Working towards Mad Lib(eration)

New collaborative zine being put together by mad identified people seeks submissions

by The People of Mad Lib

Mad Lib is a collaborative zine being put together by a collective of mad-identified people, consumers of mental services, and others with lived experience of mental health challenges. We consist of students, artists, queers, activists, community builders and peer support initiators. We are a diverse group of folks in the Halifax community who have been engaging with Mental Health Peer Support at Dalhousie University. The peer support model values shared life experience, empowering individuals to reclaim their own language and narrative about their mental health, and acknowledging that wellness must be community-based.

With this project we are creating an inclusive public media space for people with lived experience of mental health challenges. We deliberately question the mass consumption of expert-driven perspectives about mental health and seek others who are interested in creating new paradigms of wellness. We know that your stories and art reveal unique and invaluable truths. We maintain that your personal experiences are a source of legitimate knowledge about mental health realities, and we invite you to share your voice, by contributing to this zine.

You may submit anything you can imagine! We welcome written works such as fiction, non-fiction, poetry, prose, opinions, interviews, resources, or critical theory. Art is definitely encouraged, which could take the form of comics, drawings, collage or photography. This edition of Mad Lib will be printed black and white. Possible themes include mad-positivity in general or from a personal perspective, experiences of seeking help from institutions, family, or community; the value of vulnerability, or the role of oppression in mental health struggles. You could submit a dissection of complex words and concepts, like safer spaces, autonomy, stigma, inclusivity, calling out, calling in, or check-ins. You could share any helpful tips, survival strategies, coping skills or self-care techniques you possess. You could even create a fake ad or other work of satire; or design a puzzle or a game!

Our mission is to be as inclusive as possible in regards to contributors and readers. We acknowledge that universities are spaces that can be exclusionary, and are actively committed to keep our efforts transparent and open for collaboration. The current organizers of this zine have our meetings at The South House, Halifax’s Gender & Sexuality resource center. We have received funding from NSPIRG and are presently pursuing other sources of funding to help us further our goals and create new projects. We work with the radical idea that we can revolutionize our experience of wellness by engaging with it together, as a community invested in mad-positivity. Together we are reclaiming space in media for our voices and our truths, and we are not alone! You are not alone.

If you are interested in contributing to Mad Lib(eration) zine, please send submissions and/or questions to madposzine@gmail.com or visit the community page at www.facebook.com/MadLibZine.

The deadline for submissions is March 31st.

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