Christopher Linforth's Blog, page 8

Summer Reading

So far this summer I've been taking it easy with little time spent reading. I did, however, reread The Great Gatsby. My main reason for this was to see how Fitzgerald uses the peripheral narrator for my own novel.

Then I read Joseph O'Neill's Netherland, a post-9/11 novel set in New York and London. 9/11 doesn't play much of a role in the novel (mainly to suggest psychological issues with the narrator's wife), the central focus of the novel is on cricket and a character called Chuck who wants to set up a large cricket ground in NY. The book meanders, but is well worth staying with. Further, the quality of writing is world class and displays a class of realism (characters and locations) that is second to none.

Now, I've started Richard Russo's Empire Falls, which won the Pulitzer a few years back. I thought the prologue was overdone, but the central narrative is well written and conveys the intricacies of small town life to great affect.

Hip Literary Journals

"Cooler than cool, the pinnacle of what is 'it'." — Urban Dictionary

The realm of literary journals that may be termed "hip" was recently brought to my attention by George Bowering. George, who I presume is the one noted here, wrote about my list of best journals (see post here) were "square." I agree that many of the journals I noted are not known for experimental, challenging, ground-breaking, or avante-garde literature, but, in fact, focus on traditional forms of storytelling.

Here, then, are a few hip journals (the last two, perhaps, for the Beat crowd). Feel free to add others in the comments section.

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The Believer

McSweeney's

Noon

Electric Literature

NY Tyrant

Chiron Review

Evergreen Review

Pusteblume

Today I heard that my translation of an untitled Anglo-Saxon poem (but one often referred to as "Wulf and Eadwacer") together with an introductory essay will be published in Boston University's Pusteblume: A Journal of and about Translation.  The issue is due out in spring 2011.

491 Magazine

I dabble in poetry on the odd occasion, trying to create form and meaning in a new way. My usual output in this genre is around 3-4 poems a year. Pretty meager by anyone's standards. I do wish to talk about the lyric essay (nonfiction/poetry hybrid) in an upcoming post, but for now a call-out to 491 Magazine who have selected my poem "The Death Chant of Fox News" for publication.

Best Literary Journals

In my previous post I covered online journals, in this one I want to turn to print-based literary journals.

The following discussion will disregard magazines like The New Yorker, Esquire, Playboy, Harper's, and The Atlantic, as these are transnational and commercial magazines with high circulations. Instead, I will examine journals that often have a circulation of a couple of thousand and are non or low profit. My personal criteria, which of course is subjective, included prestige, time-in-operation, inclusion in the Best American series, Pushcarts, and the calibre and accomplishments of the writers included within their pages.

The Top Ten

1. The Paris Review

2. Ploughshares

3. AGNI

4. Virginia Quarterly Review

5. Georgia Review

6. Sewanee Review

7. One Story

8. Prairie Schooner

9. Fiction

10. Crazyhorse

Other fine journals that just missed out on the top ten include Glimmer Train, Tin House, Five Points, American Short Fiction, The Gettysburg Review, Colorado Review, A Public Space, North American Review, and The Kenyon Review.

Small Journals

These five journals I rate highly in terms of the writing and the breath of content and style on display.

1. Mid-American Review

2. Cimarron Review

3. Florida Review

4. Beloit Fiction Journal

5. Ninth Letter

Student-Only Journals

Lastly, to even out the playing field, I have a few journals that accept students' work only.

1. Susquehanna Review (UG)

2. Touchstone (UG/G)

3. Red Clay Review (G)

4. Zaum (UG/G)

5. Prairie Margins (UG)

6. Outrageous Fortune (UG)

7. Aubade (students and the community)

Note: ex-student journals now open to everyone include: Penguin Review, Emerson Review, and Eclipse. Also, the Southampton Review seems to accept "mostly" student work.