Reviews

Zine

Eve Corbel

For six years while Pagan Kennedy was an "out of whack, directionless woman trying to muddle through her late twenties," she wrote, drew and published a zine called Pagan's Head, which was all about her. In 'Zine (St. Martin's Griffin), all issues of the zine are collected, and separated by short connective essays which Kennedy's editor astutely suggested she write. Pagan’s Head is a joy to read—funny, sassy, uninhibited, but quite substantial. And when eight issues appear together, printed and bound rather than copied and stapled, interleaved with serious apparatus, the ephemeral zine form can be seen in new ways. For one thing, you can watch Kennedy invent herself as a literary construct. (She can watch it too, and talk about it.) For another thing, you can see that when it comes to zines, the medium is the message. Kennedy's writing would stand up well anywhere, but clumsily typewritten, decorated with cheesy clip art, and relieved by snapshots, hand-scrawled captions and fresh, hilarious cartoons, the narrative is immediate, compelling and poignant.

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Eve Corbel

Eve Corbel is a writer, illustrator, cartoonist, mom and grandma. Her writing and artwork have been published in numerous anthologies and periodicals, including Geist.

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