Hello, my name is China Martens and I have a book that is really beautiful: its a mutant, a zine-book, like a mule: half book - half zine. It was made here in Baltimore, and layed out by Scott in the old Natty Boh factory (where the first six-pack was invented, by a guy with submarine experience which inspired him to think of the can idea) who totally understood my concept of the "zine-book" and made it every thing I dreamed of. What that means is it has lots of collage and detail and photos and hand-writing, and is kind of informal with the spirit of what my zine has been--but its compiled into a book form, with text layed out and lightly edited by Benn (I leave the mispellings in intro's and collages - cuz hell I am notorious for that!) and a cognizant idea of itself as a book. I mean the thing is bright and big and solid like a brick. (236 pages; 7" x 10") Its a lovely zine-book. So now I am a new author. I really don't know what that means so much. I know I would like to get the word out about my book more - like "hay you - check it out!" My book is on a small press label: Atomic Books started their own publishing thing called Atomic Book Company - and it is really really good to be put out by a local neighborhood independent bookstore, for many reasons. I am so glad to have worked with Rachel & Benn (Atomic Books) and for the oppurtunity. Here's my press thingie:
THE FUTURE GENERATION: A Best Of Zine Anthology: 1990 - 2005.
A pioneer of the genre, especially when it comes to mamazines, China Martens started The Future Generation in 1990. She was a young anarchist punk rock mother who didn't feel that the mamas in her community had enough support, so she began delivering articles on radical parenting to her compañeras in an age before the Internet made such a thing easy.
Now, for the first time, 16 years of her zine and parenting writing life come together. This zine-book uses individual issues as chapters, focuses on personal writing, and retains the character of a zine that changed over the years—growing from her daughter’s birth to teenagehood and beyond. Personal and political; ideas and actions; the intimacy of a zine meets the arching reach of a book.
This primer on compassionate anti-authoritarian parenting really is crafted to make you think about how you should deal with children and respect them as human beings. Rooted in an underground publishing tradition, this zine-book gives voice to an underrepresented and much needed point of view, especially relevant to the countercultural community, but interesting for everyone—parents, kids, friends, and others!
'The original punk parent zine.' - Ariel Gore, Hip Mama
'The Future Generation is one of the most committed, radical and inspiring zines ever produced, anywhere.' - Jeff Bagato, Mole magazine
'What I've always loved about her zine is that it goes beyond just parenting. She really makes an effort to fit parenting into the greater context of the world.'
- Sean Stewart, The NewPages Zine Rack
'Search no further than here for enlightenment. When China Doll Martens, genius, chronicler of truth, zine guru of heaven and earth tells us that here is one mother who will not twist herself or her child to society's slavery, but instead will make another world and welcome us to it, we say yes, yes, it is possible, it is possible, it is!
-Katherine Arnoldi, The Amazing True Story of a Teenage Single Mom and All Things Are Labor
