LA Public Library: Interview With Zine Maker - Tomas Moniz

Los Angeles CA

21 December, 2021

10:23 AM

Description

Press release from the Los Angeles Public Library: Angi Brzycki December 20, 2021 Tomas Moniz's debut novel, Big Familia, was a finalist for the 2020 PEN/Hemingway, the LAMBDA, and the Foreward Indies Awards. He edited the popular zine and book Rad Dad and Rad Families. He has two cats and 3 chickens. He also has stuff on the internet but loves penpals. He's been making zines since the late nineties, and his most current zine Bodies & Stars is available, but you have to write him a postcard: PO Box 3555, Berkeley CA 94703. He promises to write back. Basically I was desperate for community as a new 20-year dad. I felt alone. I knew other young fathers had gone through the challenging experience of parenting, but I couldn't find any of the stories that resonated with me in mainstream parenting or fathering books. And that's when I discovered Hip Mama by Ariel Gore and I wrote her a letter. She responded! It was one of the key moments of my writing career. I write in multiple genres. Initially, I did most of my writing as a creative nonfiction zinester, exploring the ideas of building family and raising children in radical ways, and rethinking masculinity. But I evolved into a poetry writer and fiction writer. My most recent novel was a finalist for the Pen/Hemingway Award and a few others. However, I still enjoy making zines that I mail out; in fact, I just finished a zine called Bodies and Stars about east Oakland and friendship during the pandemic. I still really enjoy the classics: Kerbloom! by Artnoose! Doris by Cindy Crab, Kelly Shortandqueer's zines, anything Jonas Cannon writes. But the best thing for me about zines is discovering totally random new voices and stories through letters I receive. Or anytime I go to a bookstore that sells zines, I always buy one to hopefully get the bookstore to continue carrying them. More than being excited for my zines being in the library, the fact that zines are in a library is so important. Talk about validation, talk about the possibilities of getting institutional support, talk about being a patron and discovering ideas, stories, voices that are really outside mainstream publications. I think every library should have a zine collection! The future of zines is expensive and grand. I believe people will always be hungry for connection and art-making and I think all of us should support the truly independent, creative world of zinesters! So many ways but for me: joy and vulnerability and communion. And letters. I encourage everyone to provide a way to contact them. And getting letters is super fun. I've received so many letters from fathers looking to start their own magazines or columns looking for advice; from random people I don't know sharing their reactions to zines I wrote ten years ago; from people who want to trade books with me. I have written a number of playful dirty poetry zines and sometimes I get the most awesome dirty stories written in response sent to me: no names, no return address, just someone sharing a sexy secret. I love those! But most powerful, when I hear from people who just want to say thank you for something I wrote because they felt connected or seen or validated. Those kinds of responses make all the work worthwhile. And yes, I write everyone back…PO Box 3555, Berkeley, CA 94703. Bodies + Stars Moniz, Tomas View in Catalog Rad Dad: Dispatches From the Frontiers of Fatherhood View on OverDrive View in Catalog Rad Dad: Dispatches From the Frontiers of Fatherhood Rad Dad #13: Kowjai Moniz, Tomas View in Catalog Rad Dad #13: Kowjai Rad Dad #19 Moniz, Tomas View in Catalog Rad Dad #19 Rad Dad #22: Riot Parent Moniz, Tomas View in Catalog Rad Dad #22: Riot Parent This press release was produced by the Los Angeles Public Library. The views expressed here are the author's own.