Dear reader,
It’s that time again. The calendar is getting ready to turn, the countdown to the New Year is a month closer and I am hunched over my computer, as usual, finalising October’s issue of the zine.
I wasn’t sure how I was going to approach the theme this month, a slight anxiety nagging in the back of my head as I thought about having to send emails out to all of the wonderful writers, who very generously donate their time and skills, with a clear decision in mind. To Halloween or not to Halloween?
I have had the title Who Turned Out The Lights ever since I first began developing Spineless. It was on the first brainstorm sheet I wrote, before I even had a name, and remains one of two that wasn’t scribbled out.
The same rhetoric kept popping up, at the mere mention of a vaguely seasonal issue. “I don’t believe in Halloween,” or “we’re Australian, we don’t do Halloween.”
I get it, trust me, there’s a specific opinion around Halloween as a commercial holiday in Australia, that I’m sure other places have. It’s a Yankee thing.
I stuck with my gut and went ahead with it, and boy am I glad I did. I am so proud of what we’ve turned out this month, I know you’ll love it.
At the end of the day, it’s not a Halloween issue at all. Yes, the theme is timely and intentional for the month, but it’s not specifically about anything. Nothing about Spineless fits into a neat little box like that.
It’s whatever you want it to be.
I voiced that when I introduced the concept around, a friend told me, “the title isn’t to limit you, but inspire you.”
That’s undoubtedly what everyone has done. Some may be about Halloween lollies, sure, and of course, we mention the Monster Mash, but they’re all about much more than that. They’re about nature and a connection. Community and overcoming adversity. Anxiety and fear and pain and loss. Hope and excitement.
Maybe I’m reading too much into this. This very well could just be a spooky-themed issue stemming from my love of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
I hope you enjoy and stick around for many more issues of my overanalysed ramblings.
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