Spraying Words on the Page

“In Graffiti anything goes,” says founder and publisher Don Root. Root is right. Similar to the art you’ll find spray-painted under an overpass, Graffiti is equally unpretentious as it is impressive. The alternative zine has no editor and accepts just about everything — as long as it doesn’t break copyright or libel laws.  “We don’t do themes, which I like because you never know what you’ll get,” Root says of zines that are based off of a prompt or idea. “But it’s always a little bit of everything.” Flipping through a copy of the zine you’ll find anything from a poem about a fat black crow to a woman’s reasoning for why she got an abortion. Even the masthead is consistently inconsistent, with last month’s issue replacing job titles with celebrities like Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.  “It’s like spraying words on paper more or less, you know?” Root says. “Some of it is really artful and some of it trash. I’ll let the reader decide what’s good.” Get the Eugene Weekly in your inbox! Local journalism delivered directly via email each Thursday. Root, a retired writer and editor at publications such as the international travel guide Lonely Planet and...