November 16th, 2008 / 7:53 pm
Uncategorized

Tomorrow’s Hemingway? Submit to The Rome Review

Via some other lit blog, I found this article, titled “Finding Tomorrow’s Hemingway,” about a new literary journal based at George Washington University. The new literary journal is called The Rome Review. Its founder, junior English major Tarek Al-Hariri, says, “It’s like the New Yorker with 1/100th the circulation.”

Other quotations from Al-Hariri include:

You can print today’s Hemingway. That’s not an accomplishment. We want to print tomorrow’s Hemingway.

And:

We tend to not stick with a formalist writing style.

I first thought to post about this because Al-Hariri claims that The Rome Review is an “avant-garde publication.” He wants to highlight “writers who use language in innovative ways.” This sounded promising to me: an innovative journal based out of a university. The article even mentions Ninth Letter as one of Al-Hariri’s influences. Exciting, right? But the first issue will include pieces by Junot Diaz and Seymour Hersh, which doesn’t strike me as either ‘avant-garde’ or ‘innovative.’

Sorry if I am, like Andrew Rigefsky, current editor-in-chief of the George Washington Review, a little skeptical. Rigefsky writes, in a letter to the editor, the following:

…it seems as though “Finding tomorrow’s Hemingway” is an advertisement for al-Hariri, not his magazine.

Side note: I’d love to see a feud develop between those two journals.

I realize I’m criticizing a new literary ‘venture’ without having first read an issue, and for that I am sorry. And I’m all for new lit journals and stuff, but I feel like a lot of literary journals seek to publish innovative writing and then fall back on ‘safe’ and ‘famous’ names when they realize how hard it is to stay afloat. It’s hard for a new journal to ‘make it’ without having some sort of claim to fame (balancing budgets requires seling issues, selling issues means building up some sort of audience, audiences tend to respond to big name authors), which is why so many solicit famous authors. I think I am trying to say something about intentions versus reality, but I’m not sure. 

Anyhow, I hope The Rome Review proves me wrong.

Here’s the website. Submissions are now open. Send innovative work.

I don’t know. What do people think?

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236 Comments

  1. Gian

      Good luck, Al-jazeera or whatever your name is. Faggot.

  2. Gian

      Good luck, Al-jazeera or whatever your name is. Faggot.

  3. Gian

      Good luck, Al-jazeera or whatever your name is. Faggot.

  4. darby

      Some people think of Diaz as innovative. I don’t know what I think of as innovative. It’s all subjective depending on etc. I don’t like how ‘Hemingway’ is thrown around all the time. He’s become a cliche for ‘the next big thing.’ Looking for any version of Hemingway, present or future is not innovative to me. If something is derivative of another writer in any way, than it’s not innovative, right? But real innovation is difficult to find, I think, so there is compromise. Anyway, I think it’s good to atleast be striving for innovation. Although saying you are like the new yorker is probably the worst thing you can say if you want to be innovative.

  5. darby

      Some people think of Diaz as innovative. I don’t know what I think of as innovative. It’s all subjective depending on etc. I don’t like how ‘Hemingway’ is thrown around all the time. He’s become a cliche for ‘the next big thing.’ Looking for any version of Hemingway, present or future is not innovative to me. If something is derivative of another writer in any way, than it’s not innovative, right? But real innovation is difficult to find, I think, so there is compromise. Anyway, I think it’s good to atleast be striving for innovation. Although saying you are like the new yorker is probably the worst thing you can say if you want to be innovative.

  6. darby

      Some people think of Diaz as innovative. I don’t know what I think of as innovative. It’s all subjective depending on etc. I don’t like how ‘Hemingway’ is thrown around all the time. He’s become a cliche for ‘the next big thing.’ Looking for any version of Hemingway, present or future is not innovative to me. If something is derivative of another writer in any way, than it’s not innovative, right? But real innovation is difficult to find, I think, so there is compromise. Anyway, I think it’s good to atleast be striving for innovation. Although saying you are like the new yorker is probably the worst thing you can say if you want to be innovative.

  7. pr

      Ryan, you’re a pessimistic, reactionary fuck for saying bad things about a journal you haven’t read. Just Kidding! You’re sweet. You’re allowed to be annoyed.

      Gian is funny.

