vol. 3, issue 2: camp

“Camp is a tender feeling.”
“One can be serious about the frivolous, frivolous about the serious.”

In 1964 Susan Sontag published her numbered “Notes on Camp” explaining the reasons why, up until that point, camp had not been a topic of conversation amongst her intellectual set. With her non-essay she tried to “snare a sensibility in words” and now we want you to do the same. We’re interested in hearing about queerness, cult classics, vanguard directors, “bad” movies and even literal summer camps. Think about the antics of Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958), the ball culture of Paris is Burning (1990), or the trans beauty of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994). Our Camp issue launches in August, and so it’s the perfect opportunity to reflect on the fading days of summer camp and narratives of coming-of-age, be it comedies like Wet Hot American Summer (2001) or the killer camps in Sleepaway Camp and the Friday the 13th movies. And don’t forget about the trickster children’s movies that rarely get critical attention — give a cherubic Lindsay Lohan in the 1998 The Parent-Trap remake her just due!

Cover Image: Emily May Rose is an illustrator and graduate of OCAD University. Mainly working in mixed media, her style maintains a graphic yet organic feel. Her illustrations often include hand-lettering and a recurring cast of characters, and appears in many formats such as comics, hand-painted signs, apparel designs, and gallery settings. She is a resident artist in 36 Chambers Collective and she lives and works in Toronto.