Anyone want to talk about the journals we read?

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TheRajinski

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I am mildly obsessed with lit mags and the like. Mostly because I love short stories, especially those "far out" "what the eff" type stories. Ones that are artfully arranged maybe into segments labeled I. II. III. IV. And somehow everything comes together and it's beautiful. Maybe things are backwards or jumbled or whatever. Bizarre stories, vivid characters, hidden social commentary. Stories with daring voices, fragmented sentences and ass-backwards grammar that would make an English teacher cry.

Like painting with words.

I wish I could get my hands on even more of these things. They are difficult to find, particularly if you do not live in a big city or near a university campus.

I don't particularly care if "well known" or "respectable" writers are published in it. I judge each story on its own merit. I read one particular short story from a university lit mag, and it still sticks with me today. I have no idea where that issue went off to, and unfortunately I cannot remember the writer's name. (Convenient, eh?) But that little story EMBEDDED itself inside my brain space.

I'm also a fan of flash fiction, and usually you can only find that in the lit mag realm.

Here's what I've been reading...

The Madison Review -- The city of my alma mater.
Fourteen Hills -- San Francisco State Uni
Glimmer Train -- Trying to get a story into this one. Good luck to myself.
Black Fox -- Tiny, tiny little thing. Stories are so-so, just needs some time to mature.
Adirondack
The Florida Review

Sad, sad list I know. I'm still working on broadening my horizons. I think I'm forgetting more than one.

Folks here seem so dismissive of lit mags. Novels are great, but they often aren't as daring or rule-bending as I'd like. Unless you pick up Cormac McCarthy's The Road or something.
 

ErstwhileA

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Folks here seem so dismissive of lit mags. Novels are great, but they often aren't as daring or rule-bending as I'd like. Unless you pick up Cormac McCarthy's The Road or something.

This this this this this.

Some people say the novel is dead as an art form. I wouldn't go quite that far, but it's definitely true that short stories are often far more structurally and thematically interesting than long forms. I will often read novels based on liking the author's short stories, and not the other way around.
 

gettingby

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AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

This thread sucks. And it shouldn't.

I know. It did get some action today, though, but not much talk about the stories or styles of the journals.

The current Paris Review is pretty good. Anyone else reading it? The Gettysburg Review is by far my favorite. I think it is so edgy and great.

Someone else mentioned Roddy Doyle. I love him. Did anyone read his election story? That was a good one.

Maybe there is hope for this thread since quite a few people think it is a shame it is not more active. However, we could do without the posts about not having time to read the journals or not liking them. This thread is supposed to be about what is in them.
 

Amos Gunner

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The current Paris Review is pretty good. Anyone else reading it?

No. I'm broke. But I did find a quiet spot in the local library to read the Lorrie Moore story in the last one, and I'm looking forward to the Wallace Shawn interview in the new one.

Just seeing Lorrie Moore's name in Paris Review reminded me how there's little point in submitting to some places. If in some alternate universe I had a story accepted for that issue, and if at the last minute Lorrie Moore sent her thing to the editors, I'd prepare myself for a disappointment. I'm not complaining--that's just the way some places work.

The Gettysburg Review is by far my favorite. I think it is so edgy and great.

And then there's the GR. I love how I often notice first-timers showing up in this one. I like the glossy pages of art, I like the poetry, I like most of the stories and usually end up loving one of them, although there always seems to be one unaccountably bad story in almost every issue, but even this has it's charms.

"Marriage Party" in the last issue was my fav.

One of the contributing editors, Lee K. Abbott, is a great, under-valued short story writer. His ALL THINGS, ALL AT ONCE is a new and collected stories volume which isn't too hard to track down.

You'll probably kill me, but I haven't even taken the plastic wrap off the latest issue of GR. I'd post a pic of my "to-read" shelf, but there isn't a lens wide enough.
 

gettingby

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Amos - Are you talking about The Wedding Party by Daniel Hoyt? That was a really good one. It was kind of quirky, but good. After reading it, I was inspired to write something. I love when stories have that effect. I felt like everything in that story was perfectly placed. And even though I thought the ending was a little out there, it worked.

I also like how The Gettysburg Review has new writers in it. I sent them a story that is (in my opinion) very much the style they publish. I know it is a long shot, but I had to go for it.
 

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I started reading lit mags. There is some quality stories in them, I find. In Canada, it's hard to find them as well. Most lit mags in Canada are small, limited, and run by volunteers or by Universities.

I found an online fiction place, Everday Fiction you guys probably have heard of it. Most of the stories are so-so, but every once and a while I'm surprised by a story. The recent one being Vanishing Act, I think it was called.

My favorite lit mag is 'Grain'. They publish some experimental poetry and fiction that I enjoy.

Great thread by the way. I will keep watch.
 

Bulletproof

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This thread shouldn't suck!! Maybe it's because so many of the people reading lit mags know the writers? Are the writers?

I recently read (most of) AGNI 74 (or as I like to think of it, the 'will looking at that colander give you tetanus?' issue), and here are some of my favorites:

1. Caryl Pagel's "Driving At Night" She called it "A chorus or community of bodiless voices" in her bibliography. I loved this thing, whatever it was, and enjoyed swooping from the clouds into the gutter of human reasoning, then being tossed back on high. I plan to go back and study the rhythm of her transitions.

2. Robert Boyer "A Beauty" Had me googling for photos of Charles Newman. Boyer's mental gymnastics fascinated me. I particularly got a kick when he talked about how Newman would have crossed a line had he seduced Boyer's wife. I guess intellectuals are allowed a pet beautiful person as long as it's a smart beautiful person, and never mind if it craps all over the neighbors' sidewalks. Because that's what they do, see, and at least it's not ruining our carpet.

