The Duplex Planet

#145 (PO Box 1230, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866) $2.50
by William Ham

DAVID GREENBERGER: Ed, do you know what “dogged persistence” means?

ED ROGERS: A dog in persistence? I don’t know that.

Zines come and go. Most don’t last because they lose whatever passion that got them started in the first place. But The Duplex Planet thrives. Why? What makes a little magazine consisting almost solely of the wit, wisdom, and misheard sentences of the residents of various NY/MA nursing homes one of the best publications in the country? Because it’s completely and utterly free of the cynicism, shock value, and vindictiveness that fill most other zines. It is as it always has been, perfect in its simplicity – David Greenberger asks a question of one of his elderly charges, then stands back and lets them answer. What comes out is funnier, wiser, and above all more human than anything you or I could emit from our poisoned brains or jaundiced souls. It refuses to sentimentalize these people or editorialize in any way – it just records what they say with respect and affection. The Duplex Planet is, as ever, nothing short of life-affirming. May it run long enough for all of us to get quoted in it.