Care packages are bonus resources of the Poetry Bulletin—special thanks to paid subscribers who support the extra time it takes to create more tools like this!
The first care package, on how to write a query letter for poetry book submissions, has been a crowd favorite, so I hope to do more with this format in 2025.
Care packages are a gathering of good things (specific ideas, practices, examples, tools) from fellow poets . . . shared freely, to help you keep going with your own work.
This is also a way to bring more voices into this project and pay poets for sharing a skill they have, a practice others could try, etc. I’ll share more on that in the April bulletin.
This care package is about: zines!
Or, what if we imagine otherwise/other ways?
Creating access to publishing is a big part of why the Poetry Bulletin exists, but sometimes I wonder if by focusing so much on traditional submission opportunities, I inadvertently add to the pressure that traditional publishing is the only legitimate, meaningful way to get your writing out there.
And that’s simply not true. Or at least it’s not true for me and why I do this work with all of you. There are so many ways to share your work. Meaningful, legitimate, artful, creative, honest ways.
When I look at artists and writers I respect, they’re working in many ways and forms, listening to what’s true to their voice and best for each project. Listening to what the times call for. The curiosity of how / when / where / why to publish or share their work is woven into the creative process itself. It’s part of the listening. It’s not just a hurdle to clear after the work is “finished.” And it’s not just about begging for a blessing of the work from the powers-that-be.
I hope the bulletin can make more space for this kind of dreaming—
What other forms are poets experimenting with to share their work, and why?
What forms give you more creative control over the process, or more access to publish at all, or more freedom to play with the distance between writing and releasing your work?
(What if we play with time, cycles, and urgency as our collaborators . . . instead of uncontrollable elements in a long submissions process? What do we lose when traditional publishing deadlines set the pace and feedback loops for our work?)
When I imagined where we might start with that kind of dreaming, zines were top of mind. And my next thought was of
, whose great newsletter trans poetica often includes zines and links or DIY resources made in the spirit of zines.I asked SG if they would be open to sharing from their practice, and they created this care package—in the form of a zine, naturally—especially for you all.
I hope this can be the first of more posts like this. Big thanks to SG for showing the way here!
WHY I ZINE (& WHY YOU SHOULD TOO)
A zine for fellow poets, made for the Poetry Bulletin by
Alt text for each page is shared below. Check out the video at the top of the post for how to fold the print version of the zine.
Alt Text
Page 1 Cover page
Why I Zine & Why You Should Too
SG Huerta | Feb ‘25
[Zine is stylized in all capital letters, written with thin felt-tip green and pink markers. The cover features a sparkly silver star sticker]
Page 2
Fill in the blanks! [written on a pink coffee-stained sticky note]
Zines are a way to share [blank]
(words/art/poetry/all of the above & then some)
in a/an [blank] way.
(diy/radical/accessible/all of the above y más)
They can be as [blank] as you want.
(wordy/minimal/messy/serious/frequent/goofy/political/fancy/niche/cringe/…)
Page 3
My first zine I handed out, IF YOU WANT TO ASK A TRANS PERSON SOMETHING, helped me address microaggressions I face(d) as a trans Chicano, through poems, lists, places to send $$, & actual tips for well meaning allies.
[The same sparkly silver star sticker from the cover is in the corner of the page]
Pages 4 and 5 Centerfold
I fell in love with poetry as a kid. [overlapping with the same coffee-stained sticky note from the cover]
[cut up pieces of paper of the same green and black line doodles glued next to each other]
When ^(racist, ableist, queerphobic) academia burnt me out, I turned to poetry collages & zinemaking.
[Collage of star-shaped stickers of various colors and sizes, including the silver sparkly star from the cover. Small lines of washi tape are coming out of the side of the big silver star and are interspersed with the following collage made of scraps of paper and writing]
A helping hand / still closed / you need it / Poet / … alive
Page 6
Zines are how my bipolar-queer-Chicano mindsoul best creates & connects, online & offline
[arrow] @ zine fests, political events, workshops, readings, etc etc etc
[silver outline of small stars]
Page 7
Zines can be about & made with anything [Two arrows point to the word “anything,” written bigger than the rest of the words]
Fill in your zine ideas below: [blank cloud drawing]
Page 8 Back cover
Read Trans Poets [written inside of a Sun drawing]
Say Hola: sghuertawriting.com
Más Free Zines: transpoetica.itch.io
Was this care package helpful? Do you like this format? Drop a comment with your thoughts—especially if you have resources or examples of your own zines to share.
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