Magazine Reviews
Posted January 17, 2012
Alaska Quarterly Review
Volume 28 Numbers 3 & 4
Fall & Winter 2011
Biannual
Review by Julie J. Nichols
I believe (but I might be convinced otherwise) that my
favorite piece in this issue of the Alaska Quarterly Review
is Charles Wyatt’s “An Accidental Dictionary”—a listing of
strange, delicious, and mostly obsolete words taken from three
late-twentieth-century specialty word-books. “Bomolluck: . . . not
a thing in the night, but what you fear in the night. It can sit
on your chest.” “Kist: a basket for the baby Moses or Noah’s ark
or Queequeg’s coffin, or the cup of the sea, or the stinging
stars pursuing . . . and the heavens see only fog, neither
rising…
[Read
full review here]
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Bellevue Literary Review
Volume 11 Number 2
Fall 2011
Biannual
Review by Julie J. Nichols
Last week my creative nonfiction writing class workshopped a
piece about one student’s experience with ADD in elementary
school. He described zigzag thoughts, hypersensitive ears,
rising frustration, and a positively entertaining rage, in a
perfectly modulated eight-year-old voice; he then took us
through the process of diagnosis, disastrous prescription of
inappropriate meds, and ultimately courageous development of a
customized program that enabled him to manage the disorder
satisfactorily. His understated irony, his consistent voice, and
the beautifully appropriate…
[Read
full review here]
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Black Lantern Publishing
Volume 2 Number 5
November 2011
Quarterly
Review by Jennifer Vande Zande
Aaron Milstead’s short story “The Pickled Man” was such an
easy and captivating read that I suggested to my twelve-year-old
son that he read it as well. As I predicted, he devoured the
story of Wilber Will’s World of Wonders that features a
mysterious oddity floating around in a pickle jar. That night,
at around two a.m., I awoke to a shadowy figure standing at the
foot of my bed. I knew immediately that figure was my son and
that he’d just had a nightmare featuring, not surprisingly, the
pickled man. After putting him back to bed, I thought about the
power of Milstead’s story. It had left an unsettling…
[Read
full review here]
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Booth
December 2011
Online Weekly
Review by Henry F. Tonn
Run by the MFA program at Butler University, Booth
publishes something every week on their website and has a print
publication each spring. I have never seen the print edition,
but found the online material quite intriguing. I was especially
impressed by their selections of poetry. “Maxwell’s Demon” by Elizabeth Hazen has a nice eloquent flow
to it. The following, though taken out of context, may entice
the reader to read more: "the nature of my longing, but even you
/
cannot exist without consequence: your gaze /
alone alters everything you see. Like mine, /
your presence interferes, unbalances, warps"…
[Read
full review here]
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Cake
Volume 5
Spring 2011
Annual
Review by Aimee Nicole
This fifth publication of Cake contains exceptional
writing, including poetry, fiction, reviews, drama, and
interviews. Breauna Roach’s poem “Scrambled” left me a bit
unsettled, but there is no doubt as to her genius. Roach begins
by revealing her discovery that cupcakes are never found in a
garbage disposal, they are sweet desserts that would be shameful
to waste; however, eggs are a whole different story: "He scrambles their brains over
/
the red eye of the stove. /
Mixes their would-be legs with /
their would-be scalps"…
[Read
full review here]
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The Carolina Quarterly
Volume 61 Number 1
Winter/Spring 2011
Triannual
Review by Sarah Gorman
“Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I’m
sixty-four?” As the venerable Carolina Quarterly enters
its 64th year of publication in 2012, the answer from discerning
readers, and good writers, must be yes. Poetry, fiction, essays,
reviews, and graphic art accepted by the CQ’s editors
provide a select tour through recent works of both polished and
emerging writers and artists. Thematically, this issue features
that which is certain—death and Texas…
[Read
full review here]
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Faultline
Volume 20
Spring 2011
Annual
Review by Shannon Smith
Faultline is the journal of the English department at
the University of California-Irvine. The journal has a quiet,
slightly offbeat feel to it. Much of the fiction is the kind
that could be about people you know—but, then, there’s just
something different, something slightly magical and slightly
weird about it. Two stories in this issue stand out immediately: “Good for
You” by Lauren Spohrer and “The Man Who Killed Sun Moon” by Adam
Johnson. Spohrer’s story concerns an unhappy woman who writes a
note to a local newsman…
[Read
full review here]
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The Helix
Spring 2011
Biannual
Review by Caitlin Reid
The Helix is a biannual literary magazine run by
students of Central Connecticut State University and is
comprised of drawings, paintings, photographs, prose and poetry.
