SF Zine Fest

Zine Scene: Be Good or Be Good At It — A Celebration of Zines, Touring, and Community

Every other week, Zine Scene uncovers writers’ and artists’ adventures in the world of independent publishing.  This guest installment comes courtesy of Rad Dad creator Tom Moniz, who was previously profiled here.

I’m not good at a lot of things. I tend to dabble, try something for a minute, then move on to the next one. I also balk at bureaucracy, at jumping through hoops, at following rules. Now, being good is subjective, I admit, but I can say that writing is something that I enjoy. And performing — yes, I can honestly say that there’s something about it that feels better than drugs (and it’s healthier too). And making friends — I like that too.

So whether or not I am good at the aforementioned activities, one thing I know is that I’ve committed to them. That’s why in order to celebrate the recent ninth-annual San Francisco Zine Fest, I concocted the idea to do a zine tour of Northern California. And why not? Zines involve all the things I like to do, that I hope to be good at: writing, or drawing, or even taking photos.  They can involve performance, and they are absolutely meaningless without community.