Celebrating Anglicisms!

Last Updated on February 19, 2023

A while ago I wrote a post in defence of the use of Americanisms in writing, but now I’m wondering if I need to post in favour of Anglicism’s to prove that cool colloquialisms transcend nationalism.

This morning I found a review of my zine (Beat Motel) in an American zine called Razorcake, and they liked a very English line from my current issue so much they used it on their contents page, and here’s why I think that being quoted in this way is cool as hell:  The world of zines is very different to the traditional publishing world (and even the ‘self-published’ world) because it doesn’t adhere to any rules – if you want to throw something at the world you damn well go ahead and do it regardless of gross grammatical incompetence, good taste (or even correct spelling), and this incredibly open world celebrates individuality, especially when it comes to the way creatives use language.

At this stage in my (ahem) ‘writing career’ I have been published many more times in zines than I have been in what might be considered the mainstream, and a consistent thread that runs through most of the reviews I’ve had from American titles is a celebration of just how English my writing is.  Actually ‘celebration’ is probably a bit strong, but the colloquial nature of my language in the zines I write (and write for) is often mentioned in a positive way, in fact I’ve had a few reviews that only talk about how ‘crazy English’ my writing in zines is.

The writing style I use in zines is very different to the tone and voice I use in fiction writing, which in turn is very different to the style I use on my blog.  So there’s no real conclusion to this post other than to proclaim a hearty ‘huzzah’ for non-conformity of language standards in the underground press!