Isotope – Fall/Winter 2003

Bone by bone the skeletons of nature and science are picked, rattled, and pieced together to flesh human in isotope.

Bone by bone the skeletons of nature and science are picked, rattled, and pieced together to flesh human in isotope. The journal sports a mere 40 pages, however, the breadth of its fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and art stretch a noble distance while avoiding naiveté about the natural world. One of choicest pieces is Brandon Schrand’s story “Notes from a Drill Rig” where the narrator confesses: “Diesel. Everything smelled and tasted like diesel, aftershave of the hark-knuckled, the whiskied sweat of a world driven mad by men and trucks and tools.” From John Price unearthing “Why Snow Geese Don’t Winter in Paradise,” to Juliet Mattila pondering “Ectoplasm,” the journal moves cover to cover on its own time like the intriguing animal from Botswana that Cheryl Merrill discovers in her fine photo/essay piece “Walking with Elephants.” [isotope, English Department, Utah State University, 3200 Old Main Hill – Logan, UT 84322-3200. Single issue $5. http://websites.usu.edu/isotope/] – PFP