the basics:
A zine is an independently- or self-published booklet, often but not necessarily created by a single person. Customarily zines have been constructed by cutting and pasting words and images onto a master flat for photocopying (but lots of people use a computer these days). The end product is usually folded and stapled or bound in some other inventive way. Zines can be about anything under the sun. A distro is a zine distribution company.
the distro:
I have been writing for as long as I’ve been able to read, and when I grew up I started publishing things here and there. After some years of working at it I have been able to earn a living with my writing. Still, the work that takes up the vast majority of my time—and mind and heart—is the writing I do for my zines. I was a teenager during the riot-grrl movement so I knew about zines long before I ever made one. Then a few years ago I discovered "found poetry," which is a kind of a word collage in which the poet creates new works out of existing non-poetic texts. I got really into making these found poems and I wanted to share them but I wasn’t sure how. Would a traditional poetry journal publish something that might have copyright issues? I wasn’t sure, and to be honest I didn’t feel like bothering to find out. I wanted to get my poems out there right away to an audience I knew would appreciate them.
I had on my hands the makings of a zine.
I turned that collection of poems into a self-published chapbook called "Word Math" (which is still available over on the poetry page), and I have been obsessed with making zines ever since. In those years I have made important friendships and all kinds of artistic collaborations with people I’ve met from the zine community, both online and in person. And as often happens with zinesters, I eventually got the inspiration to turn my zine-love into a zine distribution company. My lightbulb moment was that I should carry only zines that feature poetry and/or fiction. Literary zines are an important subset of the self-publishing movement, and they’re also very close to my heart. I wanted to support the people who do this work and share it with the people who want to read it. That's why One-Room Schoolhouse got born.
the proprietress:
My name is Katie and I live near Philadelphia. The first time I really understood how wonderful and important it is to be yourself was when I was 12 and I heard the Ramones; the second time was when I went to college and met people who didn't think I was a freak for being excitable and nerdy; the third time was when I started doing zines. My involvement in the zine community lets me carry that knowledge of the power of being true to yourself with me always as I move through adulthood. I don't know what I'd do without it.
Please feel free to email me.
