how did you get involved in zines/d.i.y. publishing?
in eighth grade i would stay up listening to radio shows on my alarm clock radio, hoping to fall asleep before 3a.m. & before the days of "loveline", there was this chicago-based show called "sound opinions" on at midnight. they used to have ben weasel & courtney love on as guests, but in one episode they interviewed some fanzine author. i had no idea what a zine was, i think i had only vaguely heard about it before, but i had never ever seen it. & i didn't have the internet yet, so this radio show was my only source of information on a zine. but it intrigued me so the next day i set out to make a zine by myself. it was called "miss teen all american" & that has to be the fucking worst title ever. but it had themes of an angry young isolated white feminist. i think i had stories, fiction, reasons why i hate my dad & a newspaper clipping about a series of sexual assaults by a postal officer in my suburb. nothing too ground-breaking, but i was in eighth grade. i rode my bike to the library to use their copy machine, but i didn't know how to make it double-sided. i made two copies of each page, rode home & glued the pages together. then i had no stapler so i sewed the pages together. the zine weighed about two pounds. i gave it to my friend danielle & she kind of shrugged, but i thought i was on to something.

my family got a computer & the internet halfway through my sophomore year of high school. by that time i had already put out another "mtaa", maybe five copies at most and i'm sure tons of embarrassing stories. but the internet gave me access to riot grrrl chat groups & other zine writers. it helped me see what good zines look like, what it means when people actually respond to your writing & how to make pen pals. it made me happy & i went on to write more zines with wider distribution: "susie is a robot #1", "truckface", & "why we live."

i briefly quit making zines shortly before my sickness. but four months after my recovery i decided that i needed to write about my experience since i couldn't find anyone to relate to my desperation in the hospital & no one really understood the toll it had taken on my mental & physical state. so in the summer of 2001, i released "susie is a robot #2". i think i only made about 30 copies & sent them to the usual people, never any distros though. i wanted something more from this new zine. it was the most personal i had ever been & i kind of received lackluster responses. & then i declared that i would quit zines for real. i even stopped responding to letters or emails in hopes of just falling off the radar. but, lo and behold, two years later ciara randomly contacted me about distributing "susie." i had ten copies left & i told her i wouldn't make anymore, because i was done. but because she contacted me, i started writing again immediately. the stories of the past years poured out of me and i couldn't stop it so making new zines was the next logical step. & now i am completely involved in this process once again, with much more enthusiasm than before.

why do you continue making paper zines in the age of the internet? how do you think the internet has affected the world of paper zines?
well, i don't like sitting at a computer. i don't work an office job & i'd rather be holding a zine in my hand or on the el instead of searching through blogs to find out about x's day. i continue making paper zines because it is something solid. it has heart & effort. it has been thought about repeatedly & the layout has been meticulously criticized. many internet journals have quick writing looking for an immediate response. like someone just talking at you, not really thought about for weeks in order to find the right angle, the right words or sentiment. & these blogs have prevented many more zines from coming out since it's obviously easier & more people get immediate responses from their friends. but i just think the internet is cold. everyone will agree that paper letters are better than e-mails. & i feel that paper zines are just better than the internet because of that extra effort, not to mention the costs involved so it really shows the importance of its existence.

what is your writing/editing/layout process like?
first i have to decide what i want the zine to be about. all of my zines kind of have a compact story within them, a visible beginning & end that deals with a certain topic that's important to my life: work, illness, abuse, etc. usually the idea for the zine is spawned by a major event in my day-to-day life, or something that triggers my memory. so i begin writing in my notebook about past events & i also carry around a tiny notebook to jot down notes about current events that would apply to the zine. when i think that i have a cohesive idea put together and a solid outline, i begin to put it on to the typewriter, or if it's longer, i use the computer. i re-read the typed parts, make sure everything flows well, & when i have enough scattered pieces of writing on my tiny bedroom desk, i begin the layout process. & the layout is very important to me. i need to make sure that the zine as a whole flows well together to make sure that my point comes across & that the overarching issue is resolved. so i take the longest with the layout, oftentimes ripping pages out & moving them to a more convenient spot. when it's all put together, i read it as a whole & then ride my bike over to copy max, crossing my fingers that my machine will malfunction again & the copies will be free. thank god for teenagers who hate their jobs! they will always give you discounts with shrugged shoulders. the zinesters salute you!

