I am. We are.
Each of us is unique. Together, we make up the Street Roots family.
Our 2018 Street Roots vendor holiday zine launched Friday, Nov. 23. Each year, our vendors write, edit, draw and paint to create a beautiful publication that highlights their voices and their talents.
This year, we started with a declaration of existence, “I Am,” understanding that, while we are all individual, we are shaped by collective identities and personal experiences. The submissions came in quickly.
Vendors wrote initial drafts in our weekly creative writing workshops, painted and drew in special weekly art workshops, and spent their free time writing new drafts from the suggestions of our zine editorial committee. They wrote about being tattooed, growing up, running away, finding a cabin in the Alaskan wilderness. They told us about the void left behind when friends passed away and the freedom of new identities through gender transition. Eclectic as they are, each piece speaks volumes about those we serve and their dreams for themselves, as well as our entire community.
Every year, more than 700 Street Roots vendors sell our newspaper and make our organization strong. They are the face of urban poverty in Portland, earning an income to create a better life for themselves. Our model is simple: Vendors purchase copies of our award-winning weekly newspaper for 25 cents each, sell them for $1 and keep the profits. Our zine costs the vendors $1, and they sell it for $4.
Street Roots vendors will sell the zine at their usual sales turfs, along with the weekly Street Roots newspaper.
Regardless of where we’ve come from – the different backgrounds, belief systems, political parties and experiences that have influenced us and our views of the world – we are united in the common values of love, compassion and nonviolence. Together, we strive to create a better life for ourselves and a better, more united Portland, one conversation and newspaper sale at a time.
“I Am” was made possible by a generous grant from the Regional Arts and Culture Council. It covered printing and staff time for production and – most importantly – it provided stipends for the vendors whose work appears in the zine, as well as for those vendors who served on our editorial committee. The committee met seven times this fall and made editing suggestions, final decisions on what pieces were printed and advised on layout and aesthetic decisions. Special thanks to its members Aileen McPherson, Leo Rhodes, Lori Lematta, P. Oaks (who also illustrated the cover) and Rob Thaxton, as well as to volunteers Meghan Murphy, Bianca Butler, Helen Hill and Anjali Rathore for their support on this year’s editorial committee, writing and art workshops. We could not have produced this wonderful document without them.
Whether you’re a first-time Street Roots reader or a longtime supporter, we hope you enjoy this zine. May it give you a window into the minds of our talented vendors, encourage you to keep buying and reading our weekly newspaper, and inspire you to strike up a conversation with your vendor every week.
Thank you, and happy holidays from Street Roots!
Cole Merkel
Vendor Program Director
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Street Roots' 2018 zine launch party and vendor poetry reading
WHEN: Noon to 4 p.m. Dec. 9, 2018
WHERE: Portland’s Institute for Contemporary Art, 15 NE Hancock St., Portland
The zine – which features original poetry, essays and artwork by Street Roots vendors – was released on Nov. 23 and is sold at vendors’ usual sales turfs. Artwork from the zine is being featured in Abigail DeVille’s art installation at PICA, “The American Future.”