Like helical strands of DNA, the art and literature printed in
The Helix represents vast permutations of human
experience and possibility. There are over thirty-five images in the art section.
Photographs "Untitled 4" and "Untitled 5" by Leslie Boppert are
my favorites. Boppert’s images play with light and perspective
to give viewers the impression that they are sitting inside…
[Read full
review here]
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Magnolia
A Journal of Women’s Literature
Volume 1
2011
Annual
Review by Aimee Nicole
Magnolia: A Journal of Women’s Literature broke into
the literary world just this year. The first guest editor, Gayle
Brandeis, is an author of both young adult and adult fiction and
has also been honored for her work as an activist. A little
blurb on the back of the collection promises that Magnolia
is “a diverse collection that will open your eyes, challenge
your thinking, and break your heart.” And Magnolia
certainly delivers. Two poems in this collection exploded in my
mind, and when the dust had settled, created instant love. It is
rare to find a literary magazine where you fall in love while
reading and have to read a piece over and over again…
[Read
full review here]
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The Main Street
Rag
Volume 16 Number 4
Fall 2011
Quarterly
Review by Sean Stewart
I really like the way Main Street Rag fits in my hand;
it's the perfect size for a literary magazine. It's also cool
that MSR publishes letters from readers. In my
experience, that's a rarity for a literary mag, but one that I
think adds to the experience of reading a magazine. It's always
fun to see what other readers have to say. Publisher/Editor M.
Scott Douglass clearly puts a considerable amount of work into
Main Street Rag, and marks each issue with his own
“Front Seat” and “Back Seat” columns that bookend the contents.
Not shy about veering into political territory…
[Read
full review here]
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New Orleans Review
Volume 37 Number 1
2011
Biannual
Review by John Baum
I’ve always viewed the New Orleans Review as one of
the silverbacks of the modern literary journal scene. Despite
the obvious setbacks in dealing with Hurricane Katrina’s
aftermath, it still surges ahead as one of the leading reviews
with a promise of great work by great writers—those well-known,
and those not. Some have said it is better than ever. This
current issue does not disappoint, especially with Jacob M.
Appel’s story “Prisoners of the Multiverse,” winner of the 2011
Walker Percy Fiction Contest. Not wanting to ruin the story for
future readers…
[Read
full review here]
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Off the Coast
Volume 17 Number 4
Fall 2011
Quarterly
Review by Aimee Nicole
Off the Coast, based out of Robbinston, Maine,
publishes poems, artwork, and reviews. It seems to me that this
particular issue has a strong focus on nature and animals
interacting within their natural surroundings. The title of each issue is chosen from a line or
phrase from one of the issue’s selected poems. The Fall 2011
issue is entitled Everything Here. The editors make a
very honest effort to live up to the promise of such a title.
Carolyn Gelland’s “Odin’s Eye” is separated into four parts.
Each flows flawlessly into the next, despite a change in
subject. From a dragon ship…
[Read
full review here]
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Palooka
Issue 2
2011
Annual
Review by Kenneth Nichols
The subtitle of Palooka seems to indicate that editors
Nicholas Maistros and Jonathan Starke have something of an
outsider’s mindset. This “journal of underdog excellence”
contains work that, according to Maistros, responds to the
“storms” we experience in “different yet collectively elemental
ways.” From the journal’s colorful and playfully disturbing
cover art to its entertaining contributors’ notes, Palooka
turns the difficult trick of making itself accessible to a wide
range of audiences without talking down to them…
[Read
full review here]
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Paul Revere's Horse
Issue 5
2011
Biannual
Review by Patrick James Dunagan
The Editor's Note for this issue suggests, "Texts, like
lives, are precarious projects." And Iranian ex-patriot Moniru
Ravanipur, whose writings are banned in her homeland,
interviewed by Miranda Mellis, reminds us that, "Stories are a
testament to their time, especially in countries like mine."
