What’s a zine?

Zines (pronounced ZEEN) are self-published works of art that look like mini magazines, hence the name. Zines are usually made by hand and photocopied to share with others. They can cover just about any topic, from art to politics to poetry. Some of the earliest iterations of zines were produced as literary journals during the Harlem Renaissance. Zines also find their roots in fan and science fiction culture. “The Comet” was a science fiction zine dating back to 1930.

What is great about zines is their democratizing nature: zines give those underrepresented and in the margins a space to express themselves, offering up a wide variety of viewpoints and experiences to learn from.

Because of their DIY nature, it can be a little harder to find local zines. Luckily, I discovered that the Anaheim Public library had zines to check out! They had a teen section and an adult section of zines. Here are the five zines I checked out.

Archives 101 Zine by the Los Angeles Archivists Collective (2015)

I picked this one up because I have become interested in archiving, either as a career or a hobby. This zine was a fun hodgepodge of different ideas and personal experiences with historical archiving. The Los Angeles Archivists Collective’s website includes a copy of the Archives 101 zine here to read. (https://www.laacollective.org/resources)

Wild Librarian Bakery & Bookstore Zine by Stacy Russo (2016)

Russo discusses her dreams of opening a bookstore/bakery, her path to veganism, and ways to create an environmentally conscious kitchen. I loved Russo’s personable writing style. It ends with some literary-inspired vegan bakery treat recipes.

Welcome to Flamingoville by Irene Lam (2018)

A beautifully illustrated, choose-your-own-adventure zine! The illustrations are adorable and the humor in this zine has me laughing out loud alone on my couch. I never considered that zines could be made in this format, but this zine just proved how zines can be whatever you want them to be.

The New Thirty & other Ruminations on an Awful Year with poetry by Candace Hansen and illustrations by Adrienne Santellan (2017)

Black and white Tarot card-inspired illustrations pair with emotionally raw poetry. I ended up rereading the entire zine because of how good the poetry was.

The Pennysaver Sonnets by Matt Rippon (2009)

Saving one of the coolest, most absurd, and unique zine for last, the Pennysaver Sonnets is a collection of sonnets in the form of a Pennysaver ad. Rhyming, iambic pentameter for subjects such as “divorce sale” or “piano tuner.” I had so much fun reading these out loud and counting the syllables in each line with my fingers. Sprinkled between the sonnets are absurd and humorous fake ads. This zine gave me big Omega Mart vibes, which IYKYK, and if you don’t, do yourself a favor and look it up. Honestly, this was such a fun read, you just have to read it to believe it.