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NewPages Blog

At the NewPages Blog readers and writers can catch up with their favorite literary and alternative magazines, independent and university presses, creative writing programs, and writing and literary events. Find new books, new issue announcements, contest winners, and so much more!

River Teeth – Fall 2009

Editor Daniel W. Lehman says his own stories seem like dreams: “Real-life writing sometimes is that way: the stakes are high; the details sting.” In a world where what constitutes “real” (nonfiction) and invented (fiction) is not merely blurred but often obliterated, the stakes are, indeed, very high. And River Teeth deserves high praise for recognizing and honoring the difficulty of the task and for selecting work that respects readers’ commitment to and on-going interest in the nonfiction enterprise. Alongside the masterful work of well-known prose stylists Rebecca McClanahan (an interview with her also appears in the issue) and Brent Spencer, there are worthwhile essays here by ten other writers. Continue reading “River Teeth – Fall 2009”

The Round – Fall 2009

The title page of this inaugural issue lists Mary Gordon, Paul Muldoon, and Michael Burke as the “featured contributors” – pretty impressive for the debut of any magazine. All the more impressive when we realize, though one has to read the contributor’s notes to figure this out, that The Round is essentially an undergraduate student publication. Nowhere does the journal announce affiliations, but several writers, all undergrads at Brown University, are credited with being co-founders of the magazine in their contributor’s note. The issue opens with a foreword by Gordon who compares the writing in this issue – at least in its aim to “invoke large terms” to Donne, Herbert, Dickinson, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Flaubert, Proust, Dostoevsky, Turgenev, both Eliots, Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf, Auden, James, Cather, Faulkner, Welty, Porter, Trever, Coetze, and Morrison. This magazine’s work will remind us, she says, that “literature is beautiful and joyous and the place where we [are] reminded what it is to be most fully and richly alive.” Continue reading “The Round – Fall 2009”

Santa Monica Review – Fall 2009

The Santa Monica Review has little space for drawings or photographs. From cover to cover, pages are packed with writing presented in a generic font as though it were simply a college essay waiting to be graded. It is rare to see a nationally distributed literary arts journal with a layout entirely devoted to sharing high quality writing without unnecessary visual distractions. Continue reading “Santa Monica Review – Fall 2009”

Third Coast – Fall 2009

Winners of the Third Coast fiction and poetry contests are announced on the first pages of this issue, with a justification for their choices written by judges Stuart Dybek (fiction) and David Rivard (poetry). The gambler in me skipped those pages and went right into the content of the magazine hoping to suss out the winning pieces. Would anything distinguish their work from regular submissions, except they got publication and a thousand bucks for their effort? Maybe it was the frame of mind in which I read, or the preference of the editors, but there seems an element of risk, physical and spiritual, running throughout the writing in this issue. Continue reading “Third Coast – Fall 2009”

Tin House – Fall 2009

“If you’re not seized by dread you’re not paying attention.” “We are now recognizing each other’s humanity, are connected and transformed by each other’s experiences. Or so we hope.” Do these statements contradict each other? Yes! Do they represent the realistic dichotomy of American life in the current moment? Yes! Do they summarize the dual themes of “dread” and “hope” that organize the work in this issue of Tin House? Yes! Continue reading “Tin House – Fall 2009”

Vallum – 2009

A special theme issue on play and the absurd, which includes the Children’s Poetry Contest Winners, an interview with composer Ruth Fazal, who sets excerpts (some of which appear here) of the widely acclaimed and popular book of children’s writings, I Never Saw Another Butterfly, from the Terezin concentration camp, to music; Ariela Freedman’s essay, “Letter from Jerusalem”; reviews; and more than two dozen playful poems. Contributors include the prolific and well known writer Lorna Crozier and a contributor too young to have made much of a name for himself yet, four-year old Mikhael Dylan Auerbach, who – absurdly or at least incredibly – “is currently interested in Spiderman, trains, soccer, and copying Old Masters like Braque, Matisse, and Da Vinci.” His drawings are exceptional, and if he really is only four, this is not so much absurd as frightening! Continue reading “Vallum – 2009”

Wigleaf – December 2009

This lit mag specializes in flash fiction and publishes stories on a regular basis nine months of the year. Then they publish their Top 50 selections: fifty short fictions that come from other journals. Several editors from Wigleaf routinely monitor what is being published throughout the country, select the two hundred they like best, and send these stories to another editor who chooses the fifty he judges to be the best of the best. A wearying process to be sure, but it makes for some great reading. Continue reading “Wigleaf – December 2009”

