I’m the editor of a zine called Infinity’s Kitchen. It’s a graphic literary journal of experimental literature, published independently, in print and online.
If you think that “experimental literature” is synonymous with “nonsense” you may be right, but you’re in the wrong place, with Infinity’s Kitchen. Nonsense has a place in writing, the way pepper has a place in certain foods. It is best used sparingly, sometimes never at all, and it should never be served up all by itself.
And all that you’ve held sacred, falls down and does not mend
Just remember that death is not the end
Not the end, not the end
Just remember that death is not the end
— Bob Dylan
Tonight was a mournful night for the arts community of Baltimore, even though the mourning was mostly in jest. A “wake” was held for Baltimore’s defunct arts magazine, Link: A Critical Arts Journal in Baltimore and the World (1996-2006). For ten years or so, Link was a preeminent authority on the subject of – you guessed it – arts in Baltimore and the World. Link published art criticism and commentary, with timely themes including net.art, at a time when the world wide web was still something of a novelty to most people; and “outsider art” or “visionary” art, at the birth of Baltimore’s Visionary Art Museum. Notable contributors to the publication included Yoko Ono, in the final issue.
Flyer for the wake held in memory of Link, a now-defunct arts publication.
Link’s wake began with a doleful litany, followed by eulogy, and was punctuated by drinking, as all good wakes should be. Highlights of the evening’s black comedy featured performance art by the Performance Thanatology Research Society, which included a woman who mummified herself and then sang “when you wish upon a star”. Other “mourners” crashed the eulogy by wailing and moaning and sobbing, while carrying black umbrellas and flowers. This wake was held at the 14Karat Cabaret, a hotbed of avant-garde activity in Baltimore, which was also the venue that hosted Link’s initial release party, ten years ago.
Out of respect for the deceased, presumably, no mention was made of the cause of death. A cautionary sermon, therefore, was conspicuously absent.
[audio:http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/national/local-national-786997.mp3]
Local NPR radio show “The Signal” gave a less tongue-in-cheek eulogy.
Link is gone, may it rest in peace, but the spirit behind the publication lives on. Tonight the torch was passed to a new publication in Baltimore, Locus Art Magazine. Locus has already published a fifth issue, and was named the 2008 best art magazine by Baltimore Magazine. (That fifth issue contains an interview with my former neighbor, Dina Kelberman. Shout-out to Dina.)
Baltimore’s art scene is in good hands, with the support of all the venues and programs that have sprouted up since the days of Link’s inception. Locus makes a fine contribution to that support for the visual arts.
Now, about that literary scene…
I’ve put together a new graphic literary journal in Baltimore, called “Infinity’s Kitchen.” To celebrate the publication of the inaugural issue, there will be an opening held at the Metro Gallery on Feb. 22 at 7 p.m.
Here is a run-down of the performances that will be at the release party.
This will be a zine with literature and art, in particular, but we’re open to anything, in general. We’ll consider artwork of any media, style, or subject. The zine will have an online component, as well as a paper issue, so feel free to submit video, audio, etc.
We reject the notion that great art comes only out of misery and that all good artists are filled with angst and frustration. We say: delight — rather than despair — in creation. Artists are still constrained by certain dogmas, or unquestioned “truths” about what art is or should be. We encourage you to question rules about art and literature. We prefer to explore sensory imagery. Create an innovative process, combine media; and remember: there are no categories!
As a contributor, your work remains your sole property, and you grant our zine one-time rights to publication. Compensation for your inclusion in this, the inaugural issue, will be in the form of contributors’ copies, your name in lights, everlasting glory, etc.
To contribute, or for more info:
zine@nocategories.net
The new issue of Punk Planet magazine is out now, reminding me that, yeah, I guess I did subscribe to their email newsletter, once. I’m glad I did that, because I was interested in the new issue, which promises to deliver some juicy details about the current state of “underground” print. Good old fashioned zines and stuff. And here’s the pitch…
FOR ANYBODY WHO’S EVER SAID “PRINT IS DEAD”. . .
