disappear first
A downloadable chapbook
Midwest emo meets trans insurrection. gay person meets red state. desire meets negation and care. insurrectionary anarchist literature meets sad poetry by teenagers.
Jouissance is described by some philosophers as being a subconscious state of enjoyment that betrays a societal norm. Throughout mk zariel's DISAPPEAR FIRST, zariel portrays this almost-undefinable word with a queer lens; the idea that queerness is inherently anti-normative. The collection defines the numerous layers of jouissance with one phrase: "do you deny yourself?" saying to be queer without pursuing the politics of queerness is denying the self. This collection will leave you with a hankering for betraying the norm—for finding "a ragtag band of misfits" to sing with. — JP (she/him)
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Intense free-verse poetry chapbook focusing on queer and neurodivergent experiences.
From an accessibility perspective, the narrow margins and colourful, shifting backgrounds are not ideal for readability. There is a one-page printable version (with a separate, $0.50 cheaper itch.io listing) which removes the colour, but the monochrome backgrounds still have enough texture to be an issue for some readers and the font size can get quite small.
The writing style is more of a tsunami of consciousness than a stream, which will probably appeal to some readers and overwhelm others. Still, there is beauty to admire here even if you fall into the overwhelmed camp (as I do). Here are some personal highlights -
On queerness and suburbia: what our friends call the straight people zoo / in the suburbs that lie just past normal / five minutes from human kindness [...] we were just a couple hours, / or lifetimes, from freedom [...] my soul is flooded with what was once here / but too defiantly alive to stay.
On chosen community: we are all too bright to see, to categorise [...] the light shines on the faces of the joyously alienated, / the queer, and this is home.
On being trans: even our autonomy is illegal. we crowdfund // for gender-affirming care, knowing every moment of transition / could be our last & our forever & we are all too gay for this
On autistic relationships: 8 letters that have absolutely been said & implied in every moment that you / infodump at me & how do allistic people even date & desire is simply the / unstoppable flow of enthralled passionate divergence
Overall, this is a collection of compelling poems with a lot of interesting ideas to express. It would be nice to have a more accessible version available so more people could explore it comfortably, but in the meantime I hope those who can do so give it a chance. 3/5 - enjoyable.
<3 love this. what could i do to improve access?
I'm glad! ^_^
I can offer some basic guidance, but it will never be as good as getting a specialist consultant with relevant lived experience (e.g. visual impairment, Irlen Syndrome, dyslexia...) to look over the specific document in question, so please bear that in mind. With that said, brace yourself for an infodump!
The Centre for Excellence in Universal Design suggests that you avoid placing background images behind text and use a line-height of at least 1.5 times the text size – this provides enough ‘breathing space’ for users to be able read text comfortably. (Source: https://universaldesign.ie/communications-digital/web-and-mobile-accessibility/w... )
Minimum default 'clear print' font size is 12pt, but bigger is better - especially for people with visual impairments. Consider making a large-print version if possible - that's 16pt Arial or bigger. For a beginner-friendly checklist, see https://www.sensorytrust.org.uk/resources/guidance/designing-with-clear-and-larg... and for more in-depth information on clear and large print standards, see the guidance documents here: https://www.ukaaf.org/service/large-print/
For a more thorough technical breakdown of reader-friendly design choices for dyslexia, including good typefaces to use, see the British Dyslexia Association's style guide: https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/advice/employers/creating-a-dyslexia-friendly-wor...
When selecting a background colour for digital display, aim for off-white/cream as a default - this is more accessible for people with Irlen Syndrome than white, but still allows for personalised coloured filters to be used over the top if needed. If you want to go the extra mile, you can provide a variety of versions using the different colours that are recommended by experts - see the row of pastel-coloured glasses icons at the top of this website for examples. https://irlen.com/
To create a printer-friendly version, remove the tinted background so you just have black text for the printer to focus on. (People may have their own coloured paper of choice, and nobody wants to waste colour ink or wind up with unwanted greyscale backgrounds.)
For guidance on margin sizing in digital media, you can try https://uxmovement.com/content/how-margins-and-line-lengths-affect-readability/ to help you get started
It's always good to make sure that your PDFs are screen-reader friendly (see this guidance for a thorough walkthrough https://www.gov.wales/how-create-accessible-pdf-documents).
However, for poetry - and especially when the creator is a performance poet, with the skills to do their work justice - an even better option is to record an audio file that delivers the work as intended, rather than trusting to the text-to-speech of a screen-reader, which can be quite 'robotic' and monotonous. There's some specific guidance for recording poetry available here: https://ypn.poetrysociety.org.uk/features/how-to-record-a-poem-like-a-pro/
I hope this is helpful! :)
<3 thank you so much for this. I do actually release poetry on my Youtube—would it be helpful if I maybe linked or shared that with my zines? I realize I haven't really done that.
You're welcome, thank you for asking! Yes, that would be super helpful! <3
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