Black Warrior Review – Spring/Summer 2005

Black Warrior Review does everything right. They consistently publish great fiction and poetry while doing things differently and standing out from the crowd. The most obvious example of this is their chapbook series: each issue includes a full-sized chapbook in its pages. The current issue is excellent from start to finish, and it seems impossible to decide what stands out the most: Julie West’s eight gorgeous full-color paintings? The minimal, haunting line-work of Richard Hahn’s comic? Adam Prince’s hilarious short story “The Triceratops”? One thing I feel compelled to comment on is G.C. Waldrep’s chapbook, “Precision Castanets.” His prose-poems here are written in dream-like prose with a strong inclination towards humor and absurdism. Maybe a cross between Ben Marcus and Dean Young could give you an idea. An excerpt from “Fight or Flight”: “The latest fashion was antlers. Black Warrior Review does everything right. They consistently publish great fiction and poetry while doing things differently and standing out from the crowd. The most obvious example of this is their chapbook series: each issue includes a full-sized chapbook in its pages. The current issue is excellent from start to finish, and it seems impossible to decide what stands out the most: Julie West’s eight gorgeous full-color paintings? The minimal, haunting line-work of Richard Hahn’s comic? Adam Prince’s hilarious short story “The Triceratops”? One thing I feel compelled to comment on is G.C. Waldrep’s chapbook, “Precision Castanets.” His prose-poems here are written in dream-like prose with a strong inclination towards humor and absurdism. Maybe a cross between Ben Marcus and Dean Young could give you an idea. An excerpt from “Fight or Flight”: “The latest fashion was antlers. Ridiculous, I kept thinking: in the bookstore, in the penny arcade. The doctors told me I’d never grow any, owing to a bone blockage in my supraorbital sinuses. Something to do with balance.” BWR leans towards humorous and edgy writing, but not exclusively so. Lewis Buzbee’s story “Five and Dime” is a heart-wrenching story about a single-mother shoplifting for her young son. I would have no qualms recommending Black Warrior Review to anyone. It is one of the best magazines around. [Black Warrior Review, Box 862936, Tuscaloosa, AL 35486. E-mail: [email protected]. Single issue $8. http://webdelsol.com/bwr] – Lincoln Michel