Punk Planet #75 celebrates print media in all its forms with a follow-up to our first, best-selling Revenge of Print issue PP60. The legendary HARVEY PEKAR talks 30 years in comics and shares his original storyboards, CINDY OVENRACK—creator of the beloved Doris zine—discusses independent publishing, and up-and-comer TOM K. contributes an original comics feature. There are interviews with cutting-edge writers MICHELLE TEA and T COOPER, a conversation with Weird War’s IAN SVENONIUS about moving from music to writing, and fascinating peeks into the invaluable PRELINGER ARCHIVES, the world of TRANSGENDER ZINES, and the last decade of BITCH MAGAZINE. We’re also proud to announce exciting new columns by JOHNNY TEMPLE (Girls v. Boys, Akashic Books) and JOSH HOOTEN (Herbivore magazine). Plus, way more!
This just in from the notorious Lord North…
Well met, my friends. My latest solo painting show is in the hallways of my workplace, Disney Feature Animation! So if you happen by Burbank, California, gimme a ring and I’ll get you in there to see them! Since that may be inconvenient for you, I’ve thrown them up online at www.lord-north.com
Follow the links to “Strange Loops.”
Comments are appreciated.
Love to you and yours
Lord North is so notorious, to me, because I know him from my adolescence in West Virginia, when he and other like minded art students founded an organization called the Epicenter. It was an old barn turned artist space, and for a few years, it was a lot of fun.
Lord North was also the guest editor of my zine, once.
This is the cover of the issue he made, entitled “The Dam Age”. I’ve also unearthed the zine itself, which I’ll try to put online soon.
Check out his paintings. They’re delicious.
I love zines. I made one myself, for quite a while. I quit doing the zine. Publications like Factsheet Five are becoming increacingly diffficult to find. Blogs have nearly overtaken the zine thing, in so many ways, but not completely.
Blog of a Bookslut has indicated that the zine scene is not as dead as I thought it was. In fact a zine library has recently caught the attention of The Boston Globe. The post, The Boston Globe profiles Boston’s Papercut Zine Library says that “There are zine libraries all over the country.” That’s good news to me.
From the Globe:
Just blocks from some of the world’s most esteemed libraries, a very different reading room has sprung up: Papercut Zine Library, dedicated solely to the quirky, independently published magazines known as ”zines.”It’s a humble space, a small, wood-paneled room in a fading leftist meeting hall, with a hand-printed sign taped to the peeling front door
You are invited to anonymously contribute your secrets to PostSecret. Each secret can be a regret, hope, funny experience, unseen kindness, fantasy, belief, fear, betrayal, erotic desire, feeling, confession, or childhood humiliation. Reveal anything – as long as it is true and you have never shared it with anyone before.
Create your own 4-by-6-inch postcards out of any mailable material. But please only put one secret on a card. If you want to share two or more secrets, use multiple postcards. (Please do not email your secret.)
Please put your complete secret and image on one side of the postcard.
A friend of mine saw yesterday’s Apocalypse Playground post and then wondered “how come you’re not doing that anymore” It was popular. It made money. It was a hell of a lot of fun. Oh yeah, and it was popular. Well, its just that I have moved on, and I can’t say to where.
People just grow up, ya know?
I’m not sure where I am going with this particular writing space, so I’ve decided simply to write along the way and see where it goes. Mostly that has made for a lot of writing about writing. I’ve been asking ‘what it this thing anyway?’ as if, once I found the proper template I could then fill it. Several years ago this would be called a “zine”, but that’s not what’s in vogue anymore, so it’s a “blog’. Whoppee. Same damn thing, different package. I’ve decided that I don’t care about filling a template here. Granted, this website had the most readers back in the mid-nineties when it pandered to a prepackaged alternativism. Actually there was a staggering number of readers, but, now that those prepackaged keywords no longer fit the bill, that crowd has moved on. Oh well. On with the show…
I have posted a new batch of poetry from Apocalypse Playground, adding to the zine archive. Enjoy reading it.
I created this image, digitally, when I was in high school. It later became the cover of the first issue of “Apocalypse Playground.” I thought I had lost the file years ago, but it turned up while I was digging for the script I mentioned in my previous post.