First Intensity – 2005

First Intensity considers itself a magazine of “new writing,” and indeed, most of the writers here are new to me. The editor indicates that “due to illness and the press of deadlines” no contributors’ notes appear in this issue. This is actually quite freeing! Of the three dozen or so writers included here, whose names will I search for again, based on what I’ve read and appreciated, not on the credentials presented? First Intensity considers itself a magazine of “new writing,” and indeed, most of the writers here are new to me. The editor indicates that “due to illness and the press of deadlines” no contributors’ notes appear in this issue. This is actually quite freeing! Of the three dozen or so writers included here, whose names will I search for again, based on what I’ve read and appreciated, not on the credentials presented? I’d certainly want to read more of “The Big Picture” by Charles Borkhuis, an excerpt of which appears here, with its spare, almost stark, and striking lines: “life goes on but the photo is / its own little tomb.” I’d be happy to stumble upon another of John Olson’s insightful little essays, like “The New Narrative or A Bee is a Predicate with Wings” (“Each sentence is an intrigue, an alias, a din. Can you hear that?”). I’d appreciate another piece of short fiction by Laila Lalami, (author of “El Dorado”) who knows how to get inside a character’s head with amazing authenticity in a few short pages. I’d certainly like to hear more from Richard Rathwell, who contributes an essay about being deported from the United States back to Ireland: “I would like to tell stories in the U.S.A. Dispel a few myths. Make some others. See the emperor. Belong.” Thanks to First Intensity, he has, and he does.
[www.Firstintensity.com]