Greenzine #14

a critique on privilege in the radical scene by a queer latina girl is all ive ever wanted. hit this!

Chances are you've come across Cristy Road's artwork but if you haven't then you need to now! Her words are as inspiring as her illustrations. Green Zine is full of inspiration, hope, and fucking awesome critiques on everything that needs to be dissed (not least the 'proletariat' dictatorship of Cuba). This has everything a good zine should have - in spades, humor, passion, and honesty. Oh yeah, and someone who has a clue about what they're talking about. You need to get a copy of this fanzine.

If you know me, you know how big a fan I am of Cristy Road, which stems from this being my favourite zine. Consistently amazing, well written, beautifuly illustrated & full of real worth. The messages, though not forced, are strong, & because Cristy is so knowledgable of everything she writes about, often relating things to her personal experiences, each of the stories are so heartfelt, uplifting or inspiring that you can't help leave this zine with a different outlook on life, gender/feminist ideas, the current state of Cuba under Castro or just your friends. This may seem like over-hype, but I'm typing this for a reason. If I could I would hand this out on buses.

This issue of Greenzine is a tremendous read. Coupled with very realistic drawings, (also done by Cristy) this issue of Greenzine is tremendous. The format is of a perzine, but there is politics throughout, most likely an extension of the very political life of Cristy eirself. What is most striking in this issue is the discussion Cristy has about the formation of her sexuality, especially the fact that Cristy can go and see “a man and a woman identify as man and woman while they engage in intimacy didn’t bother me at all…a coercive power structure could be evident in any relationship.” The most important step here is the fact that Cristy shows individuals that “queer” does not necessarily mean “gay/lesbian”, and the deconstruction of that thought pattern is essential for moving beyond the dichotomous ways most people are inculcated currently. There are a number of other pieces in this issue, which crests again when Cristy discusses the possibility that individuals can live together (“whites” and minorities) without the forces of gentrification weighing in and pushing out the original inhabitants, much as what has happened in Harlem, as well as practically any other large city in the United States. The culmination of politics and personal life in Queerzine #14 really allows for an individual to get behind the eyes of an activist and understand better the person and the lifestyle. And hell, as evidenced by the prevalence of personal philosophy in this issue, a person’s views may be changed as well.

This stream of consciousness, piecemeal punk memoir tracks the author as she moves from Miami to Philadelphia. It has accounts of anti-globalization protests, examinations of sexual assault and gender identity, and an interesting leftist anti-Castro take. The zine is hindered by garbled writing and malapropisms but enriched by wonderful drawings.

I've been reading this zine for a while, and thoroughly enjoying Cristy's writing and artwork, which I'm seeing more and more lately of all over the punk place. This new issue is excellent, and it also marks a bit of a transition period in her life. She has always had a
very passionate and ecstatic youthful way of describing her adventures in life, and that hasn't changed, but the transition I speak of is the sort of things that you start to ponder and question when you
stick with things for awhile. She is out of college now, and has moved out of Florida so she's got some perspective on which to dig deeper into her past, present and future, and I really enjoyed getting to know her even more through it. She grew up in Miami and went to art school in Sarasota, but Miami and her Cuban culture are still very much a part of her. I really enjoyed getting to know about the Cuban
Americans in Florida and the perspectives that are a bit different on revolution, community, family, etc.
She writes about what it was like to grow up speaking Spanish and the ways in which that accent was desireable and the sphere in which it was like a taboo mark on your forehead. I really got into this whole side of her life cause its something I knew nothing about. She also writes a lot about what it was like to plan for the FTAA protest in her home city and how that coming together of worlds affected her mind.
Eventually she goes out travelling, from here to there, and falls in love with Philadelphia, where she eventually moves. She dedicates herself to fighting sexual abuse and assault and working to support
survivors and educate our community. What I really like about this zine, besides the depth which it probes to, is that it reads like one narrative, and its a good dense read that is full of her rad art
illustrations of activist punk kids. The stories weave from the present back into the past and discuss issues and topics as well as her personal relationship to each circumstance and situation. The way it all weaves together feels very fullfilling. And of course a mixture of activism, queer identity, punk rock, and the lifestyles which weave them all together and touch on passion, pain, love, family, community, protest, bike rides, all with a youthful have fun traveling and laughing and hanging out with your friends vibe....well, what more can I say....this zine is amazing and if I tell you anymore it'll only be taking away from what you could be reading. Highly recommended!!!

While the combination of handwriting, typewriter, and xerox-style printing may bring to mind a personal diary zine, this is a lot more than that, as Road has created diary entires/short stories/fiction/truth for dozens of characters who are all experiencing change. While I like the writing (and am excited by a form of prose so heavily influenced by DIY zine writing style) it is Road's drawings that make this special. Related to Jessica Abel's best work, these portraits are expressive, nuanced and enchanting. I am incredibly impressed by the delicate linework that results in dense work with real volume. Highly recommended.

