DIY culture has always been at the heart o f DC's thriving punk community. As Washington\, DC's punk scene emerged in the mid-1970s\, so did the periodicals&mdash\;"fanzines"&mdash\;that cele brated it. Before the rise of the internet\, fanzines were a potent way fo r fans to communicate and to revel in the joy of fandom. These zines were more than just publications\; they were a distillation of punk's allure\, connecting the city to the broader punk community. Fanzines remain a meani ngful\, tactile\, creative medium for punk fans to connect with like-minde d people outside the corporate-controlled world.
\nIn \;Keep You r Ear to the Ground\, the archivist and musician John R. Davis unveils the development of punk fanzines and their role in supporting DC's hardcore a nd punk scene from the 1970s into the twenty-first century. He sheds new l ight on DC's scene and highlights some of its key personalities\, includin g many who are often left out of punk history\, with high-quality images o f rare zines and insights from numerous interviews with zine creators and musicians. This book vividly weaves together the origin of zines and their importance in underground communities.
\nFor punk enthusiasts\, zin e creators\, American studies scholars\, and anyone who has ever felt like an outsider\, \;Keep Your Ear to the Ground \;traces how the uniq ue environment of Washington\, DC\, helped zines thrive.
\n\nIn Conversation: \;
\nJohn R. D avis is an archivist and the curator of Special Collections in Pe rforming Arts at the University of Maryland's Michelle Smith Performing Ar ts Library. His articles and commentary appear in the \;Washington Pos t\, \;NPR\, \;Notes: The Journal of the Music Library Association\ , \;The Journal of Popular Culture\, and \;Post &\; Post-Punk. He is a longtime participant in the Washington\, D.C. punk community as a fanzine creator and as a musician in bands like Q And Not U.
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Chris Richards is the Pop Music Critic for the Washingto
n Post\, as well as a zine creator and musician. \;
Books will be available for purchase. This author talk is part of the Speaking in Tongues Festival. Running from Octob er 8-11\, the festival will feature four nights of community and visionary music at various local venues. \;
\nFor those in need of a ccommodations for this event\, please \;reach out to the \;Center for Accessibility \;at 202-727-2142 or \;DCPLaccess@dc.gov.
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