3. Sherman Alexie "Steel Anniversary" What I love about Alexie is that his work is always accessible, usually clever...yet he can be deep, if you care to look where he's pointing. There's a lot going on here, and he says it in both simple and complex ways. If I taught, I'd use this in my classes.

4. Askold Melnyczuk "Shadowboxing: Beating Toms" A discussion of the work of two of my favorite contemporary poets, Thomas Sayers Ellis and Tom Sleigh. I was invested in the piece before I realized who the Toms were, and since the essay is available to read online, I recommend it even if you don't know these poets, or poetry at all, for the discussion about literature that matters and what that even looks like today. Plus it's always worthwhile to read intelligent discussions of intelligent work.

ETA: All of these are available online except Pagel's
 
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gettingby

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I heard that American Short Fiction may be shutting down. Anyone else hear that? It's too bad. I really like that journal.
 

gettingby

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Also, the fall issue of The Gettysburg Review just came out. Anyone else reading it?
 

gettingby

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Trying to breath life into this thread. Caterpillaring Around, Looking for Trees by Ben Langston in The Gettysburg Review is such a wonderful story. Worth checking out.

What are you guys reading from the journals?
 

magicmint

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I can't find journals in my local book store any more! I pop onto Every Day Fiction once a week now.
 

Ari Meermans

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I can't believe this thread escaped me for so long. Money's tight (who's isn't?) and our little library doesn't have a periodicals section. They do, however, encourage patrons to leave magazines in the lobby for anyone to pick up if so inclined. I scored nine (IIRC) New Yorkers one day. I was ecstatic! There among all the BHGs and Parenting were a stack of New Yorkers.

So, here's some great news for those also on tight budgets and, again, I offer my apologies for not having seen this thread months earlier: The Gettysburg Review is running a 25th Anniversary Special. They're offering their 1988 rates for the entirety of 2012 for new subscriptions, renewals, and gift subscriptions as follows:

One-year subscription for only $12! (promo code: 25ANNIV1)
Two-year subscription for only $22! (promo code: 25ANNIV2)
Three-year subscription for only $30! (promo code: 25ANNIV3)

This offer is good for the entirety of 2012 on new orders, renewals, and gift subscriptions! If you’ve been putting off becoming a supporter of the Gettysburg Review, use the above promotional codes and procrastinate no longer.

I didn't even have to decimate the grocery budget for this one. Here's the link for anyone interested in getting a great literary journal subscription at a phenomenal price.
 

Ari Meermans

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Now waitaminit! I didn't get a tee. Off to see what the sucker looks like so I can gauge how upset I should be. :roll:
 

gettingby

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I know this thread really didn't take off the way I hoped it did, but I just wanted to say the winter issue for Ploughshares is amazing. I have read a lot of literary journals this year and this issue is my favorite of all the journals. It is worth checking out if anyone gets a bookstore gift card.
 

Bulletproof

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Ploughshares! Not to single them out, but I detest this 3$ reading fee convenience charge nonsense, so I won't buy the journal anymore. (Yes, I know that Ploughshares at least waives the charge for subscribers. Still leaves a bad taste in my mouth.)

I'll for sure go to the library next week and read the current issue. Can you explain what made it the best issue of the year for you? (Why is it better? What did some others lack?)
 

gettingby

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It is still free to mail in a submission. I don't like the $3 charge either, but they still put out great issues.

It's hard to put my finger on exactly why I loved the latest issue. It just seems like the writing is a step above the others this time around. I enjoyed reading other journals and subscribe to many of them, but this issue of Ploughshares just blew my mind. If you do go and read it at the library, I would love to hear what you think.
 

Bulletproof

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If you do go and read it at the library, I would love to hear what you think.
I read half of it months ago. It was a Friday, and I forgot the library closes at 5. Haven't had time to finish.

Even if the second half is nothing but muddy pawprints, I agree with you. It is an uncommly good issue. I took notes, of course, but I'm going to spare everyone another drawn-out analysis. I do predict several of the pieces in best-of collections.
 

Kylabelle

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Even if the second half is nothing but muddy pawprints, I agree with you. It is an uncommly good issue. I took notes, of course, but I'm going to spare everyone another drawn-out analysis. I do predict several of the pieces in best-of collections.

*makes a note to have a look for it*

That's quite the recommendation!

I'm new, or more accurately, newly returned after a lifetime, to exploring litmags. I subscribe to Everyday Fiction online so get the stories emailed daily but I have been hungry for more and, frankly, better. Recently moved near to a really great used bookstore where I just picked up a Summer 1999 issue of Story, and a student publication called The Cypress Dome from the University of Florida (this one a 1996 vintage.)

I'm very glad to see this thread and have the various names and recommendations as a checklist. I knew of Glimmertrain and of course the New Yorker, and had actually forgotten Ploughshares.

I'll have a look for that winter 2012 issue!
 

gettingby

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The summer issue of Tin House has a short story by Stephen King. Just thought some of you would be interested.
 

D.M.S.

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I'm new around here but over in the SF/F forum, they have a monthly book study. Doing something similar over here might be a good way to jump start some discussion.

We could pick a journal to read for a particular month and then analyze the stories in that issue. I think it would great if we could get a discussion going on craft.

What do you think?
 

gettingby

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One Story has an amazing piece this month called "Snuff" by Jodi Angel. After reading it, I am a fan and can't wait to read her forthcoming book (published by Tin House books). Anyway, worth checking out!
 
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