Cool Magazine: Bejeezus 10

by dave heaton

Bejeezus’ tagline “Reclaiming Southern culture” for some reason had me expecting something more academic – more dull to be honest – than the fun, accessible, interesting magazine that it is. By accessible I maybe mean populist, that it feels written by everyday people, for everyday people, not to make any grand statement but just to reflect the world around us, the people and places that make it up. Of course, I should have only expected greatness, based on the eye-catching front cover by Jason Pierce of MPerfect Design, the art director and designer for Bejeezus. From front to back, it’s a magazine as smart-looking as it is smart.

Issue 10 of this quarterly publication is filled with interesting looks at art, culture, and communities, separated into sections like “Eat”, “Watch”, “Read”, “Make” and “Visit”. There are spotlights on lovably eccentric places (a hotel of themed suites, a post office that doubles as a record store, a trio of unusual museums) and people (the Louisville Euchre Club; noncomformist artists, musicians and readers). There are meditations on the way places (businesses, neighborhoods) change over time, plus a focus on historic places that we shouldn’t let change, like donut shops, and on people who have passed but should not be forgotten (a Louisville craftsman, a blackface performer from the 20s and 30s). And there’s above all an understanding of the importance of taking your own initiative to fill in the gaps, to create the cool things you wished existed: whether that means hand-making crafts, writing a graphic book about sexuality, taking Polaroids of your friends, collecting objects you’re fascinated with, or starting a film society to keep cinema alive. And of course, Bejeezus itself is a fine example of the same, of a collective effort to create something worthwhile.

{www.bejeezuszine.com}