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Friday, April 30, 2010
Mock Turtle Press gives voice to local writers
Those of you whose reading lives began the dark age before Everything Digital will recall, back in the dim recesses of your literary memories, those things called ‘zines.
Remember? They were scrappy collections of creative writing and artwork that were edited on kitchen tables, printed on the cheap and distributed on the fly. In other words, exactly the sort of thing that got killed off by blogs and websites.
Except, not completely. On a recent stop at the Ohio Coffee Co. coffeeshop in downtown Dayton, I spotted a stack of ‘zines on the counter alongside a can asking for donations (true to the spirit of the thing, of course). The cover said, “Light, Tapping on the Window: stories, poems, and art from Dayton and elsewhere,” produced by something called Mock Turtle Press.
That turned out to be Christina Dendy, a 34-year-old Daytonian who teaches creative writing at Stivers and also works as a freelance writer and editor. Juggling work and motherhood, she uses her spare time — again, true to the spirit of the thing — to produce her ‘zine as a labor of love.
It’s currently one of the very few — and, depending on the week, possibly the only — ‘zines in town.
“I still enjoy reading print publications,” she said, reflecting on the retro rarity of what she’s doing. “I think a lot of people do. At least, I hope so.”
The issue I found was the eighth Dendy has produced since 2005. She began slowly, putting out chapbooks of her own poetry, expanding gradually to include others’ work. Themes emerged, and she heard encouragement. After doing two collections of writing about birth and motherhood for a local parenting group, “I thought it would be fun to do a traditional ‘zine. It’s kind of been an evolutionary process.”
She named her enterprise after a beloved Lewis Carroll character, and the latest issue was the first that nailed the mix she wanted. “I got some fantastic art and good stories,” she said, seeking submissions via Facebook and word of mouth. “It really turned out well.”
There is artwork by well-known local artists such as Amy Kollar Anderson and Heather Lea Reid; smart photography by Jan Underwood, Kidtee Hello and others; short stories and poems by talented writers such as Caitlin Closser, Tiffany Shaw-Diaz, Tiffany Angus — and Christina Dendy.
Yes, if you publish your own ‘zine, you get to put in your own stuff. After all, she’s doing the gathering, editing, production and distribution by herself, and paying the costs out of pocket. She prints about 100 of each issue, breaking semi-even with donations. “It’s not a profit-making enterprise,” she says with a laugh.
But it is one she hopes to grow and expand. Dendy would love to be able to print 200 copies, two to three issues per year, and to find a few interested folks to help. She’d like to sell a bit of advertising, and be able to get copies to the venues asking for them. She’d like to develop a website to complement the book. “It’s tough, because I’m just one person,” she said, realizing that growing Mock Turtle Press will of course bring new challenges.
For now, she’s pulling together the next issue, shooting for mid-summer. “My goal is keep producing it as long as I can and expand the press run. I’m not trying to make it a statewide or national thing, but I think it would be nice to have it be a consistent local thing for all the artists and writers in town.”
It would, at that. If you want to submit work or just help out, find Mock Turtle Press on Facebook or email Dendy at mockturtlepress@gmail.com. And keep an eye out next time you grab a cup of coffee.
