Hey readers.
It has been quite some time. To think, just a week ago I was starting a new apprenticeship, training with Kathleen LeRoux and company to bring joy into the lives of elders as well as adults going through their own crises. The world, and my calendar, all of a sudden seemed so full and exciting — the directions I’d been gallivanting down the past couple years had all started to show new signs of life on their respective trails.
And now. Here we are. Friday, March 13th — yes it was a Friday the 13th kind of day — my inbox filled, hourly, with cancellations, updates, monitorings. My calendar all of a sudden became a whole lot emptier.
It’s astonishing to think about how different life was just a week ago.
It’s also overwhelming to see how we are adapting. Communities popping up as fast as those emails were sent in response. Digital platforms I’ve never heard of are now the norm. Conference calling. Group chats. Digital spaces and places. This is where we meet.
After some thought, I’ve decided to begin work on a ‘Zine to document and respond to this unprecedented moment we are experiencing. And by we, I mean WE. Everyone. Everywhere. I’ve never experienced something so global before.
I’m going to call it Quaran’Zine. Or something more poetic. But that’s the one that’s sticking… so far…
I’d like to invite anyone who wants to join me for this endeavor to read the call I made on Facebook below. I’d love to hear/read/experience whatever is happening in your life.
I’D LIKE TO ADD, that if you submit, please include:
- the date you wrote/made/responded to this crisis with your submission, &
- your location.
Alright friends. Then let’s do this. I invite anyone who’d like to submit something for Quaran’Zine to email me at afieldofcrowns@gmail.com
Really I’m looking for anything you want to share about life during this time. What has changed? What was a wonderful act of humanity you experienced? What is the value of creating spaces in times of crises? What do you miss? What’s really bothering you?
It can be journal, poetry, it can be doodles and drawings, it can be comics and photographs, scripts or just inane ramblings. It can be lists, observations, collage, really anything. I’ll maybe stray away from video at the moment but we can also have a conversation about it.
I’m going to set up an online space for it to exist. I’ll also probably print some and send them around. Figuring out the details and logistics of that.
At the moment, this would be a volunteer thing, a moment to come together a make a document (or series of documents) to capture the moment and to ruminate about humanity and community in times of crises.
For those who it matters: I’m thinking of formatting it Quarto size, regular 8.5×11″ paper, portrait orientation. If it requires multiple pages, which I assume it will, I’m planning on stitching it together instead of stapling. If you are designing something let me know about the dimensions. You can probably go right to the edge although I’m not sure how picky my printer will be (this is, if you’re worried about it being printed). Depending on how much material comes in. If it’s a lot, then I might switch over to Octavo and make a couple little issues.
When submitting a thing, please let me know if you’d like it to remain in the format you send it in or if you’re happy for me to cut and paste and design it how I think might fit.
.pdfs, .jpegs, .docx, text in an email that I can copy — let’s keep it to these formats so it’s not too much of a hassle for me.
Also, if you’re sending writing, maybe keep it shorter rather than longer. Brevity and all that. I won’t impose a limit and I won’t edit you, but we may start a convo.
Once again, the email address is afieldofcrowns@gmail.com
Just cite “‘Zine contribution” in the subject.
AND LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OF AWESOME THOUGHTS OR WOULD LIKE TO HELP ME OUT WITH YOUR KNOWLEDGE. All of that is welcome.
Much love in this time of glass to glass.
a field of crowns 