BY LOGAN HURSTON
FOR THE OBSERVER
EAST ALABAMA — In recent years, there has been a rise in “zines,” which are mini magazines that can be made by anyone. Zines, pronounced “zeens,” are small leaflets that can fit easily into your pocket. They are crafted from one folded single 8-1/2 x 11 sheet of paper.
The newest local zine is the “Advice for My Son” series started by Bay Kelley of the Opelika-Auburn Film Arts Collective (OAFAC), who is best known for running the group’s weekly film screening at Rock ‘n’ Roll Pinball. OAFAC is an experimental space for artists, outsiders, cinephiles and anyone hungry for non-mainstream entertainment.
“The Seven Sentences project, initiated in 2023 and launched in 2024, challenges selected do-gooders in our communities to give seven sentences of advice to the next generation,” said Kelley. “In 2024, 12 advice-givers were selected by me to give advice to My daughter. Their sentences were then given to a local artist who was challenged to turn the words into an object that is distinctive and rewarding to the eye. Twelve authors, 12 artists.
“We printed and prepped 300 black and white copies of a new edition each month,” he said. “A pile of finished zines was reserved for the artist and authors to take and distribute. The rest were given to patrons to drop wherever they pleased. We don’t know where they’ll end up, though there are often floating copies in The Jailhouse. The ‘Advice for My Daughter’ year culminated in a December reading event at the Torino Club featuring its artists and writers.”
The theme for the next Seven Sentence Project is “Advice for My Son.” The first zine debuted at the Jailhouse in Rock N’ Roll Pinball this month, written by Lane Duggar and illustrated by Piper Guevarra. For every issue released this year, a writer from “Advice for My Daughter” picks the writer of “Advice for My Son.” Duggar is an Auburn resident and was picked by writer Leigh Anne Chambliss Armstrong.
“It was important to us that the zines not be branded or churchy,” said Kelley. “It was important to us that we not distribute the zines ourselves (so we could assure that they end up in places we wouldn’t go). We wanted each one to be an offering for anyone who found it. We wanted it to be a little confusing and make folks ask ‘What is this? Why?’ We wanted art and words in the world that work instead of sell.”
You can find “Advice for my Son” in Opelika at Rock ‘n’ Roll Pinball along with other places around town. Kelley plans on opening the boxcar theater in April, and the zines will be found there when it opens.
“We wanted to inspire folks to ask themselves what advice they would give,” Kelley said. “We wanted to inspire meaningful conversations between parents and their children. Our refrain: The best defense against a crumbling world is a strong community.”
