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ExSWAPAtion
I had a request from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
quixoticdancer for an explanation of SWAPA. SWAPA stands for the SWarthmore Amateur Publication Association, or the SWIL Amateur Publication Alliance, or Some Weasels And PAndas, or something along those lines; its true origins are lost in the mists of time.
APAs (aka "zines") have been around for about half a century in the fannish community; they started out as amateur SF magazines, with stories and poems and illustrations and reviews and news, generally hand-typed and mimeographed and mailed out to their members.
SWAPA is a traditional APA, in that it's printed on paper and mailed to its members, but it's more of a way for friends to keep in touch than any sort of magazine. Members send their life updates, reviews, thoughts, comments on previous issues, etc. to the editors; the editors photocopy and collate everyone's 'zines and send the finished product out once a month. Members must submit at least a page every three months, and pay for their own photocopying and postage; almost all of us are from Swarthmore, or have Swarthmore connections. There are about 40-50 members at the moment, and we're on issue 259, which I guess means SWAPA has been around for over 21 years.
An issue of SWAPA might contain travelogues, treasure hunt clues, descriptions of gaming sessions, hand-drawn comics, poetry, movie reviews, cryptic crosswords, kvetching, beaming, complaining, wishing, and nattering. (That would be a particularly good issue, I guess.)
quixoticdancer for an explanation of SWAPA. SWAPA stands for the SWarthmore Amateur Publication Association, or the SWIL Amateur Publication Alliance, or Some Weasels And PAndas, or something along those lines; its true origins are lost in the mists of time.APAs (aka "zines") have been around for about half a century in the fannish community; they started out as amateur SF magazines, with stories and poems and illustrations and reviews and news, generally hand-typed and mimeographed and mailed out to their members.
SWAPA is a traditional APA, in that it's printed on paper and mailed to its members, but it's more of a way for friends to keep in touch than any sort of magazine. Members send their life updates, reviews, thoughts, comments on previous issues, etc. to the editors; the editors photocopy and collate everyone's 'zines and send the finished product out once a month. Members must submit at least a page every three months, and pay for their own photocopying and postage; almost all of us are from Swarthmore, or have Swarthmore connections. There are about 40-50 members at the moment, and we're on issue 259, which I guess means SWAPA has been around for over 21 years.
An issue of SWAPA might contain travelogues, treasure hunt clues, descriptions of gaming sessions, hand-drawn comics, poetry, movie reviews, cryptic crosswords, kvetching, beaming, complaining, wishing, and nattering. (That would be a particularly good issue, I guess.)
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