Local news covers queer zines collection at Furman

In an article appearing in The Post and Courier Greenville, Benjamin Simon explored a collection of queer zines at Furman University’s James B. Duke Library. He spoke to Jeffrey Makala, university archivist and associate director for Special Collections, and Kathleen Casey, professor of history and director of Furman’s Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program, about how the more than 800 DIY publications and other pieces of ephemera came into existence in Special Collections and why they are important. Makala, who scoured regional bookstores, overseas collections and other sources to build the trove of queer zines, said the collection represents a broad range of human expression. “There’s politics, there’s food, there’s music, identity, poetry, creative writing, art, sex, everything,” he said.

A special exhibition of the zines Feb. 20 co-sponsored by the Upstate LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce prompted the story. See a related Furman News story here.