PDX Zine Symposium
Canadian staple-wielding grandmas invade Portland this weekend.
July 1st, 2009
A Bounty Of Local Summer Books0 comments
June 24th, 2009
Jim Lynch Border Songs | A Northwest author takes readers north of the border, up Canada way.0 comments
June 17th, 2009
Ali Sethi The Wish Maker | Well wished: This Pakistani debut is a hit.0 comments
June 10th, 2009
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Seth Grahame-Smith (and Jane Austen) | Jane Austen and zombies—so hot right now.0 comments
June 3rd, 2009
Portland Noir | If looks could kill, she’d still be a barista.0 comments
May 27th, 2009
Aleksandar Hemon Love And Obstacles | Obstacles win, hands down.1 comment
May 20th, 2009
Matt Lemay Elliott Smith’s XO (33 1/3) | Deconstructing the myth behind the white suit.0 comments
May 13th, 2009
Katherine Dunn One Ring Circus | A Portland legend captures the bittersweet science.0 comments
May 13th, 2009
Kirstin Downey The Woman Behind The New Deal | Frances Perkins designed the New Deal. But first she had to win the right to vote.0 comments
May 6th, 2009
Shawn Levy Paul Newman: A Life | A local critic toasts a screen icon—with Coors, of course.0 comments
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[August 9th, 2006] Indie this, DIY that: Portlanders revel in being their own bosses. And as anyone creative with a message will tell you, putting together your own zine offers the best of many worlds, with its low startup costs and limitless possibilities for expression. The Catch-22 of having a community of fiercely independent self-starters and zinesters, of course, is that gatherings are all too infrequent. (And reading, as we all know, is not a highly social activity.)
In short: Grab those staplers and heartfelt sentiments! The PDX Zine Symposium is upon us. As a testament to the strength of our zine culture—which boasts the Independent Publishing Resource Center, Reading Frenzy and its own small-press section at Powell's—it's one of the largest such gatherings in the nation (it usually draws 800 to 1,000 people). "But only those crazy, tattooed kids care about this!" you say. Really? Tell that to the Multnomah County Library, which has a zine collection and hosts regular zine-related events, or Theresa Molter, the PDX Zine Symposium organizer.
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"[W]e're a fairly diverse bunch, from kids to grandmas, spanning cultures and subcultures. We're not all twentysomething nerdy white hipsters!" she told WW in an email interview, adding that "people travel from all over the USA and Canada (and beyond)" for the event. Molter is also teaching a workshop on Kids' Bookbinding. "I like the idea of making zines accessible to children," she says.
Also new this year? A strong whiff of democracy.
"In years past we have decided on workshops we wanted to have and then asked people to teach them. This year, we sent out a call for people to apply to teach workshops they were excited to plan, and we have a very exciting and diverse lineup."
Curious about the lineup, from Silkscreening to Mail Art 101? For more information and a complete schedule of events—including the Zinester Prom—visit pdxzines.com.
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