Marion Boyars

The basic appeal of creating these home-made ‘magazines’ is easy to see – the opportunity to write whatever you want and tap into a willing audience, with no restrictions.

‘lo-fi’ music refers to a musical style in opposition to high production values. Encompassing an ideology that has been both championed and ridiculed over the decades, for some, this is the only way they are willing to make music, to others it represents an annoyingly shambolic, amateur style. It is, however, this celebration of the amateur that is at the heart of DIY scene in both music and literature – a celebration that continues today.

Zines are non-commercial, small-circulation publications which are produced and distributed by their creators.

everyday anonymous person.

create your own cultural experience

Unlike the message of mass media, which is to encourage people to consume, the zine encourages people to take part and produce something for themselves.

But the zine appears to be the perfect participatory cultural experience

‘They [zine writers] celebrate the everyperson in a world of celebrity, losers in a society that rewards the best and brightest.’

Zines celebrate the idea that you can print anything and at least one other person will want to read it.

He wasn’t interested in compiling an oral history project, which concentrated on the memories of the residents’ past while ignoring their present. Instead, he wanted to capture an essence of who they were.