The first issue of
Shotgun Seamstress came out in August 2006. I wanted to pick up where other zines that addressed race & punk left off. Zines like
Evolution of a Race Riot and
How to Stage a Coup and also personal zines by folks like Lauren Martin and Bianca Ortiz, really helped me out. I was either the only one or one of very few Black kids and people of color in my scene and I needed to read the words of other kids having similar experiences. The only thing was, a lot of the writing in those zines made it seem like if you were truly through with racism and cared about your identity as a person of color, you'd leave punk rock. I remember how Mimi Nguyen, the editor of
Race Riot used to pride herself on being ex-punk. But I love being Black and I love punk rock. I don't want to give anything up.
Without being a personal zine,
Shotgun Seamstress is a celebration of every side of myself. The punk part, the Black first-generation Nigerian part, the queer part, the feminist part, the artist-loner-weirdo part. Hopefully Black punks, feminists, queers, and DIY artists & musicians find in
Shotgun Seamstress a world where they don't have to choose between important identities. It's kind of like a fanzine, full of interviews, book reviews, profiles on important Black punks, artists, activists & musicians, and little bits of my personal experience wrapped up in stories about other people or other times in history. I get lots of submissions from other people.
Shotgun Seamstress available through:Learning to Leave a Paper Trail DistroStranger Danger DistroLola and the Cartwheels Distro (UK)In Other Words Feminist Bookstore (Portland, Oregon)
Shotgun Seamstress on MySpace
ISSUE 3: MONEY IS FAKE
ISSUE 2: EVERYBODY SAY LOVE

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names to faces, it could be quite naughty ---
many thanks,great zine, awesome style. cant put it down
'
xx
Saludos de Tijuana.
oh and ps. I couldn't find the email,but thanks for reading! Glad you liked it.
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