The Magazine Rack: New Reviews
By Steve Black, Coll. of Saint Rose, Albany, NY Oct 7, 2010This month's new magazines range from a cooking magazine for foragers and hunters to insights into life in the Ozarks to a lifestyle magazine on the Twisted South.
Asian American Literary Review. 2010. s-a. $16/issue. Aud: Ac, GA (Subject: American literature-Asian American authors. Issue examined: Vol.1, No.1, Spring 2010)
The inaugural issue opens with a dialog among three authors about the struggles facing a new Asian American literary journal. The contributors end up focusing on what it means to be an Asian American writer and talk little about the business outlook for a new journal. All three writers note the difficulty of deciding how much to emphasize their ethnic heritage in their creative works but lean toward embracing it. This fits the editorial vision of Lawrence-Minh Bui Davis and Gerald Maa, who declare the journal a forum for "writers who consider the designation 'Asian American' a fruitful starting point for artistic vision and community." Asian American Literary Review has a conventional mix of poetry, prose, book reviews, and an interview. Unlike many contemporary literary journals, there are no illustrations, but the editors are open to submissions of comic art. Subscriptions are only available for single issues, and no ISSN has yet been assigned. A good choice for any library that collects Asian American literature.
Cooking Wild. 2010. q. $24. ISSN 2154-865X. Aud: GA (Subject: Cooking (Wild Foods). Issue examined: Spring 2010)
This informative, 50-page, color magazine carries the motto "Hunt, Fish, Forage, Feast." It's filled with recipes and tips for processing fish and game, plus a bit about gathering edible wild plants. Articles in the examined issue describe how to process a wild boar, roast a whole pig, and make your own steelhead trout sushi. Recipes include wild turkey carnitas, several ways of preparing crawfish, and various concoctions to use those ducks in the freezer. There are also articles about knives and a buffalo hunt. The writing and graphic design are well executed. Cooking Wild has great promise if the editors can maintain the quality of the first issue. Unfortunately, as of September 2010 the Summer issue had not yet been published, so libraries may want to wait to see if the publisher can maintain their quarterly schedule. If they can, Cooking Wild is a good choice for libraries serving patrons who just might actually have leftover wild duck in their freezers.
Elder Mountain. 2009. a. $10. ISSN 1946-0511. Aud: Ac, GA (Subject: American Literature-Ozark Mountains. Issues examined: Vols. 1 & 2, 2009 & 2010)
Elder Mountain is a publication of the department of English at the open admission Missouri State University-West Plains. Guidelines for submissions call for scholarly papers "free of discipline-specific jargon," essays "free of common Ozark stereotypes," short fiction, poetry, and visual art. The result is a readable, down-to-earth collection of insights into life in the Ozarks. The nonfiction essays are especially enlightening takes on natives' experiences in that part of Missouri and Arkansas. Elder Mountain has no highfalutin prose, no literary theory, and nothing experimental or offensive. Production is simple but professional, perfect bound within a subdued but attractive cover. Modest and professionally produced, Elder Mountain is a good choice for any collection supporting programs in American Studies.
Paul Revere's Horse. 2009. s-a. $12/issue. Aud: Ac, GA (Subject: American Literature-21st Century. Issue examined: No.3, Spring/Summer 2010)
The name of Paul Revere's horse is lost to history, even though the animal was essential to Revere's famous errand. Editor Christopher Lura is leading this effort to bring similarly neglected writers' prose and poetry to an appreciative audience. "The stuff of literature is the stuff of life," he asserts, "and literature is more relevant to humanity now than it ever has been before." The examined issue presents works from 12 authors, including two in translation. An unusual inclusion is a musical score for "Glitch," a piece written for amplified string quartet and electronics. Paul Revere's Horse is funded by the San Francisco-based Independent Arts & Media, a nonprofit intended to foster grassroots support of independent voices. Lura states that a goal is to publish "aggressively challenging" literature. This may not be to all tastes, but that's the point of supporting independent, noncommercial writers. Paul Revere's Horse is a solid effort worth considering for collections of contemporary literature.
Twisted South. 2010. q. $19.99. Aud: GA (Subject: Popular Culture-Southern States. Issue examined: Vol.1, No.1, May 2010)
Twisted South is published from Hardin, TX, a municipality of 755 souls. Someone harboring assumptions based on those demographics will be startled, rattled, and rolled by this weird magazine. Hardin is 200 miles from musically hip Austin. The spirit of Twisted South appears to spring from there, New Orleans, and Nashville. Music is a central theme throughout, but it's also a lifestyle magazine incorporating interviews, recipes, and an eclectic mix of unexpected topics. Articles in the examined issue address body painting, skateboard art, the best way to cook grits, pro wrestling, midget wrestling, voodoo (complete with disturbing images), and a coon hound cemetery. The aptly titled mag depicts lesser-known aspects of Southern culture, a world called by editor Zeke Loftin "the essential, eccentric South. We welcome the weird, odd, and eccentric. We embrace the culture that allows those individuals to exist and live peacefully among us." Production and graphic design of this glossy full-color quarterly is of high quality, with the minor exception that sometimes the font is too small. Very few new magazines have such a distinctive editorial voice, so if you accept the premise that weird can be good, Twisted South is recommended for its fresh and surprising content. [Free digital issue.]
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