      Darby, I love mgmt because of your video post. Thank you. I have warm feelings for you when listening to their cool take on ziggy stardust and trans am mixed up with their own ownness. (I said that on purpose to segue into….)I could get all argumentative here, but you are more stubborn than me, so I rolll over and give up in advance, but I will say that everything derives from something. It’s whether you like from where it derives, and whether or not they have added a fresh, or interesting, or cock sucking newness, or whatever, to whatever influenced them in the first place. People here, for the most part, love things that derive from the school of modernism, something that happened about 100 years ago. And that is cool. Joyce and Stein and so on and so on made real changes, but even they had their influences (freud?). Hemingway was certainly infuenced by Stein. But he put his own Hemingwayness into it. And it was a good thing. He is derivative of her, but he’s good, man. Derivative is not bad. Derivative from Danielle Steel…that’s would not be good. Innovation doesn’t mean not derivative, it means making your own stamp on your derived stuff.

  8. pr

      Ryan, you’re a pessimistic, reactionary fuck for saying bad things about a journal you haven’t read. Just Kidding! You’re sweet. You’re allowed to be annoyed.

      Gian is funny.

      Darby, I love mgmt because of your video post. Thank you. I have warm feelings for you when listening to their cool take on ziggy stardust and trans am mixed up with their own ownness. (I said that on purpose to segue into….)I could get all argumentative here, but you are more stubborn than me, so I rolll over and give up in advance, but I will say that everything derives from something. It’s whether you like from where it derives, and whether or not they have added a fresh, or interesting, or cock sucking newness, or whatever, to whatever influenced them in the first place. People here, for the most part, love things that derive from the school of modernism, something that happened about 100 years ago. And that is cool. Joyce and Stein and so on and so on made real changes, but even they had their influences (freud?). Hemingway was certainly infuenced by Stein. But he put his own Hemingwayness into it. And it was a good thing. He is derivative of her, but he’s good, man. Derivative is not bad. Derivative from Danielle Steel…that’s would not be good. Innovation doesn’t mean not derivative, it means making your own stamp on your derived stuff.

  9. pr

      Ryan, you’re a pessimistic, reactionary fuck for saying bad things about a journal you haven’t read. Just Kidding! You’re sweet. You’re allowed to be annoyed.

      Gian is funny.

      Darby, I love mgmt because of your video post. Thank you. I have warm feelings for you when listening to their cool take on ziggy stardust and trans am mixed up with their own ownness. (I said that on purpose to segue into….)I could get all argumentative here, but you are more stubborn than me, so I rolll over and give up in advance, but I will say that everything derives from something. It’s whether you like from where it derives, and whether or not they have added a fresh, or interesting, or cock sucking newness, or whatever, to whatever influenced them in the first place. People here, for the most part, love things that derive from the school of modernism, something that happened about 100 years ago. And that is cool. Joyce and Stein and so on and so on made real changes, but even they had their influences (freud?). Hemingway was certainly infuenced by Stein. But he put his own Hemingwayness into it. And it was a good thing. He is derivative of her, but he’s good, man. Derivative is not bad. Derivative from Danielle Steel…that’s would not be good. Innovation doesn’t mean not derivative, it means making your own stamp on your derived stuff.

  10. barry

      really? to call the kid a faggot because he’s excited about his lit journal?

  11. barry

      really? to call the kid a faggot because he’s excited about his lit journal?

  12. barry

      really? to call the kid a faggot because he’s excited about his lit journal?

  13. barry

      what about being derivative of danielle steel what about it

      blake, check to see if the rome review has one of those fancy schmancy submission managers you were talking about…. im feeling innovative

  14. barry

      what about being derivative of danielle steel what about it

      blake, check to see if the rome review has one of those fancy schmancy submission managers you were talking about…. im feeling innovative

  15. barry

      what about being derivative of danielle steel what about it

      blake, check to see if the rome review has one of those fancy schmancy submission managers you were talking about…. im feeling innovative

  16. pr

      Hi Barry! How’s your dick, by the way? All better?

  17. pr

      Hi Barry! How’s your dick, by the way? All better?

  18. pr

      Hi Barry! How’s your dick, by the way? All better?

