Small Press Night

Feed Your Head Books invites you to join the founders of local small presses Thieves Jargon, Persephassa, and Black Ocean for a night of readings, discussion, and inspiration. Matt DiGangi, Roxanne Carter, and Janaka Stucky will tell the stories of the beginnings of their respective presses, discuss how and why they began publishing, offer advice to writers and aspiring publishers, and, of course, read selections from works published by their presses.

Thieves Jargon is an online literary journal specializing in fiction and poetry. Based in Salem, MA, Thieves Jargon Press is dedicated to printing the work of writers who publish in the journal. They published their first novel last year and have a new anthology forthcoming. Persephassa Press is based in Providence, RI , and produces beautifully bound handmade books featuring works of literature, photography, illustrations, poetry, and novellas. The press is inspired by the fine press books of artists like Maureen Cummins (Innana Press), Gloria Stuart (Imprenta Glorias), and by women publishers who have taken the task to hand and published their own works as well as the works of those in their communites—Anais Nin (Gemore Press), Nancy Cunard (Hours Press), and Virginia Woolf (Hogarth Press). Black Ocean is a non-profit publishing and production company with liaisons in Boston, New York, and Chicago. In conjunction with their book releases, Black Ocean aims to saturate the public with passionate forms of expression through a wide variety of mediums by also holding art parties, rock shows, and various other celebrations. As you can see, all three of these small presses approach their publishing in very different manners, promising an evening filled with diversity and a wide breadth of experiences.

The small press extravaganza will take place on Saturday, May 6, 2006 at 5 pm at Feed Your Head Books, 272 Essex Street, Salem, MA (accessible by MBTA via the commuter rail to Salem). Admission is free and refreshments will be served. For more information, please contact randie@feedyourheadbooks.com or call 978-744-4009.

Another New Zine!

As a complement to our new herb zine, we just got in a great new gardening zine, The Anarchist's Victory Garden. The subtitle of this zine is "everything you need to know to start your own garden and feed yourself," and it really is. Printed on recycled newsprint, this compact zine contins a wealth of information. Main topics covered include: building raised beds, organic fertilizing, keeping pests away without chemicals, planning your garden, planting and caring for your garden, and harvesting your bounty.

Great New Stuff!

We just keep getting more and more stuff. At the Punk Rock Flea Market, I scored some awesome bicycle and flower screenprinted felt pouches and a new zine called How to Love and Use Herbs. It's incredible! It discusses many common herbs like lavendar, thyme, basil, rosemary, spearmint and how to grow them. It also containes recipes using the herbs for both cooking and for health.

We also got in new bumper stickers, patches, and an awesome zine-related book, Indestructible. The follow up to Green Zine #14; Cristy Road now offers up a novel about her years in grade school and high school in Miami - valiantly trying to figure out and defend her gender identity, cultural roots, punk rock nature, and mortality. You know that the artwork alone in here makes this a page turner and the whole package more exciting. Cristy has always existed to remind us of the strength and ability of punk youth--for addressing things like rape, homophobia, and mysogyny. This is no exception; giving voice to every frustrated 15 year old girl under fire from her peers for being queer or butch or punk.

We Will Be Closed Easter Weekend

The store will be closed Easter weekend, 4/15 and 4/16, but you can come visit us on Saturday, 4/15, at the Punk Rock Flea Market at Mass Art from 11-5. PRFM is a sort of regular DIY event, where record distros, book makers, artists, clothing designers, djs, junk hoarders, vegan bakers, and many others come together for a day of swapping, sharing, selling and buying things you won't find in any store. PRFMs in the past have had upwards of 90 vendors, and regularly have 50 or so. A wide range of people take part, from new clothing labels looking to make it big, to basement punks who show up late with hangovers. Fun!

A Slew of New Stuff Just Came In...

We just got in a ton of new, and new-to-us, titles. In the fiction area, we just got in Michelle Tea's first novel, Rose of No Man's Land, and Leslie Feinberg's latest, Drag King Blues.

14-year-old Trisha Driscoll, the protagonist in Rose of No Man's Land, is a hungry machine, taking in her hometown of Mogsfield, Massachusetts--a place that has surrendered to neon signs, theme restaurants, and cookie-cutter chain stores. Cynical but naive, Trisha observes the disappointing world from the ignored perspective of a teenager: creepy guys, the unfathomable sadness of the elderly, illegal tattoos, and the wild kingdom of mall culture. Then Trisha links up with a chain-smoking, physically stunted mall rat named Rose, and her life shifts into manic overdrive. A whirlwind exploration of poverty and dropouts, and a furious love story between two weirdo girls, brimming with snarky observations and soulful wonderings on the dazzle-flash emptiness of contemporary culture.

