DIY in PDX DIY in PDX Compiled by Iris Porter Illustrated by Lily Gilbert TCS Press $12 (includes CD) 112 pages 2003

But communities like this don't just nurture themselves, as DIY in PDX makes abundantly clear. It takes hard work, dedication and lots of people who think it's much more fun to get off their asses than stay on them... people who do it -- whatever "it" might be -- themselves not just out of necessity, but because they think it's better that way.

DIY in PDX was put together by book arts student Iris Porter. It's a collection of articles, for lack of a better word, from a wide variety of contributors: musicians, artists, independent radio personalities, entrepreneurs, zinesters. The very physical appearance of the book is a testament to the fact that you don't need a conglomerate's backing to put out something professional-looking. A tasteful, mostly unadorned white cover with embossed title and the distinctive line drawings that preface each section make this a volume no one should be ashamed to have on their coffee table, while the content is arranged in a cut-and-paste zine-like manner. The typefaces and layout styles vary from piece to piece; some, like sewing tutorials from Molly Keogh and Nicole Georges, have little sketches interspersed with the words for clarification purposes. Others, especially the many interviews with local "celebrities", are straight typewriter text, and a handful give their message in comic-strip format (such as "The Tiny Picture's Club Guide to Developing Super 8 Film", which is surprisingly comprehensible).

The book opens by giving several people's answers to the question: What is DIY to them? Performance artist Miranda July's definition is the most succinct: "Making the thing you wish existed." But there are as many explanations as there are individuals, and everyone included in the book has a different reason for bypassing the accepted, usually commercial methods of getting what they want and need out of life. Not surprisingly, several contributors' politics play a part in their decision to maintain a grassroots lifestyle; they see it as a way to "stand in opposition to mainstream America's racism, sexism, classism, homophobia and consumer capitalism" (Portland Zine Symposium co-organizer Eleanor Whitney). Others (especially those involved in traditionally expensive activities like recording or film) have embraced DIY because it's their only option.

Almost every area of the arts is represented, as well as activities for the more organizationally inclined. There's a section entitled "Punk Rock Economics", featuring DIY entrepreneurs like clothing designer Kathy Foster (who also records bands and plays bass in the Thermals and All Girl Summer Fun Band) and Chloe Eudaly, proprietor of the independent bookstore Reading Frenzy. Jon Van Oast writes an instructional item for starting a public computer center on a budget, and Meredith Butner and Katie Greenhoot contribute "Handmade Bazaar: Buy, Sell, Show and Tell", which details how to have your very own yard sale/barbecue/shindig where people can play music, eat, mingle, and buy, sell and trade their own creations. There are how-to "manuals" scattered throughout DIY in PDX's pages, offering tips on everything from making art with kids to hosting a dirt-cheap brunch for 20 "friends you don't know" ("Did you know that most college dorm cafeterias are just overflowing with dishes and silverware? It's true!"). Other sections of the book deal with film and video, publishing, music and design, and there's a CD compilation of Portland musicians including The Haggard, All Girl Summer Fun Band, The Culottes and The Dimes.

The constants of these stories are positive attitude, self-sufficiency and confidence. There's plenty of semi-serious societal commentary, but it's balanced by a sense of fun and personal fulfillment; these people all seem to be doing exactly what they want. The worldviews expressed here stand in stark contrast to the gloom-and-doom forecasting of the media, politicians and mainstream America, and it's refreshing to hear from people who haven't allowed themselves to be infected with fear.

However, some of this pluck may be the result of unintended insularity. It's often easier to just immerse yourself in your own little scene and ignore the world outside. Not that the people featured in DIY in PDX are guilty of this -- on the contrary, many of the interviews reveal admirable social awareness and conscience. Molly Sprenglemeyer, volunteer coordinator at an organization that helps teachers reuse discarded supplies, says that on a certain level she's "annoyed" by Portland:

"I feel like everyone needs to disperse and do our missionary work. Go to Nebraska, they need you in Nebraska, they need you in Iowa! We all have to go do our time somewhere else because that's where they need us. Here, it's good, it gets us validated and wound up and supported enough to live authentically, but people need models elsewhere of that."

At least one copy has traveled across the country, though, and as a result, more people will be able to absorb some of its lessons. I can't help but think of that as a good thing. It's all very well to be imaginative, but it's hard to get much done when you're surrounded by indifference, as Eleanor Whitney points out:

"Where I grew up, in a small town in southern Maine, many of my peers were apathetic. Though some of them thought my creations were "interesting", they did not challenge me with their own ideas, and their own projects. As a result I felt like my own drive to "do it myself" was stifled."

-- Sarah Zachrich