how do you think the zine community or the process of making zines has changed since you've been involved?
i remember handwritten letters on homemade stationery. but now it's a three-line e-mail or a myspace message. there isn't a whole lot of communication these days. before i knew everybody who was reading my words, & now it's mostly anonymous & i question if anyone has even received my zine. sometimes it seems like a cut-throat business when my words are being stolen or i get crappy reviews in magazines of my first five pages because the zine is "too long." now it seems to be about profits, if one can be made. i remember more of a community, more people supporting each other, paper catalogs & paper ads for zines & distros. now it's all on the computer, & that makes it easier but very distant. the zine community has always relied on the computer to get contacts or pen pals. but now it seems as though the community is based solely on the computer, through back and forth e-mails, ordering through paypal, and livejournal. when i ordered from distros i used to have to write them a letter & trade stamps, but ordering now is like ordering anything from ebay. with this ordering process, i don't get the same amount of contact with a random stranger who appreciate zines as much as I do. but, it's not so much just a zine problem, it's just the way everything is working now. i guess zines have to be streamlined too. & before i thought that zines were all about the content but most zines these days seem to be made just to be cute. prettier zines sell more than a regular photocopied zine that's mostly text-based. & i have to compete with the glossy-covered issues and mass distribution when i just don't have the time or the funds to make my zine look attractive to "customers". now zines are being compiled into books, & i'm afraid that the books will start making the photocopied zines obsolete since the price of copies has risen over the years. not to mention with the published anthologies, fewer people are going to search after the previous issues that are still available from multiple distros. it's turning into one-stop shopping with mechanized distribution. & even at zine fairs, people are awkward and silent because we are so used to the interaction on the computer. come on! where's the party?

are you "out" to people in your life as a zinester? how do you explain it to people who don't understand?
umm, no, not really. my roommates know & they really don't care. i don't know if they understand that this is my outlet, this is like being in a band to me. & my best bud julie knows & she goes to quimby's to buy issues instead of just getting them from me, just because she thinks i'm famous for having my stuff in a store. but the rest of my friends may have heard that i write zines, but they really don't care. but i also do an amazing job of hiding what i do. a zine distributor visited me over the summer & i introduced her as a "pen pal" rather than zine friend, but she outed me & i had to explain my secret life to others.

so i keep my passion to myself, since i actually don't want some of my friends & acquaintances to see my zines since i am kind of a private person, though my zines would suggest otherwise. i feel like it's easier to air my secrets in zine format than discuss them face-to-face. so even when i meet people who have read my stuff, i try not to look them in the eye. yeah, i know it's weird. & then when friends find out about my zines, they'll ask me for a copy and i tell them, "no freaking way." i have a rule that friends must seek out their own copy & never discuss reading it with me. i'm just afraid it'll ruin the relationship. since one of my former co-workers read my stuff & now he seems really awkward around me, as though he didn't want to have to hear about bad things in my life.

