adventures with Boo, her daughter. This issue includes some great rainy day craft ideas, stickers, color photos, and a bonus mini zine called, “Yes, I’m Still Nursing,” which a collection of stories from nursing mothers (like me!). “Wrinkle” is $2 issue or $10/year(6 issues) or trade. Kara Fleck, 12218 parkview lane, Fishers, IN 46038. www.wrinklezine.com.

Yard Wide Yarns (#8) represents a year’s worth of essays on punk parenting written by Jessica for her “My Mother Wears Combat Boots” column in Maximum Rock N Roll (She had nothing to do with the stinky review they did of “Fertile Ground.”) I really enjoyed each essay and found Jessica’s writing style to be casual and engaging. Check it out. Copies are $1 and can be had by emailing yardwideyarns@hotmail.com.