ALAMOSA — About three years ago, through their connection with the Narrow Gauge Book Cooperative, Jean Alger and Allison Cruse began having conversations that quickly revealed several common traits. They were both creative and intelligent. They were both passionate about good books. They were both voracious readers. And they both had a vision of someday starting an independent press.  

“We had that idea in about 2022 and it continued to percolate over the years,” said Cruse. “We didn’t jump on it right away, but we didn’t forget it, either.” 

Even though Cruse left as manager of Narrow Gauge and moved on to do different things, she and Alger continued to ponder the idea of starting an independent press themselves, just like the books they had seen coming from independent presses in the Narrow Gauge. 

“At some point over this past year I said, ‘Jean, it’s time to get started.’ And we did. We started learning about all that we had to do and then Jean had this idea for the first project to be a zine.”  

Short for “magazine” or “fanzine”, the origin of zines can be traced back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries when a surge in amateur presses paved the way for artists, writers, poets, dissidents, intellectuals and others from a variety of backgrounds, perspectives or cultures to self-publish their work.  

Although its history may go back more than a century, it has had a real revival in recent years. 

“For now, the zine is quarterly,” Cruse said. “The theme for the year is elemental and this edition on fire is the first. But we plan to do things besides zines, as well. We’ll start with smaller things like poetry collections, novellas, zines and we’ll work our way up to novels as we learn our way how our press is going to grow.” 

When asked if they were associated with Narrow Gauge, Alger made it clear this was their endeavor, independent of anyone else. “Narrow Gauge is hosting us for the release, and they’ll be selling this like they sell other local authors but they’re not funding it. We’re a completely independent publishing company. We’re in this for the long haul,” she said and then laughed.  

Their first press run was 100 copies, done on a printer out of Jean’s house using high quality paper to display the quality of work being published.  

When asked about choosing to go into publishing when the industry is probably more competitive than ever, Cruse said, “We’re huge fans of independent presses and have so many that we admire. When I was managing the bookstore, it became really important to me to represent them here and search out independent presses.  

“What I started to see was that [independent presses] were bringing something really unique to the publishing world. Sometimes, it was a springboard to an author getting started. But they were also filling a void. Each one had a really strong personality and a strong voice that made them unique, different from a big publisher. With independent presses, they were putting it out there and saying, ‘This is what we want to do, this is what we want to say…’” 

Alger voiced her agreement. “There are also so many talented writers and artists from the valley. We also featured work from Austin, Texas and West Virginia in this edition but everyone else is from the valley. It’s kind of cool to have contributors from other places.” 

“That’s what brought us together,” Cruse said. “We thought it would be amazing to give a voice to some really creative people doing amazing things. That’s why independent presses are so important - they have it in their mission to feature artists or whoever they’re trying to feature.” 

“We don’t have a mission statement, we have a purpose statement. We call it our ‘heartthrob’ and it’s at the back of the book. It basically says our purpose is to honor people and emotions that have been silenced. To me, the fact that it’s a hard industry is a little more of a “let’s make it happen then.” I’ve done hard things. But I feel like these independent voices are more important than ever. Art is resistance to me. 

“It’s an invitation to embrace and honor a lot of those things we tend to push away and hide away,” Cruse says. “And our reaction is very reasonable to the world around us.” 

In the past, zines have served as an outlet for social and political dissidents. When asked if they anticipate their publications – whether they’re printed as zines or in some other form – taking on a more political tone, Alger responded, “It’s already political. Life is political. The name is part of that.  

“You know the term ‘hysteria’, the hormonal, psychological, medical diagnosis that led to women being shut away, institutionalized, shunned and ostracized. That’s why the press is called Hysteria Heart,” she said, referencing the gender-biased diagnosis that promoted myths about the range of emotionality so often attributed to women only over the years. “Our press is, yes, feminist driven and inclusive and also a way to view the world through a counter-cultural lens.”  

“We’re allowing for political growth,” Cruse added, “but we want the work we publish to uphold humanity.” 

“Which is a political statement,” Alger said.  

“Exactly,” Cruse responded. 

Hysteria Heart Press plans to publish four zines in its first year, all centered around the theme of elements. The first issue, “Fire” is currently on sale at the Narrow Gauge Book Coop in Alamosa. The next issue, “Water”, will come out in the summer, followed by “Air” in the fall and “Earth” in the winter.