what do you like best about the zine world? what do you like least?
i make zines to have a connection, to start a dialogue with a complete stranger. so obviously i love letters & making friends over admiration for words or artwork. i love visiting zine people from other states & receiving trades in my hand. i actually can find enjoyment in zine fairs, but only when i make a fool out of myself by being incredibly outgoing & falsely confident. & it's weird how i can make such a better connection with someone out-of-state than with a local zine writer that i meet face-to-face. i hate that sort of pretentiousness where we can't even discuss that we liked a zine or attempt to be friends. & i have really very little connection to the zine writers in chicago & seemingly have more friends across the country than in my own neck of the woods, which i think is kind of sad. i have been wanting to support the chicago comic & zine community & it's been slow going, but i hope that it can get some of us out of our shells & start talking to one another for real. oh, & i fucking hate zine bullies. you know, the people who think they are too cool for your little bits of writing. i don't like the credibility that you have to gain in the zine community. or how some big distros control the market. or how the common courtesy of rejection letters or e-mails has disappeared. & another thing, there aren't enough different voices being heard. i dislike the lack of racial & class diversity within the zine-writing community. & maybe it's me, but i don't like that i feel forced to be positive with zines. sometimes i just gotta be bitter & i don't want to have to be completely judged upon one sentence or paragraph that betrays my past idealistic self. not to mention that i hate how i feel like i'm too old to be making zines and i wonder if the zine community was stronger just because we were younger. i hate that distros are closing. i used to look up to pander & i was devastated when it closed shop. & i'm scared that it'll be happening to more distros because of the inconsistent nature of zines.

do zines play a political role in your life? are you involved in other d.i.y. projects? do they play a political role?
I don't really think zines play a political role in my life because they're more of a personal outlet. my politics are obviously reflected in my writing & my earlier zines had more of a political slant, but i found that it was hard to maintain enthusiasm when there's so much shit going on in the world. & i think the "personal is political" mantra has gotten tired in most cases, & seems very second-generation to me. i think in some cases the personal can be political in zines, such as writings about protests, overcoming "-isms" & other forms of abuse while providing help for others. i just don't think of it as my defining political act. my other projects are painting, button-making, linoleum prints, dancing to soul music, trying to set up zine parties in chicago, playing my guitar like a god, working for an all-volunteer independent chicago magazine, & an occasional silkscreen wheatpasting project. i am also the president & founding member of the wolfman bike gang! all of these projects fall into the time that i have outside of work, & they get neglected when i'm trying to finish a new issue. i would say that i focus most of my time on my zines & the other projects come second. & i try to make my artwork reflect my political ideals even if my prints just sit inside my apartment.

what advice might you have for someone who is new to the zine community?
don't get frustrated and give up. know that your first issue, no matter what, is just going to plain suck. stay in there because your zines will get better. it just takes time. also, try to get your zines in distros immediately. it makes the process much more enjoyable to know that your words aren't sitting in a box underneath your bed. you kind of just have to throw yourself out there & try not to get hung up by others who give you bad reviews or ignore you. you can learn from it & add fuel to your fire to make the next issue better. send letters to zinesters you like & ask for advice. & keep in good contact with pen pals. no one likes a rude zinester. try to find a place for yourself in the community because really that's what it's all about.

what role do you think distros can/should play in the zine community?
distros have always been incredibly important to the zine community. they allow zines to be seen on a national level while giving them a proper & representative review. they essentially establish a larger community by bridging together different writers & a larger audience. distro owners should be passionate about the zines they carry & respectful of the writers. & it is always good to have the person who runs the distro be a zine writer as well, since he or she knows the ins & outs of the zine community. distros should never solely be money-making ventures. they should be places that fully respect the medium & are genuinely interested in spreading the words of others. & i think that distros shape the way we view the zine community. they shape the content that we read based on their own political perspectives, which can be either good or bad, depending on the politics. but within the process, a feeling of trust is established. i know that certain distros will carry good zines and i will continue to order from them based on the trust i have established with them. & i appreciate distros, so i wanna celebrate their birthdays with them & let them know that they rule. i sound like a freakin' kiss-ass, but it's true.

are there changes you'd like to see in the zine community or your own zine creation?
i'd like us all (including me) to start small again. to get back to our typewriters; to stop the glossy covers; to start writing letters; to be more honest; to ask for advice & actually receive it; to support small distros & ensure their continuation; to respect other people's work; to make paper catalogs again; to have an occasional typo; & to be receptive to making new friends.

order luran's zines! "so midwest," "susie is a robot," & "truckface".