Badlands Zine

05/02/2021

A beautiful piece by poet Hanna Thomas Ouse reflecting on our shared struggle to stay present in a world of tension and anxiety. https://www.badlandszine.com/latest/shortening-day

There’s a coup across the sea…

22/01/2021

Idaho's Jennifer Martinez provides a raw, moving commentary on why a new administration comes with both hope and the fear that complacency will hamstring the struggles for equity throughout the country.
https://www.badlandszine.com/latest/complacency-in-this-moment

Reflections on the inauguration and the threat of political catharsis.

07/01/2021

An excellent new piece by The Maamdalorian about the fight against online nihilism and finding space for mutual aid.

Fighting Skynet by bringing Idaho politics back home.

13/10/2020

Dagny Deutchman explores loss, hurt, moving on, and watermelon violence in her poem "Nourish."
https://www.badlandszine.com/latest/nourish

Nourish Almost A week Since I smashed That Watermelon we ate Together On the concrete of my back porch. “Do you think you will be able to finish all of this alone? We barely ate half of it together over the course of the whole weekend.” This was: A warning, Not a challenge. I

13/10/2020

Thanks for hanging in there the past few months while our global hellspin accelerates! Badlands has big things in the works, but in the meantime, sign up for our newsletter, Rustic Prison here: Badlandszine.com - we'll be sending the first issue of it soon 🥰

    Blog Oct 13, 2020 Arlie Bledsoe $1.25/hr Oct 13, 2020 Arlie Bledsoe Oct 13, 2020 Arlie Bledsoe Aug 5, 2020 Former Workers of Pie Hole Broadway When You Can See The Scales Aug 5, 2020 Former Workers of Pie Hole Broadway Aug 5, 2020 Former Workers of Pie Hole Broadway Jul 7, 2020 Alisha Graefe T...

05/08/2020

The workers at Pie Hole on Broadway in went on strike after being subjected to unfair and inhumane wages and treatment. Here's a poetic narrative about their experience, submitted by a former Pie Hole worker. https://t.co/boszsMTbfA

When You Can See The Scales 

08/07/2020

"You cannot be pro- , but homophobic, transphobic, ableist, fatphobic, xenophobic, etc.," write Dele Ogunrinola & Nisha Jae Newton. "Our liberation necessitates the destruction of every system of oppression."

https://www.badlandszine.com/latest/a-letter-to-aspiring-allies

A Letter To Our Aspiring Allies

08/07/2020

"The state was founded by white men who fought off native tribes, stripping them of their land, religion, livelihood, etc., murdered Chinese miners, relegated Black families in Boise to live in the River Street district, held Japanese and Japanese Americans in internment camps in Minidoka and excluded people of color from getting any sense of a foothold in Idaho." - Alisha Graef of on 's racist history.

https://www.badlandszine.com/latest/the-hate-state

The Hate State A brief history of racism and white supremacy in Idaho.

02/07/2020

"Just how many more 'bad apples' must we bite into before we discover we were growing and nourishing an orchard the whole time?" writes Dele Ogunrinola of . "The time to unpack the racism that America has so neatly tucked into their schools, textbooks, language, and institutions is now." https://www.badlandszine.com/latest/love

Love Lessons in joining the fight for justice.

01/07/2020

A chilling piece of short fiction from writer Ethan Szarleta exploring justice, responsibility, retribution, and the limits of law during a deadly pandemic. This is a must read. www.badlandszine.com/latest/justice-for-all

Justice For All

29/06/2020

"These are actually times of agonizing certainty; as always, the least powerful people in our society are coerced to serve in dangerous roles, preyed upon by politicians, & tossed unconvincing rhetoric from on high." - Emma Golden, .

https://www.badlandszine.com/latest/in-these-times-of-certainty

In These Times of Certainty Things are much more certain than politicians and businesses would like you to believe.

17/06/2020

"To suggest the Boise Police Department is somehow immune to the same systemic white supremacy that plagues the cities of Seattle, Minneapolis, Salt Lake, New York, Phoenix, and Portland is ignorantly complicit at best." - Emma Golden on the Mayor's pro-police comments.
https://www.badlandszine.com/latest/boise-not-immune

Boise Is Not Immune Boise’s mayor echoed conservative propaganda to defend the Boise Police Department.

