Zine Review:
You
This could be the height of pomo literature. For a few months now, non-descript pastry bags stapled shut with the word “you” stamped on the front have been arriving at Broken Pencil headquarters. Inside, a handwritten letter from “Luke” (always underlined). I have no idea who Luke is or who “you” is, but all (or enough) is revealed through this series of pastry bag-enclosed letters, of which I have eight.
Turns out Luke is an everyday guy, who feels a little insecure about his weight, plays in a punk rock band and holds down a day job. His letters are charming little confessions that make “you” feel included in his life. Sample: Luke’s Hungarian co-worker asks him to sauna with her in a completely innocent, Eastern European way and later she meets some jockeys there who bet on horse races for her and give her brown envelopes filled with the winnings in the sauna. These are the delicious tidbits your best friend might relate, and the sort of personal tales zines were made for. Luke is not a birth-day-kind-of-guy, a cake-baking-kind-of-guy, a beach-kind-of-guy… He’s just a dude, but he writes with a colloquial touch impossible to find in “real” writers: “I might also get my testicles checked out while I’m there. There was a guy on the radio saying men should get their balls inspected every two years and I’ve never had a doctor inspect my balls before.” Wonderful! (Laura Trethewey)
zine, creator: Luke You, Free, Sticky Zine Shop, P.O. Box 310, Flinders Lane, Melbourne, Victoria 8009, AU, [email protected]