Yellow Medicine Review – Fall 2009

This is a thick, meaty text. At slightly more than 350 pages, this publication looks brilliant standing toe-to-toe with any anthologies you have marching across your shelf. The volume is packed with fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from over 50 contributors. The cover is described as a Po-Collage, a combination of poetry and visual art, by artist Valery Oisteanu. The collage of cupids striking at Siamese twins under the cover of umbrellas lends a threatening edge to a broad context. Appropriate, as the entire issue is devoted to commemorating the twenty years since the fall of Communism in Europe as depicted through the writing of mostly Eastern Europeans. The selected writings echo the disjointed nature between the menaces of both the past and present. The most striking example of the issue’s focus comes in the opening stanza of William Doreski’s moving “Life Studies.” Continue reading “Yellow Medicine Review – Fall 2009”

Passings :: David Franks

Baltimore poet David Franks was found dead in his home on Thursday, January 14,2010. He had been battling cancer and other health issues, though a cause of death has not yet been released. Joe Wall – “David’s web guy, collaborator, friend” – has posted a note asking for comments, stories, etc. to help rebuild David’s web site, which had lost content due to a server error. Visit the site here.

Closings :: Bodhi Tree, CA

Phil Thompson and Stan Madson, owners of Bodhi Tree Bookstore (Los Angeles), reportedly told their staff last week that the store will be shutting its doors in a year’s time after almost 40 years in business. With both owners in their 70s, they decided to sell the building on Melrose Avenue to a real estate developer. Read more on WEHONews.com.

Passings :: Laura Hruska

Laura Hruska, co-founder of the Soho Press in 1986 (along with her husband, Alan Hruska, and their friend Juris Jurjevics) died January 9, 2010 at her home in Manhattan. Hruska is noted for helping launch the careers of many prominent writers, including Edwidge Danticat, Dan Fesperman, Robert Hellenga, Susan Richards, Garth Stein, and Jacqueline Winspear. As of January 1, Hruska’s daughter Bronwen Hruska took over as publisher of Soho Press. Memorial services were held on January 15.

Mrs. P Writing Contest Winner

Announced today, the winners of the Mrs. P National Writing contest: Gabrielle Fuller, 8,from NC with her comic fairy tale, “Pretty Princess and Funky Frog” and Isabella Penola, 12, from NY with her poignant tale of an elderly gardener, “Spattered Mud and Crushed Petals.”

Mrs. P’s website is a free interactive digital storybook destination that has begun to receive award recognition for its kid-friendly content. Classic children’s stories are brought to life in the Magic Library by TV star Kathy Kinney as Mrs. P.

Puritan Lives

After a sixteen-month hiatus, Editors Spencer Gordon and Tyler Willis have brought back
The Puritan in a new online format. This inaugural online issue includes poetry by Angela Hibbs, Nathaniel G. Moore, Andrew Faulkner, Catriona Wright, Mike Spry, Pearl Pirie, Monty Reid, fiction by John Lavery, John Goldbach, Eva Moran, Michael Bryson, Sarah Dearing, Michael Blouin, Rebecca Rosenblum, and interviews with Sheila Heti and Jan Zwicky.

The Puritan is also accepting submissions of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, interviews, and reviews, as well as art for covers related to the publication content.

Black Holes and Creative Comments

Brief, but refreshing to see such creative writing in a post comment string:

Anekanta – Go Play!
Wha da fuh…??? Matter flows away from the black hole, and thus the galaxy doesn’t swallow itself?

This makes me happy! Now I can establish my galactic empire without fear of it imploding due to natural forces! Tremble, mortals!

Bill-Lee
@Anekanta – Go Play!: Do you have a chief minion yet? Cause I’ve been looking for an evil overlord to boss me around…

Read the rest here.

Wallace Stevens Walk

The Friends & Enemies of Wallace Stevens in Hartford, CT, dedicated the Wallace Stevens Walk this past summer: thirteen granite makers, each etched with a stanza from his poem “Thirteen Ways to Look at a Blackbird.” The walk retraces WS’s steps from his workplace, The Hartford building at 690 Asylum Avenue, to his former home at 118 Westerly Terrace. If you can’t make it there in person, the organization’s website includes an aerial map and photos from each of the thirteen marker locations.

