Category Archives: Philly Love

Coming In (updated zine)

Updated zine! I started this zine while sitting in a pub across the street from an LGBTQ+ youth center. I had just dropped off a teen and they had asked me when I first came out. I didn't have a good quick answer at the time, so I sat andined up a rainbow of pens at the bar.  It's easy enough to explain how coming out isn't a one-time-thing, but what I really wanted to explain was how coming out can be an act of  coming in to your self and into a beautiful constellation of queerness. 🖤🤎️🧡 #nationalcomingoutday #peppermintalleypress #zine #queerzines #zinemaking
Updated zine! I wanted to get this updated for National Coming Out Day.

🖤🤎❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

I started this zine on a Spring evening in 2019.  It was cold and sleeting as I parked myself in a pub across the street from an LGBTQ+ youth center. I had just dropped off a teen (who was staying with us) and they had asked me when I first came out. I didn’t have a good quick answer at the time, so I sat at the bar and lined up a rainbow of pens. It’s easy enough to explain how coming out isn’t a one-time-thing. I wanted to tell them that I don’t remember specifically “coming out” so much as a continual process of trying to be true to myself.  It sounds cliche. What I really wanted to explain was how coming out can be an act of coming in to your self and into a vast constellation of queerness. 🌌

Philly Zine Fest

Whew. What an amazing whirlwind of a weekend! Helping 12 teens copy and sell their zines (and buttons and original music and comics) while also slinging my own zines was quite a task. Definitely couldn’t have done it without my co-adult-facilitator and my kid’s Aunt.

There was so much love in the room all weekend and so much joy. I’m pretty sure most of us bought and traded as many zines as we sold, ha. I’m so glad that we got to participate. Now that they know what to expect, I’m sure they will have even more ideas for next year.

The veteran zine-makers were so gracious and encouraging. I think the most magical times were when browsing parents intuitively left their kiddos with us to make zines (on the stage behind us) while they browsed. Truly a wonderful weekend. I’m both exhausted and energized.