Pod People has arrived: stories to travel with

Jordi Kerr

Media release dated: Monday 17 November 2008

The second installment of popular commuter zine Story To… has arrived and is centered on the theme Pod People. This issue has more pages, allowing a more ambitious grouping of literary and design talent.

Designed by Christopher Gray, Pod People has a selection of words and images by young creators from all over Australia including: Crystal Andrews, James C Spinks, Simon Smithson, Estelle Tang, Kathryn Ledson, Angela Meyer, Sean Greenhill, Sudeep Lingamneni, Jordi Kerr, Kellyanne Gentle and Richard Ibrahim.

“The theme, Pod People, was a reaction to the fact that so many people who travel on public transport bury themselves in their music. We wanted to show them the train station life they are oblivious to,” says Kate Nicholson, co-creator and editor.

“We are happy we chose an open call for submissions for this issue and lucky that we got such a large number of quality artwork emailed in to us. This has made for a very interesting collection of short fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, illustration and photography,” says Beth Keating, co-creator and editor.

Story To… was founded in July this year and is now onto its second issue. It aims to give Melbourne’s public transport travellers an intelligent and free literary alternative whilst providing publishing opportunities to emerging artists.

Story To… Issue Two: Pod People is available free from selected zine distros or as a free download from this blog.

They Speak: Luke May

We welcome contributor Luke May to the website and delve into a world of cockfighting, underwater tunnels and Centrelink debt.

ST: How long have you been writing and/or creating artwork for and why?

LM: I used to write in the space beneath an L-Shaped bunk, hidden by a pinned bed sheet and crouched over my makeshift desk with all my papers, books, ammunition and teddy bears. I officially published 27 books in one year – twenty-five more than anyone else in Grade 2 – bound, typed and diligently transcribed word for word from my favourite books. Unfortunately my teacher never reproached me – I’m sure there was a copyright infringement – and I thought, how easy is this! My days of writing like a maniac have slowed considerably, but hey, who can stop dreaming of the good old days?

ST: The theme of Story To…, trains, is quite broad. How did you decide on your subject matter?

LM: Trains? Shit. I thought it was about movement. You know, the place where time and space meet, find their own worm tunnel and snake around the confines of the brain. It’s lonely there on the platform and I refuse to wear headphones. Huddled in with all those people and their pods, white cords plugged into an external silence, you think of robots and deaf mutes and wonder if there were films made about this. It seems that rush hour is incredibly devoid of emotion, and I have a suspicion that everybody is holding it in under books and soft songs. Without these you are left to imagine in reverie, staring like a donkey and chancing yourself upon a dream. I walk to work now so I can prolong it.

ST: We will soon be planning the next edition of Story To… What would you like to see in there?

Poems, poems and poems. A discussion with the train driver about the merits of an underwater tunnel to Devonport. A picture of a guy in a panda suit eating pancakes. A map to a disused safehouse beneath the town hall, where the Flinders Street fiddler was once held by Victoria police on account of impersonating an Egyptian. Barry Humphries impersonating a guy in a panda suit. A train driver reading poems. An issue as thick as an Egyptian pancake.

ST: What’s the best website you’ve visited in the last week?

LM: Falcon vs Monkey – I thought it would be hard to beat an old-fashioned cockfight, but if you want to get your claws or teeth out, sink into this. These guys even sell torpedos.

ST: Assuming the Australian government has a file on everyone in this country, what do you think they have on file about you?

LM: They know I was there the night the fiddler was caught. They confiscated my passport and told me I couldn’t leave the country until I pay my Centrelink debt off. I’ve seen the file, it’s got coffee stains on it. The sheriff brought it round when he took this photo of me.

The pic the sheriff took

Get to It: ‘Anyone Can…’ the launch

I’ve been hanging around with a great group via cyberspace called City Library Street Press and we’ve just put together a collaborative zine called Anyone Can Make a Zine. We’re having an awesome launch event at Sticky, 6 September, at 1-2pm and then heading back to the City Library where you can decorate the cover of your very own copy (only $4) and partake in some yummy home baked food. Click here to view the invite.

Oh, and I personally contributed two pages so I’m naturally quite excited about seeing the finished product.

Kate x

Get to It: Above Water launch

With special guests and everything. And you can get your hands on a FREE copy of the anthology.

DATE: Thursday 28th August
VENUE: The Age Melbourne Writers’ Festival Club, ACMI Lounge Function Space, Federation Square
TIME: 6pm – 7pm
FREE ENTRY

Invite to the launch of Above Water 2008