SubliMates
subliMates: this is a sober zine
This is a platform for work created by people who have overcome any substance or addiction and turn their new experiences into relief.
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Issues will be released on the calendar quarters.
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Submissions can be written word (fiction, essays, poetry, etc), photos, digital art, anything that can be printed in 2D.
Sublimation is a defense mechanism that involves channeling unwanted or unacceptable urges into an admissible or productive outlet.​
What in the fresh hell
Last May* I had a weird day. I saw a person who had died from an overdose on the sidewalk on my way to get my mammogram.
On that same day, I was gifted two old copies of Philadelphia Secret Admirer, my old favorite local zine, and remembered my friend David who published it and that he had struggled with addiction and passed away suddenly in 2020.
It was a sad and tender day, strong with nostalgia and mortality, but I'm fortunate to have met people who were able to get sober and they create incredible things.
And that's when I thought, "I guess I'm starting a zine."
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*editor's note: I previously listed this as April but I checked and it was May so I updated it to be rigorously honest.