Paper and Ink Volume
One:
Broken Hearts and Broken Bottles
Martin Appleby’s introductory notes to Paper and Ink were
music to my ears. He talks about his love for paper zines and wanting to create
a physical publication in an age when e-books are outselling traditional books.
Martin writes “Maybe the printed word is doomed and I am fighting a losing
battle, but maybe … just maybe there are still some people out there that will appreciate
good old fashioned words, on paper, printed in ink.” Indeed, Martin, some of us are still out here on the edge of
the papernet, sharpening pencils, dipping fountain pens into inkwells, applying
postage stamps to real letters. There is hope. There is more than hope.
Martin has assembled an impressive group of creative writers
in Paper and Ink Volume One, all thematically weaving narratives of loss
and heartache. The zine’s opening piece, a punk romance by Chris Eng, is well
written but the characters have cloudy intentions, spending one last night
together before parting ways. William James lifts the quality bar a notch with his poem titled “Kids Like Us Will Be Alone Forever” & the zine hits its
emotional stride with a brief but powerful poem by Martin. Anthony Macina’s The Breeze is an intense and beautifully
realized short fiction. Then … the issue is over, all too brief.
The debut of Paper and Ink holds much promise and shows
Martin’s strength in choreographing the zine’s literary dance. I’m looking
forward to issue two and hopefully, beyond. On paper.
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