Manic Frustration “If I do not write to empty my mind, I go mad.” ~Lord Byron

Zines have been a staple of the DIY community, music scenes, art scenes and they've carried the voices of rebellion and free thought for decades. On June 11th, the growing art community of Scranton will converge on Center Street to celebrate this diverse, pulp-filled art form.

Zine Fest is the creation of Jessica Meoni, a fourth-year, Graphic Design student at Marywood, who has been involved with past events such as Scranton Ladyfest. Recently, she has joined the design committee of the Pages & Places Book Festival and the Scranton Reads committee.

Jessica has brought together "zinesters" from all over to participate in the event. As an added bonus, she's invited a few poets to the mix for a reading to take place in what used to be the Anthology bookstore.

The Fest is fast approaching and Saturday evening, amidst a few beers (and one delicious bowl of chili) at Jack's Draft House, I met with Jessica and the other poets who I'll be reading with the day of. Among them are Brian Fanelli, a friend and poet from the area who's chapbook Frontman contains poems which traces the journey of a liberty-spiked punk rocker, Amy Archer, who's made 80's hair poetic (it can be done), Alexis Czencz Belluzi, Rachael Goetzke and Charlotte Lewis. The reading will take place at 4 p.m. and will be hosted by Brian Fanelli.

The Fest promises to be an eclectic mix of people and ideas which Jessica has ideas of continuing as an annual event. Tables will be arranged along Center Street and will feature art work, an array of zines and arts & crafts from varying sources. Even the poets have a table (they'll be selling everything from jewelry to souls). You can check out the Zine Fest site for more information on who will be there and what the fest will entail.

For more about the poets, you can visit these sites:
The Fat Girl Skinny - Amy Archer's blog
BrianFanelli.com

...and you're already reading mine.