I still remember my first issue of Sassy Magazine. It was the spring of 7th grade, the April 92' issue, had my favorite boy genius Kurt Cobain with my favorite kinder whore Courtney on the cover..I remember I had a bad case of Strep throat at that time and my wonderful mother went out and bought some of my favorite things like jello pudding and the current issue of my pop culture bible Sassy..to make me feel better.
I read it cover to cover. It was the first magazine I'd read cover to cover something I do often now, though it's difficult to find orginal and authentic writing these days.. I quickly subscribed to Sassy after that issue, becoming absoulutely fanatical about the magazine...I lovvvved Cristina Kelly's writing style something I still try to copy in my own writing til this day...and don't come close...
Sassy magazine really gave me a sense of myself in junior high school. I'd turn to those writers and editors for support when the boys in my language arts class would make fun of me for wearing a big tweed coat with a short purple skirt and green tights, I knew I was slick...but I needed sassy to remind me..why I was the kool one and they were the losers....I mean, they didn't even know who Thurnston Moore or Kim Gordon were...a crime in koolness to me...
I loved Sassy so much and learned from it, I learned about the Pixies and Sonic Youth and Huggy Bear And Bikini Kill from it. I learned about the DIY zine culture of the 1990s...I fantasized in those days about growing up and one day getting published in Sassy myself...I could see myself reading Sassy even into my adulthood...whether it was aimed at me or not...
But Sassy closed shop in December of 1994, it was bought out by teen magazine, a fluffed out dumbed down teen magazine...and I quickly cancelled my subscription. I mourned, for the loss of my most reliable companion of the month. By junior year, I discovered another underground magazine I could get behind, called "ben is dead"....
Reading Sassy was wonderful. It was formative it was a major part of my life from seventh to tenth grade. But I often wonder if I would have seeked out more underground magazine like Ben Is Dead and Bitch, had it not been for the death of my beloved Sassy....In any case, I hold the memories dear, and still light up when I run across the writings of one of the former writers or editors....okay, the rest is my memories not the New York Posts......:)
