HERMENAUTICA (58)
By:
December 17, 2025
One in a series of posts featuring pages from Hermenaut, a DIY intellectual zine/journal published by HILOBROW’s Josh Glenn from 1992 through 2000-01.
I reviewed Sassy and dirt, magazines from which I expected more than they’d been designed to deliver. Sassy was big(gish) about it. In 1994 they would name Hermenaut “Zine of the Month,” while getting in some digs. (PS: See Jolie Braun’s essay on the significance of Sassy‘s Zine of the Month column.)
“Hermenaut: The Digest of Heady Philosophy for Teens often makes fun of Sassy, yet the editors still sent it in for Zine of the Month. My knee-jerk reaction was, of course, to hate this collection of Color Xeroxes, but it’s funny and smart, so I’ll swallow my pride. It’s got this philosophy / pop culture thing going and seems to be made by a bunch of grad students in semiotics with the trust funds to back up their sardonic stance.”
Pub. Date: Summer 1992
Theme: Smells Like Teen Reification
Hermenaut: Novalis
Pages: 26
Print Run: 50
MORE HERMENAUT on HILOBROW: HERMENAUTICA series | MEET THE HERMENAUTS | HERMENAUT’s last five issues | Snapshots | Letters to HERMENAUT | Dialectical Design | Josh Glenn on CAMP, KITSCH & CHEESE | Josh Glenn on DANIEL CLOWES: Q&A | Clarke Cooper on APOCALYPSE ALREADY | Lisa Carver on THE ART OF BEING UNCOMFORTABLE | Josh Glenn on FAKE AUTHENTICITY | Chris Fujiwara on ZOOMING THROUGH SPACE | John Marr on CAMPANILE FREE-FALL | Clarke Cooper on THE WILL TO SCORN | Dan Reines on PURE EVEL | Chris Fujiwara on ROADWORTHY JAZZ | Dan Reines on LETTER FROM LA | Mary E. Ladd & Julie Wiskirchen on ONWARD CHRISTIAN TOURISTS | Chris Fujiwara on SAVED BY BETRAYAL | Margaret Blonder on MEMORIES OF THE BIOSPHERE | Josh Glenn on HERMENAUT: PHILIP K. DICK | Ingrid Schorr on ROCKVILLE GIRL SPEAKS.