In 1991, SPEW brought together artists, writers, editors of zines, performers, video-makers, activists, and bands from throughout the US and Canada.
As the first queer zine convention, SPEW marked the explosion of queercore subcultures through unabashed fashion, outrageous politics, humor, and joy.
SPEW participants share their thoughts and feelings on the meaning of “queer,” queer theory, and the activism of both ACT UP and Queer Nation.
– Robert Ford at 11:02
– Joan Jett Blakk at 32:00
– Stephen Winter at 40:02
Hokey Sapp Does SPEW (60 min.) features Kate Schechter performing her invented media personality Hokey Sapp interviewing some of the luminaries at SPEW: The Homographic Convergence, a queer zine convention hosted by Randolph Street Gallery in Chicago in May 1991.
The 17 minute video, created by Mary Patten, documents the 1991 SPEW festival and features interviews by performer Kate Schechter with zine makers such as G. B. Jones of J.D.s and Robert Ford of Thing.
Steve Lafreniere, publisher of Gentlewomen of California, was one of the principal organizers of SPEW, considered the first queer zine convention in North America. Held in Chicago, SPEW featured more than twenty publishers and zine makers from the United States and Canada, with performances by Vaginal Davis and the band Fifth Column. During the event, a homophobic passerby stabbed Lafreniere in the back, reminding the community what they were fighting against
The raw VHS footage, shot in 1991, was edited 31 years later, in 2022. Mary Patten: director, videographer, and editor; Kate Schechter, interviewer.
