Nearly There: A Queer POC Zine
What: Nearly There is a zine project meant to address the serious absence and silencing of stories about the experiences of queer people of color. After years of going to zine fests, libraries, bookstores looking for queer zines and POC zines and finding few to none, after years of existing as a queer woman of color and being sidelined in all those communities, and after years of always hearing about a potential zine project like this waiting for someone else to start it, the time is right for us to begin showcasing and prioritizing our own shit. For those of us who occupy the spaces of both queer and of color (along with all our other identities), this project is about creating an arena where we can listen and be heard, find commonality and difference, and leave a mark in the making of our own queer history and POC history.
Who: Knowing full well that for many of us, terms like queer or LGBTQ+ often do not and cannot truly measure who we are but being limited by the lack of other terms, this project is for, by, and about queer/LGBTQ+ youth of color including those of us who are
low-income/working class, 1st/1.5/2nd/3rd generation im/migrants, city based, Mestiz@, Chican@, rural based, bi/multi racial or mixed, undocumented, same-gender-lovin, formerly or currently incarcerated, parents, dark skinned, from any spiritual background, college educated, butch, femme, aggs, street-involved, etc, etc, etc.
Theme: For this first issue, the theme is relatively open and inclusive of any issue, concern, or interest of queer POC. Ideally looking for submissions about in/visibility in queer and POC communities, discourses on coming/being out or not, finding and creating queer POC spaces, and more. Email me with your questions! Submit: stories, poetry, non-fiction (in any format), drawings, photos, raps, and portraits, rants, quotes, essays, etc.
Send submissions and inquiries to: nearlythere@gmail.com
Deadline: August 1st 2012