Non Monogamy 101 - a primer for questioning compulsory monogamy

Non Monogamy 101
40 pages, 1/2 digest
$5 + postage

Adelaide Barton puts out a series of zines with individual titles, as opposed to consecutive issues of the same title. From what I can tell, they are all of similar style and quality, both of which are nice. Hand written and hand drawn.

Non Monogamy is just what it says: an introduction to the topic for those who may not have given it much thought, and perspectives to think about for those who have already formed opinions on the matter.

It starts off by listing numerous forms of non monogamy, both in our times and historically, along with a list of famous people who have practiced one form or another, (you could add Margaret Sanger to the list.) All points are exemplified with quotes of numerous people living various non monogamous lives. Barton does this as she works though subtopics like communication and jealousy, then she ties it all up with a further reading list and an extensive glossary.

The tone is friendly, affirming, and non-accusatory. There's a thin fuzzy line between bringing awareness and legitimacy to a thing, and actively advocating for it, and she stays for the most part in the realm of acceptance of everyone, monogamous or not, as much as anyone objectively could.

Extra points for the Dan Savage quotes.

Order
https://www.etsy.com/listing/270683805/non-monogamy-101-a-primer-for?ref=shop_home_active_1

Contact
ladygardens00 at gmail
that's
ladygardens(zero zero) at gmail

review by Jack Cheiky
This zine is being donated to the Cleveland Zine Library after review.

Phases of the Moon #5

Phases of the Moon

114 pages, Digest

$10

"Phases of the Moon #5 is a book-length zine by Stacey-Marie about being in a relationship with an abusive alcoholic.  A young woman in a relationship with an abusive alcoholic man."

It's really beautiful.  It's disturbing, smart, and good.  The writing is fantastic.

It's memoir with interspersed quotes from other texts.  I preferred Stacey-Marie's words to the quotes, but I did value some quotes that explained abuse bonding.  They were insightful.

I grew up as a child of an alcoholic--I am familiar with alcoholism from a child's perspective.  I never thought about my mom's perspective very deeply--I didn't dare.

So this zine was triggering for me.  Just when I thought the story couldn't get any more disturbing, it did.  Around page 50, I felt sick.  Around page 80, I told Ming, "This zine is killing me."  

(We were walking down the street, walking through sunlight, away from the cafe where I'd been reading.  I felt stuck in a nightmare, disoriented, and unwell.  But good writing can do that to me...)

And the ending is worth it.  And I could relate to the speaker a lot.  These are two quotes I loved from toward the end, ideas I've thought about over and over, through the years.

Was that my true self?  What does a "true self" even mean if we can so easily change based on our surrounding environment?  

and

I felt like if I accepted the disease model of alcoholism, then I would have to accept that all the fucked-up behaviors resulting from addiction were merely symptoms of a impersonal disease.  

I noticed some repetition in the storytelling, but it seemed okay there--the repetition worked--that's how we think.

It's text-heavy but there's some visual art that definitely adds to the experience.  

Overall I loved this zine and recommend it to anyone who's strong enough to read about abuse.  And I wish Stacey-Marie lots of readers and success. 

Available at Portland Button Works
http://www.portlandbuttonworks.com/phases-of-the-moon-5

And at Selenographie
https://www.etsy.com/shop/Selenographie

Review by Laura-Marie

Suspended Like a Star

I was attracted to this zine by the plastic cover, and the way the words were printed on it.

Inside I found a poem. Or a series of poems. About a boy. And the author's relationship with him. And how it seemed to have been terrible, but at the time they might not have known this. And how they wanted to get out, but that was harder than they thought.

The text is typewritten, and placed on top of black and white images and photographs.

Apparently some combination of all these things meant that the poetry actually registered in my mind (perhaps it was those references to the postal service), and that I enjoyed this zine. Hurray!

(Originally written for 365 Zines a Year.)