THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 4, 1995 TAG: 9508040051
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E11 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JENNIFER JOHNSON, SPECIAL TO THE DAILY BREAK
LENGTH: Short : 33 lines
ALTHOUGH THE recent explosion of ``zine'' publications may seem like a fad, zines have a history that dates back to the birth of our country.
As far back as the 1700s, Benjamin Franklin made his own zines. Ever since Franklin cranked out ``Poor Richard's Almanac'' the underground magazine has been an American institution. He published his own thoughts using his own printing presses without any regard for the publishing business.
Similarly, the 1920s through the 1950s spawned beautifully crafted ``chapbooks'' that were filled with the poetry and prose of the era. Though chapbooks had small audiences, they allowed the authors to distribute their poetry without thought of what would sell or be popular.
The science fiction press in the late 1930s, though smaller than the beat poetry scene, were born when fans circulated their own stories and commentaries. Once again, the pure love of writing, self expression and freedom of speech created an entire community of publishers.
Modern day zines can be directly traced to the punk scene of the '70s, which had a strong focus in music. Fanzines were devoted to bands and the ideas they expressed. Fanzines eventually became more diverse and their influence is evident in today's zines. MEMO: Main story on page E1. by CNB