Part of the underground movement established in the punk cultures of the 1970s, zines developed as an outlet for those on the outside of mainstream culture to express themselves. Zines continued to be significant forms of expression in the punk cultures of the 1980s and 1990s; today zines provide an important platform for authors — or 'zinesters'— working within a distinct genre.
Zines are typically self-published, which allows for a broad range of topics, uncensored accounts, and self-expression generally not found in edited and commercially-packaged publications. Politics, music, and autobiography are standard topics. 'Perzines' (personal + zine), as autobiographical zines are known, form an increasingly large percentage of contemporary zine publishing.
Women zinesters became prominent in the 1990s as part of a feminist punk rock subculture known as riot grrrl; women continue to be an integral voice in the zine community. Drawn from a developing collection housed in the Special Collections Research Center, the zines on display in this exhibition are primarily perzines produced by women, representing the 1990s to the present day. Topics range from extremely frank accounts of physical and psychological trauma to playful pictographic series. Additional materials outside the zine genre have been selected to provide some historical context to these do-it-yourself autobiographical works.
This exhibition appears concurrently with two Chicago zine-related events. On March 8-9, 2013, the fourth annual Chicago Zine Fest takes place at Columbia College Chicago. And on April 6, 2013, the Caxton Club/Newberry Library Symposium on the Book presents "OUTSIDERS: Zines, Samizdat, and Alternative Publishing,"exploring the world of the alternative press with experts from around the country.
My Life is An Open Book is on view from January 14 - April 13, 2013, in the Special Collections Research Center Exhibition Gallery, which is located in the University of Chicago Library, 1100 East 57th Street, Chicago, IL.
Gallery hours: Monday through Friday: 9:00am - 4:45pm; Saturdays: 9:00am - 12:45pm, when classes are in session.
My Life is an Open Book: DIY Autobiography was curated by Sarah G. Wenzel, Bibliographer for Literatures of Europe & the Americas.
The Web exhibit was produced by Joe Scott with the assistance of Kevin Kimura and Adam Paradis. Bradley Busenius provided technical and graphic design support.
In its capacity as owner of the physical property represented in this Web exhibit, the University of Chicago Library encourages the use of these materials for educational and scholarly purposes.
Use of these materials for publication in any medium also requires the permission of the University of Chicago Library. Use of materials for commercial publication projects may be subject to a use fee. Please consult the policies of the Special Collections Research Center. It is the user's sole responsibility to secure any necessary copyright permission to publish documents, texts, and images from any holders of rights for these materials.
For further information on reproduction of materials from the Special Collections Research Center, please contact the Special Collections Research Center.
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Someone Else's Memory. Hamilton, Ont., DATE? Eric Furst Zine Collection. |
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Colpitts, Carrie. I Made This Zine at Work! Chicago, 2011? |
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Colpitts, Carrie. Brilliant Mistake. Vol 1. Chicago, 2010-2011 |
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Colpitts, Carrie. Brilliant Mistake. Vol 2. Chicago, 2010-2011 |
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Colpitts, Carrie. Brilliant Mistake. Vol 3. Chicago, 2010-2011 |
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Colpitts, Carrie. Brilliant Mistake. Vol 4. Chicago, 2010-2011 |
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Mason, Liz. Zine Name.Chicago, 2010. |
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Schultz, Emily. Rated F. Issue #1. Wallaceburg, Ont., 1993. |
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Billy the Bunny & AJ Hermz. The Best Game Ever (Because It's About Zines). Chicago, 2012? |
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Slug and Lettuce #4. West Chester, Pa., 1998 Erice Furst Zine Collection Legendary and long-running Slug & Lettuce is a prime example of an edited zine to which many contribute. Addresses, advertisers, and columns vary throughout its twenty-year print run (1987-2007). |
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Slug & Lettuce. No. 52. Richmond, Va., 1998. Erice Furst Zine Collection |
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Jess-o-rama. This Anatomy is Music.Leominster, MA, 2009? |
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Havens, Noelle. Backward Jane. Vol. 1. Michigan, 2011. |
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Havens, Noelle. Backward Jane. Vol. 2. Chicago, 2012? |
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Fern, Kim. Fern. No. 5. Normal, Ill., 1993 |
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Fern, Kim. Fern. No. 10. Milwaukee, 1995 |
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Monsoon, Lynne. Shit I Didn't Tell You. Chicago, 2011? |
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Stern, Meredith. Glamour Girl. Pipersville, Pa., 199? |
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Stern, Meredith. Glamour Girl. No. 2. Pipersville, Pa., 199? |
