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Think back to your adolescence. A little bit painful, huh? Do you think you had access to a diverse range of perspectives? Did you feel in control? Did you believe the world heard your voice? Most of us would answer a firm “no” to those questions, and quickly change the subject. The times haven’t changed much. When I ask students in my underground and independent publications class those same questions today, theyrarely look me in the eye. They shift nervously in their seats. They question my motives for such an inquiry. They mumble a negative response often seething with anger and frustration. But upon further discussion and assurance of my sincere interest, their tone softens and they start telling their stories.
They talk about the mainstream media that presents images of teens that are unflattering, superficial, and disconnected from their own understanding of the world. They talk about their fears, their passions, their interests, their anger, their curiosity about life, and, most poignantly, their sense of isolation and desire to be heard by more individuals than just their teacher or their fellow classmates in the room. They share their frustrations with having to always write within a restrictive format designated by their teachers. They want to offer their perspectives without patronizing judgment. They want a safe space to grow in their ideas. Most importantly, they want to hear what others their age have to say. Invariably, the discussion will include mention that the only way to offer their views or to create effective cultural change is through violent, physical action. I reassure them that there are non-violent, rhetorical avenues of expression available Then, I open our classroom library of zines and the magic follows.
Zines are a form of independent publication that allows the marginalized voice to be heard in our culture. Other adjectives associated with the zine form include DIY (do it yourself), amateur, punk, edgy, underground, alternative, counterculture, radical, dissident, grassroots, and anarchist. These publications are also considered and categorized as fanzines, rants, journals, small publications, grey literature, and little magazines. They range in content focus (or sometimes lack thereof) from personal zines (perzines) to traditional music and film fanzines, sociopolitical treatises, review zines, DIY instruct-us-zines, comix zines, collaborative or collective publications and more. The very zine form itself defies clear-cut definition and labeling. What zines are not (at least not quite yet) is mainstream media. They are not your supermarket aisle magazines. They require no formal editorial staff, no huge financial backing, no corporate sponsorship. Within their pages, they often disrupt the standard systems of pagination, consistent text layout, cataloging information, author and publisher identification, and writing conventions. Creating them requires creativity and the passion to spread ideas--be they old, new, leftist, conservative, status-quo, radical, or perhaps ever-so-weird.
Zine reading and writing production projects offer young adults a wealth of opportunities to actively explore their literacy development and challenge themselves (and their audiences) to think beyond the book text and standard writing formats and styles. When I asked my high school students how they thought zines affected adolescent literacy, they stumbled. They could not answer the question without fully discussing the meaning of “literacy.” Our initial definitions focused on traditional concepts of reading and comprehension. Their first insights surprised me since they are a rather tech-savvy, interactive, online-community-based group of students. No one made mention of technological literacies or Ezines, nor did visual design or artistic style enter their initial discussion of literacy. Did they not recognize that participating in online communities, navigating a Web site, locating information in a database, or writing an online zine required specific and highly important literacy skills? Did they only recognize a classroom-endorsed concept of literacy in pre-computer formats? Is it possible that they also saw zines as part of the traditional print book format – as a transitional device between a highly restrictive publishing production process and a more democratic, ubiquitous system of information and idea exchange?
After further study of print zines and focused questioning on concepts of literacy, they began to discuss author purpose, rhetorical style, awareness of audience, and the negotiation of ideas through the interactions of writer and reader. They delved into the connections between online communities, blogs, and the democratic DIY quality of the zine form. They debated concepts of intellectual freedom and intellectual property. They discussed the advantages and limitations of the systems of copyright, copyleft, and creative commons licensing. As their own publication projects evolved, they explored visual design choices, standards of writing, production quality, and the ways the media’s form affects the meaning of the author’s content. They experimented with design and production choices. And most importantly, they began to understand how the social context of their project production process influenced choices they made in their own pieces. Their initial traditional definitions of literacy opened up to embrace a truly multifaceted concept of information retrieval, processing, and delivery, and feedback.
While electronic formats of information exchange may appear to be integral to the young adult information gathering and social exchange process, for my own students, at least, the print text is still their dominant means of reading, comprehension, and idea exchange. The printed word continues to carry more weight and authority.Students still hold tightly to their fondness for the printed product – the artifact they can hold in their hands, dog ear as they read, share with their classmates, submit for inclusion in their local historical society archives, and even steal from the classroom collection. That fondness indicates a respect for the book--the traditional text with its long, luxurious history.
This deeper understanding of text formats, literacy techniques, and writing strategies coupled with the use of print zines as primary texts in the classroom, allowed for an expansion of standard academic resources and expressions to meet the needs of the students in more meaningful and life-connecting ways. Very few students tune out of the zine exploration process. They respond well to analyzing the content and organizational structure of articles on dumpster diving, organic farming, DIY bicycle repair, community activism, unschooling, and any number of other authentic topics. The zine form, itself, can be liberating and safe for the adolescent skill development process, even if the students are not always fully forgiving of the quality and design choices of what they read, study, and create in the classroom. Although they appreciate the ability to disrupt traditional academic and corporate “authorities,” they hold little patience for publications that are poorly cited, superficial in content depth, contain errors in spelling and grammar, or are ineffectively organized and planned. Students embrace the ability to act as authoritative editors in their analysis of zine examples and class projects. They seem to hold a high regard for the zine product as a potential permanent piece of the historical record. Students not only want their voices to be heard, but they want them to be part of a lasting dialogue.
Zines are a truly democratic form of publication with an appropriate and critical place in the high school English classroom and library. Anyone can create them. Anyone can read them. Any teaching librarian can collect them and everyone can love them. By exploring thenon-threatening, non-patronizing zine style, students can approach their own literacy development in a supportive and fun way. The range of voices, content areas, and articulation skills in the zines help students to understand that writing and publication production is an important organic process in which they, too, can and should participate.
Thinking back to those original questions about power, control, and access to a range of perspectives about the world, zinester students can answer in the affirmative and then they will articulately tell you why—or maybe they will just hand over their own zine.
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