Why a print mag?
It’s undeniable that technology is a great gift. Equally undeniable is the fact that it's changed us in many negative ways—and it all seemed to happen so fast. Its noise and distraction have now invaded every arena of our lives. And now, with artificial intelligence on the loose, we cannot even be certain what’s genuine anymore. Music, literature, photographs, the news—it’s all suspect. Genuine Article believes there is a better way—not a wholesale ditching of technology, but a reordering of ourselves in this world. An intentional move toward conversations with deep thinkers, engaging in genuine relationships with other human beings, experiencing the physical places that make this world what it is. Our magazine delves into these spaces and provides a refreshing break from the digital onslaught that most of us undergo every day. Join us.
Hold-it-in-your-hands print magazine
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A refreshing alternative to digital reading
A word from the founder
In some ways this magazine is full circle for me. As a teen, I loved BMX magazines and watched for their arrival every month. At some point during this period, I learned about zines—handmade, DIY “magazines”, smaller and less professional than a magazine—but also more personal. It wasn’t long before I created Unity Zine. Each cover of Unity was hand-drawn, my mom printed the copies at work, and I stapled them together in my living room. It was a passion project.
And so is Genuine Article. Life has changed since those teenage Unity years. I’ve lived in several countries, started a family, read some great thinkers and experienced my fair share of questions about what really matters. Along the way, I’ve also observed technology’s creep into every aspect of our lives. We've trained ourselves to never be "alone." There is noise and distraction constantly. It's hard to sit with our own thoughts. I’ve thought often of Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s elegant description of this problem. Her words ring even more true today than when they were written in 1955, and form part of the basis for Genuine Article:
"We seem so frightened today of being alone that we never let it happen. Even if family, friends and movies should fail, there is still the radio or television to fill up the void. Women, who used to complain of loneliness, need never be alone any more. We can do our housework with soap-opera heroes at our sides. Even day-dreaming was more creative than this; it demanded something of oneself and it fed the inner life. Now, instead of planting our solitude with our own dream blossoms, we choke the space with continuous music, chatter and companionship to which we do not even listen. It is simply there to fill the vacuum. When the noise stops, there is no inner music to take it’s place."
It is my sincere hope that this magazine be a place that feeds your inner life and amplifies your inner music.
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