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Event challenges participants to create zine in 24 hours or less

July 14, 2013

July marks International Zine Month, and people gathered Thursday at the Main Library to create, share and celebrate during the 24-Hour Zine Thing.

Event participants tasked themselves with creating a zine in 24 hours or less. Zines are self-published material, often small in size, low in circulation and narrow in subject.

“Most of the time, zines are about weird (stuff) other people don’t write about, and the biggest thing is you do what you want to do,” Ethan Tate, event organizer and Residential College in the Arts and Humanities senior, said.

“It’s an outlet for their voice when they don’t think their voice is heard in other mediums.”

Tate said zine content varies and can contain all photos, all writing or a combination. The creator writes, edits and distributes, giving unlimited freedom, he added.

The event was free and open to the general public with individuals coming and going throughout the day.

“The great thing about (zines) is you can do anything you want,” 69-year-old Lansing resident Charlie Nash said. “If you want it to be dirty, that’s fine. If you want it to be funny, that’s fine. If you want it to be serious, that’s fine.”

Nash started creating zines in 1976 in New York, and he said the allure stemmed from its cost-effectiveness and the ability to post them everywhere, similar to graffiti.

“It’s like a campfire — sharing and storytelling — and instead of the campfire, we have zines and a table,” Nash said. “I think of it as an extension of cave painting.”

East Lansing resident Harold Cowherd said he was excited to be able to create his first zine since he saw the event poster.

“I was looking for an opportunity to publish my poetry and said ‘Why don’t I do it myself?’” Cowherd said.

Making a zine usually takes longer than a full day, but the purpose was to breed a community and build momentum leading up to the Mid-Michigan Zine Fair that takes place in the Hannah Community Center, 819 Abbot Road, on Oct. 26, Tate said.

“This event gets people hanging out, talking and doing intense zine-making,” he said. “Zine fests are things that happen around pretty much everywhere. I’m pretty optimistic about zines in our area.”

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