Journal style writing about traveling, friends, music, revelations and other introspective writing. Lots of beautiful drawings of people and places that come off as very personal and charming. A lot of the writing is reminiscent of Aaron Cometbus, but maybe not as poetic.

It is difficult to give an unbiased opinion on a zine that is already one of your personal favorites. That being said...this issue is a bit more relevatory in content, at least in regards to gender identity and sexuality. A bit of vagueness in covering these topics was prevalent in past issues and this time it is more specific and no holds barred. Both of these aspects are positives. Overall, I'd recommend this issue to everyone , and will be sure to lend it out to my friends, because it's just the type of zine everyone should read.

This thing is pretty nice to look at - filled with writing broken up by these graet illustrations of punks eating, talking, applying makeup, etc; thrift store punks, not the studs & spikes kind. No ads or reviews. It's all personal/political writing and covers a lot of ground - protests, sex, cities, abuse, rape and accountability, travelling, immigration, drugs, activism. Every few pages Cristy uses words differently than they are used in standard (or even punk) English [since English is not her first language.] Dumb white people make an appearance acting as foils for the editor's rightousness, which is indeed quite righteous. At times she talks about her feelings surrounding an issue while leaving the actual issue kind of nebulous, so the reader ends up with a better picture of her thoughts than the situation. I'd alread bought this before it was assigned to me. It rules - you should do the same.

Cristy writes about her process of change and self discovery as she moves away from her home in Florida to Philadelphia and then to New York, every move bringing both farewells and introductions. She is really a talented writer who has a knack for blending stories about drinking with friends to a confrontation in the midst of the FTAA protests with someone who had abused her. She also tactfully discusses complicated issues of being queer and Cuban-American and punk, growing up in what is mostly a white-hetero (and for that matter, male) scene. This is a dense zine full of great stories and illustrations.

This is my first encounter with this zine, though it’s author, and chief artist, Christy Road is not unfamiliar, as I have seen her artwork used all over the place. And really, if the content of this zine doesn’t entertain you, at least the art is excellent. There is much to this zine that a suburban white kid like me has trouble relating to. The stories generally wrap around the context of being a queer Latino, post-rape surviving anarchist woman. That’s a lot of different things that don’t enter my frame of thought, or vocabulary, on a daily basis. So while I can’t really understand what it is to be queer, or Latino, or having been raped, or having grown up in the inner-city I certainly had a good time trying to! These are definitely entertaining stories, not necessarily all were up my alley as my psychology-trained noggin conceptually raised some other questions and reasonings behind aspects of Christy’s life. It’s all different walks of life I guess and getting a peek into someone’s life who is radically different than your own (but still united in aspects such s rebellion, punk rock, and just trying to survive) is interesting. A repeating theme throughout these stories is the authors focus on preparing to move. Of leaving old friends behind and making new ones, re-aquainting with other ones, and settling into a new life in a new city.

Always an inspiring read, this latest issue of Greenzine doesn’t disappoint. It always takes me awhile to get through one of these, because Cristy really plumbs the topical depths with her writing. The issues I’ve read dealt with similar themes, though, so it’s easy to settle into the cadence if you’ve read one before. A short list: friendship, punk rock, romantic relationships, Miami, being Cuban, politics, activism, sexual assault, and the concept of place/home. Begins with a letter to Florida, and ends with a letter to Pennsylvania. A very clean typed layout beautifully illustrated with Cristy’s exuberant drawings. Definitely recommended.

Any radical unfamiliar with the art and writing of Cristy C. Road by now should check this out, in addition to visiting her website at http://www.croadcore.org to get caught up. That being said, everyone already acquainted will know what to expect with Greenzine #14, but this proves to be a good thing. This issue explores similar themes present throughout her work in a classic Road fashion - namely, the musings of a queer Latina feminist deconstructing identity, her love/hate relationship with Miami and moving from her hometown, orgasms and the personal being political.

Written like a journal, you almost feel like you stumbled upon something private that you shouldn’t be reading, but can’t stop because it’s so damn gritty and real. Prominently displayed between entries are her signature drawings of friends, punk rock kids, social issues and, of course, making out. These serve more as snapshots than illustrations, as anyone who has seen them on everything from show fliers to the pages of Jane magazine knows. I can’t recommend this enough to anyone who sounds interested already. When you’re done, pick up her latest book, Indestructible (also reviewed by Feminist Review), which was originally meant to be Greenzine #15, but ended up its own entity.