Ra Avis
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rarasaur.substack.com
Ra Avis
@rarasaur.substack.com
She/her. Achingly human. Dinosaur hearted. Also: Formerly incarcerated; Chicana desi; Autistic; TBI survivor; Blogger; Zinester; Prison abolitionist; Widow. Cofounder, Biggest Little Zine Fair. Founder, Kites Zine Library. Rarasaur.com
Pinned
My reading of my poem about prison. (Flushed by Ra Avis”)

youtu.be/pX-CoaC2u1s?...
Flushed by Ra Avis
YouTube video by No Pulp Poetry Club
youtu.be
Reposted by Ra Avis
before the fire // handcut paper collage on recycled paperboard [mail art], october 2025

#collage #queerart #abstraction #mailart
October 29, 2025 at 12:06 AM
Reposted by Ra Avis
Today was a hard day. Regulations that we passed unanimously last year, after 7 years of advocacy, were largely gutted. The FCC capitulated to the correctional telecom industry in roughly doubling rate caps for prison and jail calls. I'm truly sorry.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/28/u...
F.C.C. Changes Course on the Price of Prisoners’ Phone Calls
www.nytimes.com
October 28, 2025 at 10:51 PM
Reposted by Ra Avis
"The national food insecurity survey is a critical, reliable data source that shows how many families in America struggle to put food on the table.”
USDA cancels survey tracking how many Americans struggle to get enough food
The Department of Agriculture said it will end a longstanding annual food insecurity survey. Experts say the move will obscure the effects of recent changes that will lead to people losing food aid.
www.npr.org
September 24, 2025 at 2:26 AM
Reposted by Ra Avis
Yoshimasa Tsuchiya’s sculptures are so full of wonder and whimsy, I just want to befriend this little guy!
#art #beautifulbizarre #yoshimasatsuchiya #sculptor #sculpture #surrealism #surrealart #fantasycreature #artlovers #sculpting
September 23, 2025 at 10:30 PM
Zine submissions open for Biggest Little Zine Fair -- it works distro style, so there are no fees, and you don't have to be there, and you make 100% minus the 3% credit card fees. BiggestLittleZineFair.com/#apply
September 14, 2025 at 5:07 AM
Reposted by Ra Avis
Just noticed this on the checkout notification I get from the Chicago Public Library. I think it’s new and I love it!
August 29, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Reposted by Ra Avis
there are over 8 million people in this city and the fact that bananas shit doesn’t happen more often is a testament not to cops or politicians but to the fact that people aren’t as violent or scary as some would like us to think
July 29, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Me at @quimbysbookstore.bsky.social in Chicago even though I have a whole zine fest worth of zines out here in Long Beach. Was willing to chuck a shirt to make room in my travel bag. 😂
July 15, 2025 at 11:44 PM
open.substack.com/pub/rarasaur...

"I don't know what to do with all this life - a journal entry about not dying after all" (audio reading available)
I don't know what to do with all this life.
A journal about not dying after all.
open.substack.com
July 15, 2025 at 11:42 PM
Tomorrow 7-9 PM at Page Against the Machine in Long Beach, CA. Megumi's amazing art pieces from her "faces of mass incarceration" project will be on display.
July 15, 2025 at 11:40 PM
Reposted by Ra Avis
Federal workers: We understand you may be taking a risk in contacting us, and we take your confidentiality extremely seriously.

To collect tips, we use encrypted forms and apps, so messages cannot be read by anybody other than you and ProPublica.

➡️ Reach out here: propublica.org/tips
How to Contact ProPublica or Send a Tip Securely — ProPublica
Our job is to hold people and institutions accountable. To do that, we need evidence.
propublica.org
April 12, 2025 at 2:02 AM
❤️
Ra Avis (@Rarasaur.bsky.social) is a 2025 Writing Freedom Fellow. As a memoirist, Avis explores the personal intersections of grief, incarceration, and disability. Listen to her read from her work here:
writing-freedom.org
March 25, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Reposted by Ra Avis
Public library energy is the best energy. Like here is all the knowledge we could find, it's been meticulously organized and catalogued and it will cost you nothing today, welcome to the absolute pinnacle of human civic evolution, feel free to pull up any bean bag chair you like :) 📚❤️
March 21, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Reposted by Ra Avis
I am now, more than ever, reminded how important art is, for so many things.
March 13, 2025 at 3:01 AM
BiggestLittleZineFair.com is open to zine submissions from all around the world. Til 3/29 for a fair on 5/31 in Long Beach, CA. Makers get 100% of what they sell, no attendance required, after fees. Check the site for FAQs and the Instagram for vibes. 🙂
Biggest Little Zine Fair
BLZF is a pop-up all-ages zine market where artists submit their work to be showcased and sold— no need to be there in person! Our small team of organizers runs the event, handling everything from set...
BiggestLittleZineFair.com
March 13, 2025 at 2:01 AM
Reposted by Ra Avis
websites are so cool
anyone can just make one
about anything
February 22, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Reposted by Ra Avis
Organizing something small and chill and not political on the surface is how to build community and talk to people, which are the two things we need most to do any type of other action. Make a children's book club, truly anything counts.
Organizing is the way forward

If you've never personally participated in organizing, now is the time to start. Do something smaller, lower stakes, to start with. Organize a block party or neighborhood activity, charity bake sale. Crucially, learn to organize alongside people you do not know well.
Activists in tenant unions + rapid response networks supported working-class people in #Colorado targeted by militarized #ICE raids.

Agents used flash-bang grenades and went door-to-door at an apartment complex asking people for their IDs. The raid was spurred by far-Right conspiracy theories.
February 10, 2025 at 2:58 PM
9 Years by Ra Avis, filmed by Theron James
youtu.be/Hp1NBGmcl-4?...
Nine Years by Ra Avis
YouTube video by No Pulp Poetry Club
youtu.be
February 10, 2025 at 1:50 AM
Reposted by Ra Avis
Read CURB's Overview of the 2025-26 Corrections Budget to learn how billions in wasted prison spending could be redirected towards areas proven to keep us safe 📲 tinyurl.com/25-26proposed

In this era of systemic oppression & unchecked tech power, CA must divest from incarceration + invest in care
January 24, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Reposted by Ra Avis
⚠️ DETENTION 101 TRAINING ⚠️
As the Trump admin threatens to expand immigration detention drastically, understanding how the system works will be crucial to stop detention expansion.
🗓️ 1/29 @ 1pm PT
Session will be recorded & posted afterwards @detentionwatchnetwork.org
Register here: bit.ly/det101
January 23, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Reposted by Ra Avis
I got really drunk and emotional about comics and art tonight. Make ‘em!! Do em!!! Nothing to it but to do it!! MAKE COMICS. MAKE ZINES!!!
January 18, 2025 at 6:28 AM