First Intensity – 2003

What to say about this journal? There’s so much to like among the fiction, from Lucy Bucknell’s Kafkaesque “Vanishing Act” to Sean Mclain Brown’s exquisite short shorts. And Carol Moldaw’s sequential poem “Anastylosis” is a joy to read. What to say about this journal? There’s so much to like among the fiction, from Lucy Bucknell’s Kafkaesque “Vanishing Act” to Sean Mclain Brown’s exquisite short shorts. And Carol Moldaw’s sequential poem “Anastylosis” is a joy to read. Unfortunately, for me, too much of the poetry in First Intensity sounds like these opening lines from the first poem: “would begin anywhere, wouldn’t you, as if there / was still there, and you / still yourself in this phenomenological drift to- // wards some all-but- / il- // lusory absolution.” If you like this kind of writing—and many people do—you’ll be very happy with this journal. But if you’re like me, chafing under the burdens imposed by this style, you’ll grow frustrated searching for the gems of clarity. There’s no doubt that First Intensity is an excellent journal. It simply isn’t an excellent journal for me.