If you’re following us on Facebook (and you really, really should be–just search for “Alt Press”), then you’ve glimpsed the inter-cultural amazingness currently displayed on Level 2 at the Main Library.
We’re talking about zines from Japan!
In a first-ever international outreach experiment, we shipped off some of our precious zine collection (via good old snail mail) to Kanda University of International Studies, about an hour east of Tokyo, Japan.
These zines are delightful. I picked them up at Alt Press Fest 2013 from local tabler Sam Milianta. Filled with black & white photography these zines are deceptively simple. They can be found in the Zine Collection at the Main Library.
You can find Sam Milianta’s Work here.
But don’t take my word for it! Check some out today (that’s right! The Alternative Press Collection does circulate & you can come on down to The City Library’s Main location ( 210 E 400 S SLC, UT) head on up to Level 2 where said stuff is housed… BOOM! for REAL…
Calling all zine producers, printmakers, book artists, and DIYers of all stripes!
We are back! And this year we’ll have some awesome special guests….
So claim your spot at the Alt Press Fest (Sat, July 13, Main Library)! If you want to show off your wares or conduct a workshop, contact Brooke Young (byoung@slcpl.org) no later than Monday, April 22.
Yes it’s true.
A while ago our old online zine catalog fell apart and disappeared into the web abyss.
It has not been seen again.
We cried. We despaired.
But then we picked ourselves up and hatched a new plan.
First some background: The Salt Lake City Public Library’s Alternative Press Collection is the continuation of what began in the mid ‘90s as the Zine Collection. Beginning with one zine, SLCPL’s Main library now houses the largest zine collection of any in a public library, and one of the largest anywhere in the world with over 2,500 unique titles and more than 6,000 items.
Last month a few staff members at the SLCPL started a massive online cataloging project. As of this moment we have cataloged over 400 materials. Ultimately we want to have everything listed by the end of the year 2013.
Here’s a link to our new zine catalog online: SLCPL Zine Catalog
We know that it’s not as spiffy as the old one, but it’s easy to update.
So check it out.
As I searched through the massive zine collection at the Salt Lake City Public Library I
was intent to pick a zine that I had not read before for this review. Now this isn’t hard
because the collection has around 2500 zines within it, but on the other hand I didn’t
want to pick up something that I knew I would heavily dislike. This is a difficult
balancing act when you’re also determined to pick up something in that serendipitous
kind of way. But on the other hand not wanting to over think it all, I flipped thru the
boxes relying on sight and instinct.
It was the cover of Watch the Closing Doors #19 that instantly drew my attention. It
features three men sitting in a subway station dressed as Santa Claus most likely waiting
for a train. This absurd image is a delightful reminder that when you take any form of
public transit, whether it is be by bus, subway, etc, you have no idea what you may
encounter. It is that sense of lackadaisical whimsy, which sets the tone for this zine. On
the subway sometimes all it takes is one exceptional encounter to either ruin or enlighten
your day. Traveling in a car can be such an isolating experience while the bus or subway
contains all of humanity.
In short stories, pictures, some historical context and diary entry, zine editor and writer
Fred Argoff discusses the New York public transit system. His personal experience adds
credibility as he describes his travels from all over the boroughs. It’s immense fun to
here him describe the complexities of public transit travel and some of the crazy
encounters that he has had. In one-page vignettes he gives bite-sized anecdotes, which I
very much enjoyed. Often zine writers suffer from the rambles when they are their own
editors. Argoff manages to tell succinct stories with wonderful thrift that reminded me of
the work of Tobias Wolfe. In “Express Bus Excitement” I was impressed with how
Argoff mixed humor with some satirical commentary on the sin of entitlement. However
Argoff is never judgmental or mean, which is refreshing considering the easy targets
presented in “Polka Time!” and “Subway Spelling”.
Unfortunately Argoff loses his universality as he delves into the specifics of the NYC
subway system. This zine suffers due to his “insider” status. Without a map or diagram it
is well nigh impossible for anyone outside of New York City to be able to keep track of
the different trains and their destinations. Thankfully he includes some pictures, but like
with most Xeroxed black-white zines they don’t duplicate well. Some are far too dark to
provide any illumination or understanding as to why they are included at all. The detail
that Argoff meticulously focuses on becomes less and less relevant as one realizes that it
is most likely that most of these subway lines and trains have either been shut down or
replaced as this zine was created in the year 2000. This lack of relevance could be
defended as a portrait of a time, but I would have preferred a little more human interest
and little less talk about different subway car models.
Regardless, as an ardent user of public transportation I am often drawn to this type of
zine. I enjoy this genre because of it’s potential to focus on the human condition. Argoff
provides such excitement about the mundane route that he takes to get from A to B every
day. His disappointment is palpable when he describes an amazing route proposal that is
shut down due to budget cuts. From their very inception, zines were meant to be a place
where anyone can produce a work, which focuses on any subject that they love. Argoff
clearly loves to discuss public transportation. It is a joy to find someone focusing on
something so positive in a world that can be so horribly awful.
Watch the Closing Doors by Fred Argoff can be found and checked out in the Zine
Collection on Level 2 in the Salt Lake City Public Library.
This month we highlight this blast from the past zine from the now defunct Slowtrain Music. You kids may not remember but there used to be these places called “music stores” where you would buy actual physical CDs and records that played music thru stereos. No download required. Slowtrain owners Anna and Chris Brozek edited this collection of great albums from 2006 which includes older treasures from bands with new albums out now such as Band of Horses and Grizzly Bear. Check it out to find some good music that you may not have heard of or a reminder of how awesome Decemberist’s The Crane Wife is.
(This pick was not at all influenced by the fact that Anna picked my favorite album Rabbit Fur Coat by Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins as her #1. Not at all.)
This zine is available for check out in the Zine Collection at the Salt Lake City Public Library.
If you are an Instagram user (and really who isn’t these days amirite?) check out these great pics from last night’s Valentine’s Mini-Comic zine workshop courtesy of zinester/alt-girl bonniekayevargacooper.
Or click here and look for February 2013.
If you like what you see (and live in the SLC area) we urge you to come on out to one of our workshops. They are super fun. Or maybe look out for or start Zine Workshops in your community.
For our February Zine spotlight we are highlighting To Kevin, In Hopes of Losing Interest by local writer/filmmaker Whitney Borup. It being nearly V-day and all this zine is an apt study on relationships, good and bad. Borup pulls us along with a veracity that belies her repeated claims that the stories within are fiction. Her romanticism is honest and hopeful while avoiding cliches.
This zine can be found in the Zine Collection at the Salt Lake City Main Library.
Whitney Borup is a Ph.D. candidate in American Studies at the University of Utah. She earned an M.A. in Cinema Studies at San Francisco State University and a B.A. in Media Arts and Psychology at Brigham Young University. She studies early 20th-century American literature, aesthetics, horror, and the representation of children in popular culture.
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