Ravanipur knows too well the vital connection between writing
and living. She describes how, "The short story for me is like a
mirror that reflects different worlds—worlds that already exist,
or worlds that could be or should be." No matter what else,
writing allows for confronting and challenging any established
order…
[Read
full review here]
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Phantom Drift
Issue 1
Fall 2011
Annual
Review by Julie J. Nichols
It’s possible that the mark of an evolved soul is the ability
to pass at will into whatever state of consciousness is useful
or appropriate at any given time. Over twenty distinct such
states have been observed, with names like reverie, lethargy,
trance, and rapture. The question of when such
states are useful or appropriate is the subject of story and
song from time immemorial. That they are essential to our lives
if we are ever to be whole is the conviction behind a compelling
new journal whose title hints at this ability I’ve described: Phantom Drift…
[Read
full review here]
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Post Road
Number 21
2011
Biannual
Review by John Baum
Post Road offered me surprises that I don’t believe I
have actually seen in other magazines. For instance, during my
first official flip through, my thumb stopped on a page where
Micah Nathan reviews The Stories of John Cheever,
claiming that, although not a “titan like Hemingway or Faulkner
. . . there’s room in the pantheon for gods of all types. We
reserve a temple for him.” I can’t recall how many reviews
(celebrations?) of Cheever I have read in modern literary
magazines—because I don’t believe that I ever have. And then on
the page opposite began…
[Read
full review here]
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River Teeth
Volume 13 Number 1
Fall 2011
Biannual
Review by Cara Bigony
One of the merits of nonfiction narratives is that they
indulge human curiosity about others’ lives. The fall issue of
River Teeth, a magazine dedicated solely to narrative
nonfiction, includes eleven true stories, all of which quickly
and convincingly pull you into the authors' lives for brief,
powerful episodes. While some stories uniquely explore common
phenomena like homesickness, others offer coveted glimpses into
rare experiences. The four most memorable stories in the
collection are those whose subject matter and narrative voice
are equally captivating…
[Read
full review here]
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Silk Road
Volume 6 Number 2
Summer/Fall 2011
Biannual
Review by Julie J. Nichols
As most people know, the Silk Road was a
many-thousands-of-miles-long trade route linking Asia with the
rest of the world in ancient times, a network of land and sea
avenues over which civilizations traveled and cultures
interfused. The goal of Pacific University’s literary journal is
to “give readers a vivid point of exchange or interaction that
could occur only in a specific time and space . . . ‘place’ is
the touchstone the magazine uses for the pieces we publish.” In
this issue, there are eight stories, six pieces of creative
nonfiction, work from sixteen poets…
[Read
full review here]
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Straylight
Volume 5 Number 1
Spring 2011
Biannual
Review by Robin Devereaux
Straylight is pure, enjoyable entertainment. It is
eclectic enough to satisfy any reader’s mood. This collection of
fiction, poetry, an interview, and visual art is pretty darned
amazing. At first glance, the selections may seem disjointed,
especially for literary magazine readers who have become
accustomed to themed collections, or high literary selections.
Straylight is just plain fun, and the works that make
up this volume are like a colorfully arrayed salad bar where
you, Gentle Reader, get to pick the most enticing morsels…
[Read
full review here]
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Tin House
Volume 13 Number 1
Fall 2011
Quarterly
Review by Mark Danowsky
A little of this, a little of that, effectively used white
space, not over-crowded by images or advertisements, Tin
House provides for a generally pleasant read. This issue of
Tin House is subtitled “The Ecstatic.” This, along with
the sheer caliber of her writing, explains the inclusion of
Kelly Link’s “The Summer People” in this issue. Her characters
are most definitely of ecstatic stock. Ask yourself to
what length you’re willing to suspend your disbelief. This
appears to be an unsaid challenge of a Kelly Link story.
Channeling magic realist elements…
[Read
full review here]
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