Drag King Dreams , from the best-selling author of Stone Butch Blues, is the story of Max Rabinowitz, a butch lesbian bartender at an East Village club where drag kings--dykes dressed as men--perform. A veteran of the women's and gay movement, Max's mid-life crisis hits in the midst of the post-9/11 world. Max is lonely, uncertain about her future, and fearful of America's future, with only a core group of friends to turn to for reassurance. But Max is shaken from her crisis when her friend Vickie, a transvestite, is murdered. As the community of cross-dressers, drag queens, lesbian and gay men, and "genderqueers" of all kinds stand up together in the face of this tragedy, Max taps into the activist spirit she thought had disappeared--and for the first time in years discovers hope for her future.

We also got in Stories Care Forgot: An Anthology of New Orleans Zines. For years the New Orleans punk and zine community has thrived, producing beautifully rendered volumes of stories and artwork. Over the years these authors have poured their hearts out and shared their thoughts and opinions on music, politics, bikes, gentrification, gender, class and, of course, the city itself. Reprinted here in their original format are selections from over a dozen zines including: Chainbreaker, Nosedive, Crude Noise, Rocket Queen, Emergency, I Hate This Part of Texas, and Chihuahua and Pitbull, as well as author introductions about their experiences during and after Hurricane Katrina. Many of the originals have been lost or destroyed and in the wake of Hurricane Katrina; this book serves not only as a preservation of writing and artwork, but also as an attempt to aid in rebuilding the city that inspired and shaped this body of work. Proceeds from Stories Care Forgot will be split amongst grassroots New Orleans groups.

We Just Got in Two Great New Zines!

We just got in two great new zines from True Grit Distro, Say the Word: Conversations About Consent and The Trusty Wrench DIY Guide to Car Repair. Say the Word is a new collection of writings by both men and women about dealing with, and negotiating sexual consent. Contains personal experience stories and broader critiques of how our society handles this often taboo subject. The Trusty Wrench is a great starter manual for anyone that's interested in learning how to do basic maintenance on their car or truck. It covers what tools you need, and what the things are that you can do yourself. Includes a troubleshooting section to help you figure out what's wrong with your car. Covers both diesels and gas-powered vehicles.

Come Visit Us . . .

. . . tomorrow, April 8, at the Annual Reproductive Rights Conference at Hampshire College in Amherst, MA. Workshops include Abortion Access in the U.S.; Building a Movement: Rethinking Reproductive Rights for Queer Communities; Environmental Activism; Sex, Lies, and Contraception; Immigrant Rights; Economic Justice and Globalization; and many, many more. Come check it out!

Great New DIY Resource

We just got in a fantastic new DIY zine, The Gospel of Screenprinting. It's a 24 page guide to screen printing, containing everything you need to know to get started, including plans to build a shirt/poster press and some other equipment. And, in addition, to being useful, with a three-color (metallic silver/white/black) silkscreened cover, this zine is beautiful, as well. This is a limited edition of 170 copies, so get yours while you can!

Just In: Ms. Films DIY Guide to Film and Video

We just received the spanking new, spiral-bound third edition of Ms. Films DIY Guide to Film and Video. A thorough introduction and motivational tool for women (or anyone else) wanting to make film or video. Contents include cameraless filmmaking, super 8 basics, animation, making your own (how to produce a no-budget short film while being unemployed), activist camera/film in community, basics of video & exercises for the beginner, girls & filmmaking, screenwriting, what is a short film?, what is a long film?, DIY Drive-In, organizing your own film festival, submitting to film festivals, and a list of resources for filmmakers. "Ms. Films is a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering women and girls through access to media and mediamaking," author Niku Arbabi writes, and "this guide is meant to help you get started . . . make a movie and get it out there." An indepensible resource for novices and pros alike. Also, make sure to pick up your copy of the Ms. Films DVD, a compilation of films from the 2005 Northwest Tour. featuring 18 films by independent women, including documentary, animation, narrative, sci-fi, cut & paste, horror, and more!