"In 2006, Osa Atoe was inspired to create an expression out of the experience of being the only Black kid at the punk show - and Shotgun Seamstress was born. Like a great mixtape of radical politics and art, Shotgun Seamstress was a fanzine by and for Black punks that explored and documented the individual and collective possibilities of being outside of mainstream culture. Originally laid out by hand, photocopied, and distributed in small batches, each issue featured essays, interviews, historical portraits of important artists and scenes, reviews, and more. Shotgun Seamstress paid tribute to musicians and artists who typify free Black expression and interrupt notions of Black culture as a monolith. Featuring figures such as Vaginal Creme Davis, the seminal Black punk band Death, Poly Styrene, Bay Area rocker Brontez Purnell, British post-punker Rachel Aggs, New York photographer Alvin Baltrop, Detroit garage rocker Mick Collins, and so many others, the zine collected within the pages of this book reclaims rock 'n' roll as Black music and represents a wide spectrum of gender and sexuality." -- Book jacket
