(PO Box 5108 Arlington, VA 22205)
by Kerry Joyce
Out of Bounds is a political ‘zine, and as ‘zines go, its viewpoints are not particularly beyond the pale. Leftists, socialists, communists, they don’t exactly say. But with the obligatory references to Noam Chomsky, articles about CIA involvement with Guatemalan death squads, and opinions like: “It is our civil duty to learn from the Cuban system and demand the same type of universal and uniform health care system in the United States,” you can pretty much gauge their general drift.
But it is refreshing to read a Leftist publication not completely steeped in ’60s cant or the prissy dialectics of academic careerists. The writers here craft prose like the pros, but with the utter sincerity that only a ‘zine indifferent to going broke can muster.
With the sting of the corporate lash at dead-end jobs fresh in their memories, Out of Bounds has a populist bite. The writers here are almost as frustrated with the elitism of the Left, who long ago abandoned the working class, except as an intellectual abstraction, as they are with the corporate mavens who control our movements with brass plated carrots. Bravo!
Like the populists of the right, however, Out of Bounds sees a conspiracy instead of simple greed, a case of Adam Smith’s invisible hand run amuck, in a country that has lost its ethical moorings.
Out of Bounds includes short music reviews and a lot of ‘zine reviews, with an emphasis on non-music ‘zines. The political viewpoints of all are described and dutifully applauded or condemned.
Out of Bounds is a delightful subversion.