  19. Ryan Call

      yeah, i didnt mean to ‘make fun of him’ for being excited about his journal. i think being excited about starting something like this is good.

      but i am pleasantly skeptical i guess

      i agree with darby and pr – i like what they are saying, i htink. pr, i hope in some way al-hariri can both take advantage of the ‘name’ in diaz and also publish innovative work that ‘derives’ from whatever it is diaz does. and i think there is some compromise, as darby puts it, that we’ll have to see in his balancing out the work he receives. but, like darby, i think claiming some connection to the newyroker doesnt seem that innovative.

  20. Ryan Call

      yeah, i didnt mean to ‘make fun of him’ for being excited about his journal. i think being excited about starting something like this is good.

      but i am pleasantly skeptical i guess

      i agree with darby and pr – i like what they are saying, i htink. pr, i hope in some way al-hariri can both take advantage of the ‘name’ in diaz and also publish innovative work that ‘derives’ from whatever it is diaz does. and i think there is some compromise, as darby puts it, that we’ll have to see in his balancing out the work he receives. but, like darby, i think claiming some connection to the newyroker doesnt seem that innovative.

  21. Ryan Call

      yeah, i didnt mean to ‘make fun of him’ for being excited about his journal. i think being excited about starting something like this is good.

      but i am pleasantly skeptical i guess

      i agree with darby and pr – i like what they are saying, i htink. pr, i hope in some way al-hariri can both take advantage of the ‘name’ in diaz and also publish innovative work that ‘derives’ from whatever it is diaz does. and i think there is some compromise, as darby puts it, that we’ll have to see in his balancing out the work he receives. but, like darby, i think claiming some connection to the newyroker doesnt seem that innovative.

  22. sam pink

      tomorrow’s hemingway is still a dead skeleton in the ground with a big fucking hole in the skull.

  23. sam pink

      tomorrow’s hemingway is still a dead skeleton in the ground with a big fucking hole in the skull.

  24. sam pink

      hey barry!

  25. sam pink

      hey barry!

  26. sam pink

      tomorrow’s hemingway is still a dead skeleton in the ground with a big fucking hole in the skull.

  27. sam pink

      hey barry!

  28. pr

      I hear you, Ryan. I will say that I think the New Yorker thing was a joke, clearly, so I don’t see how that bodes anything. But I feel you have some valid gripes with the way he’s presenting himself. That said, I’ll lick his boots if he publishes me-cause I’m a desperate ho!

      Hi Sam! I like your violent death stuff.

  29. pr

      I hear you, Ryan. I will say that I think the New Yorker thing was a joke, clearly, so I don’t see how that bodes anything. But I feel you have some valid gripes with the way he’s presenting himself. That said, I’ll lick his boots if he publishes me-cause I’m a desperate ho!

      Hi Sam! I like your violent death stuff.

  30. pr

      I hear you, Ryan. I will say that I think the New Yorker thing was a joke, clearly, so I don’t see how that bodes anything. But I feel you have some valid gripes with the way he’s presenting himself. That said, I’ll lick his boots if he publishes me-cause I’m a desperate ho!

      Hi Sam! I like your violent death stuff.

  31. Ryan Call

      ah, i read it as a more serious statement, though it was funny. having seymour hersh contributing, to me, makes it more esrious.

  32. Ryan Call

      ah, i read it as a more serious statement, though it was funny. having seymour hersh contributing, to me, makes it more esrious.

  33. Gian

      I actually am kind of jealous. I was in Rome this summer and tried to get some Tyrants to Diaz at the Amercan Academy where he was staying. I walked up this huge hill and left the books at the gate. Never heard from Junot. Then I emailed him to see if he got them. he replied saying no. So I asked him for a mailing address. he didn’t reply. Although Oscar Wao was just as powerful as a short story as it was a novel, I fucking love Drown. It is one of my favorite collections. I’d love to publish Junot and am jealous that Al-jazeera or whatever gets to. I wonder if it’s new though. It might be a reprint. We’ll see. And I can’t hate the guy for publishing some well knowns. We have published some bigger guys ourselves. But the stories are still good. It would be different if he publishes a shit story by a big name, like many people do. Post Road once published a list of the books that Will Eno likes. Hilarious.