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Mucha, Corinne. Stories of Superpowers, Smiling Sloths, Inferior Aliens, and Clocks That Stretch Time, Among Others. Buzz no. 3. Chicago: Maidenhousefly Comics, 2009. |
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Mucha, Corinne. Joke Comics. Buzz no. 4 Chicago: Maidenhousefly Comics, 2012. |
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Corrine Mucha: Author's Statement |
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Towards an Insurrectionary Trans-Feminism. Chicago: Not Yr Cister Press, 2010? |
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Spurzine. Blue Floral Gusset. Melbourne : Spurzine, 2010. |
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Spurzine. Travesty, Musings on Being a Transvestite Metalhead. No. 2. Melbourne: Spurzine, 2009. |
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Mason, Liz. Caboose. No. 1. Chicago, 2002 |
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Mason, Liz. Caboose. No. 4, the Ridiculous Issue. Chicago, 2003 |
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Mason, Liz. Caboose. No. 5, the Improvement Issue. Chicago, 2005 |
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Colpitts, Carrie and Nicole Baiel. My Aim is True. No. 5. Chicago, 2012 |
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Colpitts, Carrie. My Aim is True. No. 4. Chicago, 2011 |
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Fake, Edie. Sweetmeats. Issue 1. Chicago, 2012 |
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Fake, Edie. Sweetmeats. Issue 2. Chicago, 2012 |
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Mucha, Corinne. It Doesn't Exist, Mythical Stories. Chicago: Maidenhousefly Comics, 2012. |
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Mucha, Corinne. Is It the Future Yet? Chicago: Maidenhousefly Comics, 2010. |
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Mucha, Corinne. I Hate Mom's Cat, and Other Tails. Providence, RI: Maidenhousefly Comics, 2005. |
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Mucha, Corinne. There's a Monkey in the Basement, an Epically True Tale. Philadelphia : Retrofit Comics, 2011. |
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Mucha, Corinne. My Every Single Thought, What I Think About Being Single. Chicago: Maidenhousefly Comics, 2009. |
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Runk, Marian. 6 Days in a Month, a Few Diary Comics. Chicago, 2011? |
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Marian Runk: Author's Statement |
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Runk, Marian. Best friends. Chicago, 2009. |
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Runk, Marian. The Fish and the Monkey. Chicago, 2009. |
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Runk, Marian. Inbox. Chicago, 2008. |
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Runk, Marian. The Magic Hedge, and Other Stories. Chicago, 2011 |
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Runk, Marian. Firsts, Seconds & Endings. The Magic Hedge Issue No. 2. Chicago, 2012 |
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Runk, Marian. Leanne. Chicago, 2005. |
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Runk, Marian. The Masked Owls. Chicago, 2011. |
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Slightweight, Dewayne. I Want To Know the Habits of Other Girls : a Comic and Opera. Chicago, 2007. |
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Arcana, Judith. Jane, Documents From Chicago's Clandestine Abortion Service, 1968-1973. Reprint ed. Portland: Eberhardt Press : Radix Media, 2010? |
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Tompkins, Cassie. Regional, an Examination of American Cuisine. Vols. 1. Chicago, 2011 |
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Tompkins, Cassie. Regional, an Examination of American Cuisine. Vol. 2. Chicago, 2011 |
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Tompkins, Cassie. Regional, an Examination of American Cuisine. Vol. 3. Chicago, 2011 |
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Tompkins, Cassie. Regional, an Examination of American Cuisine. Vol. 4. Chicago, 2011 |
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Resner, Daniel. L: a 15-Hour Trip Through Chicago's Entire Elevated Train System. Chicago, 2012 |
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PRISM Index : Mixed Media Compilation. #1. Columbus, Ohio : Jeffrey Bowers, 2009-2010
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Havens, Noelle. Survival: a Hero's Story. Chicago, 2012? |
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McKay, Caitlin Drake. The Magical Quest. Issue #1. 2nd printing. Chicago, 2010. |
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Sin, Anna. V-Reject. #11. La Mesa, CA, 1995. |
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Kostus, Kaitlin. Ugly Cutie. Chicago: Loop Distro Editions, 2004. |
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Romero, Lisa. Connections. Chicago: Parking Block Publishing, 2011. |
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Mir, Rebecca. She is Restless. Vol. 2, Waves. Chicago, 2011 |
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Mir, Rebecca. She is Restless. Vol. 1, Fracture. Chicago, 2011 |
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Romaniszak, Kristen. Lost & Found. Chicago, 2006. |
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Carreé, Lilli. Shifting Shadows. The Little Otsu Living Things Series, vol. 4. Portand: Little Otsu, 2011. |
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Paquita, Caroline. Future Tense. Brooklyn, NY : Pegacorn Press, 2011. |
