From a Zine to a Chapbook
11 July 2026
Over the past few days, I found myself at a crossroads. Either I keep writing or I give it up. KONTAKT is running away. It can no longer be caught. The zine has grown feet.
I was working on Issue #6 when a message reached me. Someone was asking about a collaboration with the wayward opossum. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I dropped the issue and turned my attention to the new project. A chapbook was going to be printed. Made from my existing body of work. I quickly wrote back.
The project was born.
I gathered all my texts together and stared at them. A great pile of paper lay before me. The selection consisted of several pieces from the previous zines as well as more recent work.
At first, I thought about simply submitting them as they were. But then the chapbook would have been nothing more than another clone of the zines. So I abandoned the idea.
I chose another path.
The texts needed to be reinterpreted. They needed different illustrations. I had never really been satisfied with some of my earlier drawings anyway. So I picked up paper and pen. I revised the texts. Drew like a madman. And from all of this, SILENT OUTER WORLD emerged.
A thirty-three-page chapbook. From institutions and fleeting relationships all the way to “Buried,” the final piece. I consider it one of my most accomplished texts. That is why I wanted the chapbook to end with it. SILENT OUTER WORLD was born. Then I hurried off to the print shop and handed over the stack of paper.
Now I lie awake at night and dream of stepping out of the shadows. Let’s see where it takes me.