Community, Empowerment, Social Change, and Zines: Wasted Ink Zine Distro

Photo of a lake with several wooden planks sticking out of the water. Dry grass is visible in the foreground. In the background, there is a horizon of trees and mountains with mist over them. A cloudy sky is visible above. There is a purple filter over the image. White text over the sky and horizon reads, "COMMUNITY, EMPOWERMENT, SOCIAL CHANGE, AND ZINES: WASTED INK ZINE DISTRO".

I am very excited to announce the release of a new zine!

Community, Empowerment, Social Change, and Zines: Wasted Ink Zine Distro

Wasted Ink Zine Distro (WIZD) is a community hub for zines, education, and social activism. WIZD is an organization that uses zines to connect individuals to a community that empowers them to make social change. This zine offers an overview of this thriving organization in the context of my research. I hope that readers will learn more about WIZD and the power of zines as educational, community-building tools within its pages.

GET THE ZINE: https://ko-fi.com/s/f23b02dc47

I am making this zine available for free!

Learn more about Wasted Ink Zine Distro on their website at https://www.wizd-az.com/.

Update: Please note that I recently moved my online store from Gumroad to Ko-fi. Digital copies of some of my older zines, like One Year on T and Quarantine, will be made available again soon. Print copies of zines are also coming soon. Additionally, there may be some technical issues as I set up shop. Thank you for your patience!

You can view my new shop terms and FAQ here: https://ko-fi.com/post/Shop-Terms-and-FAQ-O5O81HY626

Zines as Empowering Adult Education Tools: A Presentation Zine

Digital collage made out of various colourful paper strips and shapes (stars, swirls, squiggly lines) on a brown paper background. Black text over white tape reads, "ZINES AS EMPOWERING ADULT EDUCATION TOOLS".

How can we use zines in adult education to empower learners to make social change? In this zine, I examine a political activism zine by Kyle Tran Myhre through the lens of this question. The slides within are originally from a presentation I gave in one of my education classes, which I’m proud of and decided to turn into a zine. I hope you enjoy it!

Digital collage on a brown paper background. On the left is a screenshot of a post on Bluesky by Kyle Tran Myhre that reads, "I’m set up today at the founding conference for the anti-war action network. Workshop later on narrative/arts-based tactics for organizers, plus the big free zine library. More at guante.info/zines". There are two photos below this of his Free Zine Library, one of the library in a case on a table and another of a close-up of the sign that says, "FREE ZINE LIBRARY / PLEASE TAKE + SHARE" and explains how the library works in text that is illegible in the screenshot. On the right, black text reads, "We are brought together through the common medium of zines. Zines are community-building tools for collective struggle and social change".

GET THE ZINE: https://sagepantony.gumroad.com/l/zdffq

I am making this zine available at a Pay What You Can (PWYC) rate for greater accessibility.

The Educational Power of Zines: On Making Academic Research More Accessible Through Zine Making and Reading

Finally, after a two-year hiatus, I am releasing a new zine!!!

Hi, I’m Sage, a zinester and graduate student studying education. I have done a lot of academic and non-academic writing in my life. I believe in bridging the two, especially in making academic writing more accessible to people outside of academia. Zines are an excellent vehicle for doing this. They hold great educational potential that is often underutilized. I want to see more educators teaching with zines! I also want to see everyday people be given greater access to academic research through zines. This multi-media zine explores these ideas and provides some examples, instruction, and resources. I hope to get readers on board and excited about the educational power of zines!

GET THE ZINE: https://sagepantony.gumroad.com/l/oxbyul

I am making this zine available at a Pay What You Can (PWYC) rate for greater accessibility. I will also look into making a print copy available soon at a low cost.

Belated fall poem

The mountain gradually turns orange and burns away

Like last summer’s sun

Winter comes

Or will come

And likely, I’ll still be sitting at this desk

Forgetting that leaves exist

Turning the heat up and down

Watching my neighbour clean her window

Feeling the seasons change outside of me

Hello again

How lucky to have a view like this in the heart of the city.

Two and a half years since I came here and climbed this mountain.

I was careful on its icy paths then.

People ask why I came to Montréal.

I was following a dream.

But then, of course, life here became a reality.

One I’ve come to love just as much as the city.

I thought I wasn’t a city person, but I just hadn’t lived in Montréal. I feel such a connection to this city. My life here hasn’t been idyllic or easy. In fact, sometimes it’s been quite hard. The dream I followed here has reshaped into something else entirely. The life I wanted and the life I have are quite different, yet I find myself in a life that I love. There have been so many changes and more are coming. I look forward to them and know they will all come with their own challenges, ones I can’t yet see. And I also know I am exactly where I need to be.