The Home for the Literarily Bent
Magazines and Zines
Hey Stranger
01 year ago
by Todd
in Magazines and Zines
Front cover for Hey Stranger
Written and published by Stephanie Kulick in 1992.
I can’t remember where I acquired this tiny 8 page zine which consists wholly of an ode to body piercing. Written just as body piercing was becoming more common, this is a sweet little tome which celebrates the author’s love of body modifications. While I would expect my favorite drawing to be of the pierced perineum, it was actually the drawing of a pierced fingernail on its opposite page that proved my favorite.
Much of this zine’s charm is that it is unmistakably handmade. The back cover is decorated with a Scotch® sealed lipstick kiss and the binding features a tiny ring evocative of the subject inside. My copy also came with a tiny sliver of paper inside where Stephanie promises to add additional rings to the binding if you return it to her with a stamp. The whole package serves as a reminder of how self-published zines can provide a level of intimacy mass published works cannot. Good stuff all around.
Redheads I Have Known
01 year ago
by Todd
in Magazines and Zines
Front cover for Redheads I Have Known
Edited by M.A. Sirk
Published in 2010 by Pandora Press
In the interest of full disclosure, my copy came compliments of M. A. Sirk. This is another straightforwardly titled offering from Pandora Press. This issue’s theme is, obviously, redheads, and Sirk catalogs all of the redheads he has known.
Once again I am struck by the intimacy of Sirk’s writing which seems like a candid conversation with an old friend instead of a disembodied third person account. I really enjoyed this and think you probably will too.
To order a copy of Pornotopia, contact M.A. Sirk at pandora_press@hotmail.com.
Pornotopia Issue 2
01 year ago
Front Cover for Pornotopia Issue 2
Edited by M.A. Sirk
Published in 2010 by Pandora Press
Full disclosure: M.A. Sirk sent me this zine at no cost.
The second issue of “Pornotopia” continues the themes of the first issue while improving its execution. The introduction explains the origin of the name “Pornotopia.” In the next article Sirk talks about how he discovered his sexuality from his childhood through his adolescence. Like the first issue, there is an article devoted to amateur porn, a featured fetish/interest (female body hair), fiction, and a travelogue of a trip to a nude beach.
The best thing about “Pornotopia” is Sirk’s writing style. Too many fetish writers fancy themselves evangelicals who are converting the uniformed. Worse still are those fetish writers who are preaching at the choir. Refreshingly, Sirk does neither. Instead, Sirk describes his personal fetishes in a conversational matter-of-fact style. The reader feels simultaneously like Sirk’s old friend and a voyeur secretly observing Sirk’s most private moments. Sirk’s fearlessly reveals his most intimate thoughts without sounding as though he is boasting or trying to scandalize the reader.
To order a copy of Pornotopia, contact M.A. Sirk at pandora_press@hotmail.com.
Weird Sex Photos
01 year ago
by Todd
in Magazines and Zines
Front cover for Weird Sex Photos
Edited by M.A. Sirk
Published in 2010 by Pandora Press
When I checked my mail, I did not expect to find this gem waiting for me. In the interest of full disclosure, my copy came compliments of Pandora Press.
There is virtually no text in this zine other than the title and the short blurb about how to contact Pandora Press. It is exactly as the title describes it – weird sex photos. Amazingly simple and more amazingly brilliant, this zine is charming and entertaining instead of titillating, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. My best advice to you is to drop whatever you are doing and contact Mr. Sirk at pandora_press@hotmail.com to find out how to get a copy of your very own.
Pornotopia Issue 1
01 year ago
by Todd
in Magazines and Zines
Front cover for Pornotopia Issue 1
Edited by M.A. Sirk
Published in 2010 by Pandora Press
Full disclosure: M.A. Sirk contacted me and offered to send me a copy of his zine at no cost. While I hope that the free zine won’t affect my objectivity, I would be re-miss to not mention it.
My expectations for a zine are always a bit different than they are for a commercially printed work, and I am able to overlook errors in a zine that would drive me bonkers if they appeared in a commercially printed work.
Hailing from Australia, “Pornotopia” describes itself as “a zine about sex and pornography.” The first thing I noticed about Pornotopia is its laminated cover. This is the first zine or magazine for that matter I have seen with a laminated cover and it is a nice touch. In fact, I am surprised that more sexually oriented magazines don’t have laminated covers, particular the magazines known colloquially as “stroke mags.”
By my count, the first issue contains nine articles or features that stylistically run the gamut from porn reviews to personal sex stories to fiction to even poetry. The second article is a remembrance/review of an old amateur porn series titled, “Horny Housewife.” While I personally have never much cared for amateur porn, reading Sirk extol the virtues this particular series (seemingly largely forgotten and unappreciated by the world at large) reminded me very much of my own efforts here at the library to celebrate and record items that might be otherwise forgotten or neglected.
Another article discussed the finer points of putting together a good photospread. While this is another topic that isn’t of much personal interest, Sirk’s enthusiastic explanations will inform my impressions the next time I see one.
One of Pornotopia’s best articles was the fiction with a lactation theme. Unfortunately, the end of the story was cut off (some of the missing text was attached to a blank spot at the back of the zine, but there is still a piece missing).
Other articles include Sirk’s first trip to a nude beach (I won’t describe my own other than to say that I am still creeped out by the site of old men in Velcro sneakers), a poem about vintage porn, and an excellent article about the wonder that is drinking piss.
All in all, this is a nice effort for an inaugural issue. Hopefully there will be future issues that improve on these themes and avoid the layout error that appeared in my favorite review.
To order a copy of Pornotopia, email pandora_press@hotmail.com.