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.

Submitting work, writing new work and getting involved in a new and exciting happening in the Scranton area. The first ever Scranton Zine Fest will be taking place in June and I've been invited to read some of my work at Anthology, now a part of Pages and Places.

What is a "Zine Fest" you may ask? Well, I asked the same question. This is what the site has to say:

The Scranton Zine Fest will be a celebration of zinesters, zine distros, artistic press publications, crafters, workshops, and live entertainment under one roof for the community to enjoy.

The festival will be a great place to learn something new, get inspired, discuss, interact, meet friends, connect with local writers, and get involved with accessible media.

 Jessica Meoni and Dana Marie Bloom are the brains behind the operation.

Joining me at the reading are fellow writers and poets Rachael Goetzke, Charlotte Lewis, Amye Archer, Alexis Czencz Belluzi and Brian Fanelli. I'll be sure to post more about this event as the time draws near. For now, visit the links provided to find out more about the Zine Fest. 


http://scrantonzinefest.com/
Facebook Event Page for the Reading