Emma Karin of Pretty Dirty Press brings us the next interview. We’re excitedly counting down the days!
Kindly give us a short description of yourself and the work you do.
My name is Emma Karin, my pronouns are she/her. Right now I put out Radical Domesticity and Hang Ups and Hard Work as well as a several other single issue zines that revolve around my personal experiences. Radical Domesticity has been described as a punk rock martha stewart type zine- which is pretty accurate on some levels. R.D. is all about DIY house keeping and general DIY tips. I talk about how to make a chore chart and how to make sure it is used, ways to organize and keep spaces tidy, as well as fun projects! Hang Ups and Hard Work is a zine in which I talk about my sexual experiences and how they relate to the larger picture of how I relate to sex- at least thats the aim of it! I talk about everything from losing my virginity to the story of my abortion to random teenage hook ups and to my present experiences as a sex worker. I will also be bringing two new zines that talk about history with acne and struggles with psychotropic drugs.
How did you get introduced to zines? Were you influenced by anyone?
I really cannot remember how I found out about zines. I can’t even recall the first zine I read! An unbelievable tragedy. V___V
What does it mean to do “feminist zine-making”? Does feminism appear in your work (explicitly or implicitly)?
I think all zines made by women (bodied/identified) are inherently feminist. Zine making, whether its an informational zine or a perzine, involves the exchange of ideas and experiences of women. By putting our histories out into the world, by refusing to keep to ourselves, by creating communities we are creating the world in which we are represented the way we want to be seen. That is some serious feminist shit if I ever heard/saw it.
What is your favorite zine or piece of mail art? Do you like any specific style/part of a zine?
UGH THIS IS SO HARD! I can’t pick an overall favorite because that is just too dang hard! But I will talk about one I recently picked up and can’t stop yammering about! The Choose Your Own Consensual Adventure zine by Pleasure Pie is so important I think it should be considered required reading. The idea of consent and teaching it to everyone is obvs super important but I think sometimes it can be hard for people to really fully grasp the idea of how it is used IRL. Choose Your Own Consensual Adventure is such a simple way to really imprint what consent means and how to use it into someones brain. While this zine is for everyone I see it doing a really kick ass job helping teens and young adults see how consent works/should look before they dive into a situation.
I always appreciate those who make zines and go the extra mile. Using colored paper/card stock, doing funky bindings, silk screaming covers, adding inserts, hand coloring, all those little extras and details just make my heart go all fuzzy.
If you could sum up your zinester life in a kitchen appliance, what appliance would it be?
Pressure Cooker. I save up tons of ideas in notebooks and collect images for a few months then sit down and throw them all together creating zines in under a week due to some pressuring deadline.
Finally, who are some of the other zinesters you’re excited to see at this year’s feminist zine fest?
Uhm all of them!? I am really pumped to see some old friends and some out of town zinesters coming in for this event but I really can’t wait to see all these new faces/new zines I haven’t ever heard of. I’ve already started construction on a whole new zine shelf for all my expected acquisitions!
NYC Feminist Zinefest 