riot grrrl

Feb 13 15:50

Girl Power: the Nineties Revolution in Rock

author: 
Meltzer, Marissa

I think Marisa Meltzer is brave for writing this book. There are probably a lot of women out there that know its primary sources as well as she does and who will think she left out x or misinterpreted y. I am not one of those women, though. I have expertise in the zine side of riot grrrl, but know very little about the bands, so I was psyched to read this short, personable history with a certain amount of memoir thrown in.

reviewdate: 
Feb 13 2010
isn: 
978-0-86547-979-1
Jan 13 19:03

Girl Zines: Making Media Doing Feminism

author: 
Piepmeier, Alison

I could probably write a 2,000 word review of this book, since it's on a topic so close to my heart, but I'll spare you. I made way too many margin notes anyway! As I said in regard to her article Why Zines Matter in American Periodicals, Piepmeier handles the zines vs. blogs argument and the materiality of zines with great finesse. She has truly changed the way I look at—and describe—zines, which is a big deal since I catalog and teach the suckers.

reviewdate: 
Jan 12 2010
isn: 
978-0-8147-6752-8
Sep 30 17:53

Riot Grrrls and Radical Women--and Zines

Event: 

Mary Kosut's SUNY Purchase class

Abstract: 

It seems Slideshare messes with my Drupal stylesheet, and since I don't have it in me right now to figure out why, I'll just give y'all the link to my slideshow instead of embedding it.

Jul 10 15:27

SHARP Conference talk on zines

Oh, happy day, I've pretty much finished a talk I'm giving at the SHARP conference on Friday.

Jul 10 15:13

Self-Publication with Punk Rock Ideals: Zines ≠ Vanity Press Publications

SHARP Conference panel, "Grrrls in the Library: the Collections and Preservation of Feminist Zines." My talk, "Self-Publication with Punk Rock Ideals: Zines ≠ Vanity Press Publications." Minneapolis, MN, July 13, 2007.

Co-presenter: 
Event: 
Abstract: 

Zines are self-published, but the motivation behind their publication is different than that driving many vanity press and chapbook authors. The principles of anarchism and punk rock community are fundamental to zines, not just as the cultures that birthed them in their current incarnation, but also as what separates them from other self-publications. By collecting and preserving zines, the non-music primary sources of punk rock, librarians are documenting these movements in the participants’ own voices—the voices of those too young, too politically radical, too crusty, and/or too bad mannered to appeal to the corporate media. It is important to note that zine producers are not only people who have been relegated to the margins but also people who have chosen to claim the margins. In contrast to most writers, many zine producers might choose to reject an offer from corporate publishing house. Why let someone else control what you can say, when you can do it yourself? This presentation will address the politics and cultural motivations of zine publication and contrast them with other types of self-publication. Focusing specifically on materials from Barnard College’s open-stack zine collection that uses riot grrrl and other third wave feminist zines to enhance its research-oriented Women’s Studies book collection, this paper will go on to explore why zines belong in established library collections.

Part of "Grrrls in the Library: the Collections and Preservation of Feminist Zines" panel.

Note the "handout" is actually the paper, not the handout.

Handout: 
Presentation: