Editorial

“Let us cherish therefore the means of knowledge. Let us dare to read, think, speak and write.” – John Adams

DJ Frederick’s thoughts on reviews & criticism: I once read a critique of shortwave radio pirates that essentially said “if you’re going to make the effort to take to the airwaves, please have something important to share rather than playing commercial music you can hear anywhere else.”  This statement also relates to zines. Zines aren’t illegal (yet – we’ll see what happens when Romney is elected) but creating zines is like setting up pirate radio transmitting gear – they are a lot of work and you are sending your message out into the wide world, not just your immediate circle of friends. So the content would ideally be something that expresses the zine creator’s unique vision yet people can relate to or learn something from.

Yes, all works of creative expression are worth celebrating. Yet if the quality of the zine brings comparisons in my mind to fake plastic piles of feces that kids leave on a hated teacher’s desk, I will generally not waste my time and energy reviewing it. Or I’ll write negative feedback if I feel it might be helpful feedback for the zine creator or potential readers. 

Long live freedom of expression!