New Lit on the Block :: Southern Women’s Review

Edited by Alicia K. Clavell, the Southern Women’s Review is a newly established on-line literary journal that allows others access to artistic excellence through Southern Literature and Photography. The second issue features over 100 pages of creative works from poets, fiction and creative non-fiction writers, photographers, and more. The next reading period for the publication begins March 1, 2010.

Dominican Republic Women’s Poetry

Upcoming on The Moe Green Poetry Discussion on BlogTalk Radio – January 13 at 6:00 PM – Join Rafael and Brett as they talk to Judith Kerman the translator of Praises & Offenses: Three Women Poets from the Dominican Republic. While the three poets presented in this bilingual collection present a rich contrast of linguistic and stylistic elements, each of them addresses shared political and cultural issues, illuminating what it means to be a woman living in the modern day Dominican Republic. Judith Kerman, who has translated a number of female poets from the Caribbean, notes that “contemporary women poets from the Dominican Republic are the most under-served group when it comes to English-language translation, in particular full-length collections or anthologies.” Thus, this exciting new anthology from BOA contains much that was previously unavailable to the English reader.

New Lit on the Block :: OVS Magazine

OVS Magazine was started in 2009 by Stephen and Ivy Page to give new and established artists and poets a place to publish their work in a respectable peer-critiqued journal. OVS Magazine is an online and print literary journal based in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, edited by staff and guest authors/artists.

The first issue of OVS features an Interview with Maxine Kumin, poetry by Maxine Kumin, Terry Lucas, Jana Wilson, Tayve Neese, Susan Vespoli, Steven Riel, Sarah Luczaj, Beverly Walker, Alan King, Ryan McLellan, Peter Schwartz, Paul Fisher , Matthew Ostapchuk, Jenn Monroe, Jeff Friedman, Janice Krasselt Medin, Christoper Crawford, Kathleen Vibbert, Carol Lynn Grellas, Eric Crapo, Heidi Therrien, and artwork by Jim Fuess, Mike Lewis, Peter Schwarts, and Beth Page.

Swindle Your Poetry

Swindle is “a community for discovering and sharing contemporary poetry. Poems get into Swindle in one of two ways — through our automated feed crawler (which scrapes new poems from publications such as The New Yorker, Poetry Magazine, and Rattle), and through submissions from our users.” You can add a link by sending Editor Johnathon Williams a link to your (valid) RSS feed.

Women Writers of Haitian Descent

Women Writers of Haitian Descent (WWHOD) promotes and explores the fiction, non-fiction, and journalistic works of Haitian women writers internationally. WWOHD serves as a literary forum for new and established writers, be they closeted essayists, budding novelists, gifted storytellers, or inspiring poets. The organization gives them validation alongside a platform for their work. WWOHD also engages in select community and literacy oriented projects.

WWHOD is currently seeking short stories for their anthology: The Haiti I Knew, The Haiti I know, The Haiti I want to Know: Contemporary Writings by Haitian Women, an anthology of prose by women in Haiti, and women of Haitian descent living abroad, that they hope will strengthen the voice of Haitian women in the world of literature.

New Lit on the Block :: Basilica Review

Senior Editor Heather Cadenhead, and Poetry Editors Renee Emerson and Sarah LeNoir debut The Basilica Review. This first issue features the work of poets both established and new, the prize-winning and the previously unpublished: Julie L. Moore, Bobby C. Rogers, Todd Davis, Terri Kirby Erickson, Isaiah Vianese, Luci Shaw, Gary Leising, Leslie D. Bohn, Kristen Miller, Jack Ridl, Amy Anderson, Michael Schmeltzer, David Craig, Adam Penna, and Jenn Blair.

The Basilica Review is currently open for submissions and publishes in an online, PDF format.

Jobs

The Department of English and the BFA program at Stephen F. Austin State University seeks applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Creative Writing, with a specialization in fiction and a strong secondary strength in creative nonfiction or poetry. Jan 20

Norwich University one-year visiting Instructor/Assistant Professor of English—Creative Nonfiction/Advanced Writing. Feb 5

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Department of English and the Creative Writing Program seek to bring an emerging talent to campus for a one-year teaching appointment as the Kenan Visiting Writer, a position that alternates between poetry & prose. Michael McFee, Director, Creative Writing Program. Feb 1

Interferenceand Other Stories

As Richard Hoffman is equally well known for his verse as his prose, it should come as no surprise that the thirteen stories (plus six interstitial very short-shorts) in this volume are at times lyrical, often beautiful, and move with a sense of rhythm and deep perception. Continue reading “Interferenceand Other Stories”