15/06/2020

Nobody asked, but we answered. Our inaugural "S**t" submission comes from an Anonymous Degenerate from Eastern with a runny nose and something to prove. https://www.badlandszine.com/latest/chamber-of-secrets

Chamber of Secrets

06/06/2020

Poet and adventurer Erin Gray shares a distinct, handwritten style of poetry that provides both a record of vulnerability in the content and a record of editing, change, and growth in the scribbles and notes that carved the piece into its final form.

Erin Gray is a poet, writer, artist, teacher, owner of Yukon Excursions, story teller, son, father, vagabond and secular humanist. His grandfather once put James Dean to shame with nothing more than a days worth of stubble sitting on the back of an empty suitcase. Like Tom Waits, he could really dri

06/06/2020

Today is the anniversary of overwhelming anti-fascist action against the N**i foe. D-Day, June 6, 1944.

02/06/2020

(We've deleted the previous post after being informed that the hashtag for black lives matter is being used to communicate among protesters. Clogging the hashtag with black squares can make it more difficult for organizers to use the tag as a comms method.)

31/05/2020

"You gonna let him kill that man in front of you?" https://www.badlandszine.com/latest/nn5gu4vw02murxhoik941fimepforo

Please. Please. Please. I can't breathe. Please, man, please I can't... —One of my homies died [that way]… (Witness) I’m about to die the same… I can’t breathe like this. He’s killing me. Lord. — What do you want? (Police) I can’t breathe! Please, the knee in my neck, I can't breathe...

28/05/2020

Boise artist 12ganzaga expresses her racial identity and heritage through her art while grappling with feminine hypersexualization and the omnipresent yoke of white supremacy. https://t.co/L4s8P70mUM

Identity The art of 12gonzaga

26/05/2020

Check out the beautiful work of Wydaho artist Marinna Elinski as she captures the awe and profundity of nature in her own psychedelic style. https://www.badlandszine.com/latest/4zjroeoluzsg94mnkbjgumqs7juxdi

Harmony The art of Marinna Elinski

24/05/2020

River guides have watched revelations, pain, heartbreak, and joy play out in the most isolated parts of the country. Read the poem "Coping" by Dagny Deutchman for a rare glimpse into the hearts of the stoic workers charged with carrying clients through the wilderness. https://www.badlandszine.com/latest/coping

Coping

23/05/2020

How about a short tale about a descent into isolation to brighten up your Saturday? Check out this short fiction piece set in the near future by Boise writer Leigh Williams. https://www.badlandszine.com/latest/nocjlkk7polfyxcs247y6qd7w2re2r

Deep Dive

23/05/2020

Today is the day! badlandszine.com is up and running and chock full of work from artists, writers, political extremists, weirdos, and more!

If you're interested in submitting work, email us at [email protected]

25/04/2020

Filing our business paperwork before publication to cover all our bases (even if it makes us feel like sellouts 😭). In the meantime, here's a preview of some beautiful art by Marinna Elinski, an artist wandering around in the Tetons.

23/04/2020

Our last preview for today: an excerpt from local writer Clive Roberts's short fiction piece, "The Widow and The Woods."

23/04/2020

Hello world! Badlands is a publication that highlights art, writing, poetry, photography, leftist politics, and more inspired by the weirdo culture of the inland West.

Our goal is to push back on the narratives that tend to dominate our area and show off the talent that lurks in the raw, desolated lands we love. A spot to celebrate the people and cultures that have been overshadowed and drowned by the boring, toxic myths of the American West. Squares need not apply.

We are accepting submissions, pre-launch of our website! To inquire, email [email protected]

We hope to have a short-run of print issues to distribute once the COVID-19 pandemic allows us to safely do so. Be safe and be wrathful.

- Chris, editor

22/04/2020

A preview from "misère et romance (en noir et blanc)," a piece by traveling circus artist .winship.

22/04/2020

What a scamp 🙄. A collage from our series on the Idaho Freedom Foundation, featuring everyone's favorite(?) far-right loon, Idaho State Rep. Heather Scott. Stay tuned for our launch!