In photos: Queer zines at the Yiddish Book Center
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Schmutz is a chapbook of three queered stories of Yiddish folklore. Photos: Jess Goldman
Once cast off as a dying language, Yiddish has been embraced by artists and storytellers to tell LGBTQ+ stories in zines — self-published, hand-made magazines and books.
Why it matters: Queer communities across the country feel greater urgency in finding forums to share their stories as state legislatures pass laws restricting LGBTQ+ expression.
Flashback: Queer zines aren't new. Vice Versa, published in 1947, is the first known lesbian magazine in North America, and was made with an office typewriter and a carbon copy machine.
- The beginning of "a real queer movement in zine making" started much later, in the 1990s and 2000s, to combat homophobia, says Maya González, Harriett and Seymour Shapiro Fellow at the Yiddish Book Center in Western Mass.
The big picture: While Yiddish book and magazine publishing goes back centuries and has an international history, interest in Yiddish language and culture has seen an uptick since the pandemic, Susan Bronson, Executive Director of the Center, tells Axios.
Reality check: Yiddish scholars and academics have started focusing on translating LGBTQ+ stories only within the past 10 or 20 years, says David Mazower, Chief Curator and Writer of the Center's new core exhibition, Yiddish: A Global Culture.
Between the lines: González tells Axios, "I think of the Yiddish community and the queer community, as many others do… as chosen communities."
- Most of the Center's zine collection focuses on queer narratives.
What's next: Check out these zines and other exhibits at the Yiddish Book Center, and submit your Yiddish zines to [email protected].