Interfictions 2

Interstitial fiction is imaginative writing that slips through the cracks between literary genres. It’s an umbrella term under which numerous stylistic approaches like new weird, slipstream, fantastica, liminal fantasy, transrealism, and many more may fall. Though these terms lack precision, they do bear some resemblance to more established genres, using familiar science fiction tropes like spaceships and aliens, time travel and alternate histories; fantasy tropes like ghosts, fairies, as well as mystery and romance conventions. Interstitial fiction is distinguished by how it blurs the boundaries between genres and, if ever placed in one of these slots, rests uncomfortably. It blends the realistic and the fantastic in such a way that everything is defamiliarized, or where everything is (borrowing a term coined by Russian Formalist Viktor Shklovsky) “enstranged.” Paradoxically, it is its “in-betweeness” that defines it. Continue reading “Interfictions 2”

Small Kingdoms

Ever wondered about those Americans who take jobs in treacherous foreign countries? Ever wanted to know what it is like to move to the Middle East and try to fit in to conservative Islamic culture? Anastasia Hobbet’s novel Small Kingdoms answers these questions through its carefully structured narrative. Set in Kuwait after the first Gulf War, Small Kingdoms takes place in a region familiar to us from TV news broadcasts; Hobbet portrays the decadence and the difficulty of this country masterfully. The story follows five main characters: two American expatriates, one native Kuwaiti woman and her Indian maid, and one a Bedooin or resident alien, a Palestinian woman living in Kuwait. Hobbet constructs her book in short chapters, each following a single character, as these five individuals’ fates are drawn closer and closer together. Continue reading “Small Kingdoms”

Press 53 2009 Open Awards Anthology

This is the second year of this anthology which features poetry, flash fiction, short-short story, short story, genre fiction, creative nonfiction, young writers, and novella. There is a total of 28 works from 21 authors and the editor proudly points out in his introduction that entries came from 32 states and eight foreign countries. Two of the winners were from overseas: Jerusalem, Israel and Bogotá, Columbia. All judging was done blind. Continue reading “Press 53 2009 Open Awards Anthology”

The Man in the Wooden Hat

The bad news: if you have a less than comprehensive knowledge of British history and culture (as I do), you may have to run to Google periodically to understand all the acronyms and historical references in Gardam’s novel. The good news: it won’t matter. Gardam’s book is primarily a character study, the affectionate chronicle of a long marriage between two flawed but lovable characters. Continue reading “The Man in the Wooden Hat”

Homicide Survivors Picnic

It should come as no surprise that the ten stories in Lorraine Lopez’s collection Homicide Survivors Picnic make an impact, bringing the reader face-to-face with situations that are realistic and gritty but never hopeless or pitiful. Lopez, the winner of the International Latino Book Award for short stories, among other accolades, handles intricate characters and complex emotions deftly, all while spinning out plots that are captivating and believable. Continue reading “Homicide Survivors Picnic”

Hush Sessions

As the epigraph from Gertrude Stein suggests, Hush Sessions is a collection of poetry interested in wordplay, but Kristi Maxwell’s new book also assesses ways of approaching intimacy and fertility in long-term relationships. By presenting the body as imperfect, these poems expose the disappointment a lack of control brings. Continue reading “Hush Sessions”

Marcel Proust’s Search for Lost Time

French author Marcel Proust created an acknowledged masterpiece of modern literature in his 3,000 page novel The Remembrance of Things Past, which is also known as In Search of Lost Time, first published in seven volumes from 1913 to 1927. Patrick Alexander’s guide to this work serves as an introduction to readers who haven’t yet read Proust’s masterpiece, a useful tool for those in the process of reading it, and a refresher for readers who’d like to revisit favorite passages. Continue reading “Marcel Proust’s Search for Lost Time”

Holiday Stories Wanted

Chris Heavener, Editor/Publisher of Annalemma Magazine, writes: “We’re working on a new zine called Holiday in Cambodia. The idea is to collect a bunch of true stories surrounding the Holidays, compile them into a zine and donate the proceeds to Anne Elizabeth Moore, an author and activist who is teaching young Cambodia women how to make zines.”

There will be an open fee for submissions, meaning submitters are encouraged to send whatever they think is a fair submission fee. “Could be zero dollars, could be $100. Yup, just like the Radiohead thing.” This book will be available to purchase for $10 on January 31st, 2010. All proceeds from sales, as well as submission fees, will go directly to Anne’s amazing work with young Cambodian women.

