The Politics of Self-publishing

AA Bronson on the Community and Politics of Self Publishing 

Artist and founder of the artist group General Idea, and President of Printed Matter, AA Bronson, discusses the community and politics of self-publishing within the book ‘The Newsstand’ (Lele Saveri 2016).

Bronson highlights that following the invention of the printing press in the 15th century, opportunity for voices to be heard within politics grew through pamphleteering. During 1960’s totalitarian South America and Eastern Europe, artists utilised pamphlet or zine formats to communicate ideas which were otherwise deemed  illegal or dangerous. According to Bronson these publications were “inherently political” either openly or sometimes only because they allowed individual voices to be heard in such strict regimes. 

This desire for independent voices to be heard later became popularised within the outburst of punk self-publishing circa 1977, which mostly consisted of vinyl and zines. These publications were arguably political due to their nature of taking control out of the hands of

70’s record companies and giving back to the artists (the individual). 

Bronson touches on how the explosion of the punk self-publishing amidst the 1970’s inspired marginalised voices to speak out during the 80’s, in a new generation of ‘queer zines’. A key player in this new generation was ‘J.D.s’, a queer punk zine from Toronto co-published by Bruce LaBruce and G.B Jones which again, allowed “aesthetically, sexually and geographically marginalised voices to be heard.”

Saveri, L., Miller, K. and Wawrzyniak, M. (2016). The newsstand. New York: Skira Rizzoli Publications, Inc., pp.49-50.