Daylight, to Ariadne Will ’22, is a phenomenon that is both universal and, depending on a person’s perspective and location, ever-changing. When she decided to launch a recurring publication from her home of Sitka, Alaska during the pandemic, it was this philosophy that led her to name her project Daylight Zine.
Daylight, a “zine” or self-published small-batch print work in the style of a magazine, is founded and curated by Will and based out of Sitka, though it draws submissions and inspiration from all over the country. Will made her first zine in February 2020 as a Valentine’s Day gift, creating all the content and visuals herself, and got instantly hooked on the medium. She found herself totally absorbed in the creative process and knew she wanted to do it again, but this time, she also wanted to open her zine to include outside contributions.
The zine serves as a platform to draw creators together during an exceptionally insulating time, while also acknowledging positionality. With a combination of vivid photography, prose works, digital collage and compelling organization, Daylight Zine manages to do so in a way that is genuine and visually beautiful.
Looking through a copy of the most recent edition, called “Heritage,” there is a wonderful mix of over 20 contributors from Sitka, Middlebury and beyond. From the first page, the reader is treated to a combination of lush visuals and captivating prose. Alternating between photographs, studio art and works of prose and poetry, Will’s carefully balanced curation gives all submissions equal focus and respect. Elements of collage add visual interest and authenticity. Although the layout was created digitally, the zine retains aesthetic features that give it an almost handmade quality.
Will says that submitting to her zine should feel “safe enough for people to take a chance on a written piece when they don't consider themselves a writer.”
For Will, creating the zine is definitely a labor of love — with an emphasis on labor. Reviewing submissions, curating content, deciding the final order of submissions and getting the zines printed and shipped are just a few of the many steps Will must take herself to produce a single volume. All the while, she also takes accessibility into account by pricing the zine as low as possible while still breaking even. Still, the feeling of holding the finished product in her hands and sending it off into the world makes it all worth it.
“It’s exhilarating… like, I created this,” Will said. Because every volume of the zine is unique, each round of submissions is equally exciting and unexpected. In fact, Will encourages unique multimedia submissions.
“You can send a video and you can put in the QR code [and] a still from it, or you can write a song and we can publish the sheet music,” she said. Regardless of the medium, some of her favorite submissions are those that showcase new perspectives, especially unexpected contributions from people she may not personally know.
In Daylight Zine’s most recent edition, one Sitka resident, who is fluent in Mandarin, submitted a piece about Chinese characters and the nuanced meaning and history they carry, focusing on Taiwan. Even a detail as subtle as font choice mattered in this piece, as some fonts did not include the necessary tone markings for the characters.
“Here's a part of history that no one's ever taught me. This, you know, white Alaskan girl … here's this history in this one character,” Will said of experiencing that piece. It’s these moments of connection and learning that the zine aims to lift up, and its celebration of art feels particularly powerful in the context of a global pandemic.
“Making time to create something feels really special. Reading something, or receiving a prompt that makes you want to respond, is also really special, and I think that's especially important right now,” Will said. To those considering submitting but feeling vulnerable or unsure, Will had some final words of encouragement: “Your art is beautiful. I want to share your art with the world.”
Editor’s Note: Ariadne Will ’22 is a Local Editor for The Campus.
If you would like to submit a piece to Daylight Zine, follow this link.
Olivia Mueller '24 (she/her) is a News Editor.
Previously an Arts and Culture editor, Olivia is an International Politics and Economics major with a Spanish minor. Outside of the Campus, she is a spin instructor for YouPower, an avid runner and hiker, and a member of the Middlebury Mischords a cappella group.