Click here for more info. Deadline is January 15 – so don’t delay!

Poem: Kazim Ali

As a mythology teacher, I enjoy contemporary literary interpretations of the classic myths/characters. The title of this poem by Ali first reminded me of Björk‘s “Venus as a Boy.” Some of my favorites in this same vein are in the collection Becoming the Villianess (Steel Toe Books, 2006) by Jeannine Hall Gailey.

Persephone as a Boy
by Kazim Ali

He never says what he feels.
His father used to say, “Your face is like a flower.”
He wilts when he thinks about loneliness…

Read the rest on West Branch online.

KR Online Features Veronica Forrest-Thomson

From Kenyon Review Online:

On Saturday, January 17th, 2008, Christ’s College, Cambridge, and the Centre for Modernist Studies at the University of Sussex co-hosted a daylong symposium on the work of Veronica Forrest-Thomson, author of three poetry collections and the influential critical work Poetic Artifice: A Theory of Twentieth-Century Poetry. The publishers Shearsman and Allardyce, Barnett issued a new edition of her work in 2008: Veronica Forrest-Thomson: Collected Poems. The symposium came on the heels of this publication, in an effort to further increase the visibility of Forrest-Thomson’s life and work.

The Kenyon Review is pleased to continue that goal by publishing a special online retrospective of a selection of Veronica Forrest-Thomson’s poetry as well as six of the papers presented at the symposium.

Gina Myers :: NewPages Book Review Editor

NewPages welcomes Gina Myers as the new Book Review Editor! Gina lives in Saginaw, Michigan, where she works as an adjunct English instructor and freelance writer. She completed her M.F.A. at The New School, and her first full length collection of poetry, A Model Year, was published in July 2009 by Coconut Books. In her spare time, she publishes Lame House Books and contributes editing to H_NGM_N and 360 Main Street. In addition to writing poetry, she is an active book reviewer, with recent reviews appearing at BookSlut and The Poetry Project Newsletter. Gina is excited to join the team at NewPages, and looks forward to bringing more attention to quality work produced by independent publishers. She hopes to expand the monthly book reviews and publishing news updates, allowing more voices to be heard and more books and authors to be spotlighted.

NewPages Updates :: January 07, 2010

Added to the NewPages Big List of Literary Magazines
Bartleby Snopes – fiction
Glitter Pony – poetry
Litterbox Magazine – art, poetry, fiction, nonfiction, recipes
Little Red Leaves – poetry, multimedia
Still – fiction, poetry, nonfiction, multimedia, interview
Scheherezade’s Bequest – fiction, poetry
Halfway Down the Stairs – fiction, nonfiction, poetry

Added to the NewPages List of Alternative Magazines
Abilities (CA)

2010 Cockefair Chair Writer in Residence

Margot Livesey has been named the 2010 Cockefair Chair Writer-in-Residence at the Univeristy of missouri-Kansas, March 22 – March 26, 2010. She will present a reading and book signing as well as discussion on fiction at the university. Full event details can be found on the New Letters website events calendar.

NDQ Examines Higher Education

The newest issue of North Dakota Quarterly (75.2) focuses on “Higher Education,” and is aptly introduced by Editor Robert W. Lewis with consideration for “Lower Education.” Included in this issue, along with poems by Lee Slonimsky and Carolyn Raphael as well as a packed review section, is this incredible line-up of essays:

Thomas Van Nortwick – “Living in the Moment: A Teacher’s Thoughts on Higher Education”
Fred Whitehead – “The Citadel Revisited”
Steiner Opstead – “University of North Dakota Commencement: August 1, 2010”
Paul T. Bryant – “Academic Comparisons”
Sheryl O’Donnell – “University Inc.: Transforming the Groves of Academe”
Dan Rice – “Higher Education: Where We’ve Gone Wrong”
Laurel Reuter – “Wise Counsel, Glorious Company”
Joan Rudel – “On Becoming a Teacher”
Gaynell Gavin – “Leavings”
Michael Graham – “Notes on Teaching in Prison”
Donald Gutierrez – “Three Universities and Three Cities: A Memoir”
Gregory Gagnon – “Survival, Identity, Sovereignty, and Indian Agency: Contributions to Indians Studies Scholarship”
Louise Erdrich – “What’s in Our Name?”