      Good luck, Al-jazeera. I am sorry you have a funny name. Are you sorry for me?? Gian

  34. Gian

      I actually am kind of jealous. I was in Rome this summer and tried to get some Tyrants to Diaz at the Amercan Academy where he was staying. I walked up this huge hill and left the books at the gate. Never heard from Junot. Then I emailed him to see if he got them. he replied saying no. So I asked him for a mailing address. he didn’t reply. Although Oscar Wao was just as powerful as a short story as it was a novel, I fucking love Drown. It is one of my favorite collections. I’d love to publish Junot and am jealous that Al-jazeera or whatever gets to. I wonder if it’s new though. It might be a reprint. We’ll see. And I can’t hate the guy for publishing some well knowns. We have published some bigger guys ourselves. But the stories are still good. It would be different if he publishes a shit story by a big name, like many people do. Post Road once published a list of the books that Will Eno likes. Hilarious.

      Good luck, Al-jazeera. I am sorry you have a funny name. Are you sorry for me?? Gian

  35. Ryan Call

      ah, i read it as a more serious statement, though it was funny. having seymour hersh contributing, to me, makes it more esrious.

  36. Gian

      I actually am kind of jealous. I was in Rome this summer and tried to get some Tyrants to Diaz at the Amercan Academy where he was staying. I walked up this huge hill and left the books at the gate. Never heard from Junot. Then I emailed him to see if he got them. he replied saying no. So I asked him for a mailing address. he didn’t reply. Although Oscar Wao was just as powerful as a short story as it was a novel, I fucking love Drown. It is one of my favorite collections. I’d love to publish Junot and am jealous that Al-jazeera or whatever gets to. I wonder if it’s new though. It might be a reprint. We’ll see. And I can’t hate the guy for publishing some well knowns. We have published some bigger guys ourselves. But the stories are still good. It would be different if he publishes a shit story by a big name, like many people do. Post Road once published a list of the books that Will Eno likes. Hilarious.

      Good luck, Al-jazeera. I am sorry you have a funny name. Are you sorry for me?? Gian

  37. barry

      sam:

      glad someone with your sensibilities is weighing in on this.

      ryan:

      i was referring to the gian comment where he called him a faggot. really?

      pr:

      my dick is fine. don’t waste your tongue on the rome review guy. there are better things……….

  38. barry

      sam:

      glad someone with your sensibilities is weighing in on this.

      ryan:

      i was referring to the gian comment where he called him a faggot. really?

      pr:

      my dick is fine. don’t waste your tongue on the rome review guy. there are better things……….

  39. barry

      sam:

      glad someone with your sensibilities is weighing in on this.

      ryan:

      i was referring to the gian comment where he called him a faggot. really?

      pr:

      my dick is fine. don’t waste your tongue on the rome review guy. there are better things……….

  40. barry

      i just submitted to the rome review. some poems.

      pr. i forgot to tell you thank you… for thinking of my penis. i love you.

  41. barry

      i just submitted to the rome review. some poems.

      pr. i forgot to tell you thank you… for thinking of my penis. i love you.

  42. pr

      Gian-
      I love how you admit you are jealous. My respect for you just shot through the roof. I’m jealous of all sorts of people. It helps when we’re honest about it, I think.

      Barry! Barry Barry Barry!!!! I’m glad you’re all better.

  43. pr

      Gian-
      I love how you admit you are jealous. My respect for you just shot through the roof. I’m jealous of all sorts of people. It helps when we’re honest about it, I think.

      Barry! Barry Barry Barry!!!! I’m glad you’re all better.

  44. barry

      i just submitted to the rome review. some poems.

      pr. i forgot to tell you thank you… for thinking of my penis. i love you.

  45. pr

      Gian-
      I love how you admit you are jealous. My respect for you just shot through the roof. I’m jealous of all sorts of people. It helps when we’re honest about it, I think.

      Barry! Barry Barry Barry!!!! I’m glad you’re all better.

  46. barry

      im jealous of that 20 year old who’s fucking hannah montana

  47. barry

      im jealous of that 20 year old who’s fucking hannah montana

  48. pr

      Gian- But I think envy might be the better word. Doesn’t jealousy just pertain to romantic stuff? People of htmlgiant- weigh in on this.

      I love you too Barry!!!!

  49. pr

      Gian- But I think envy might be the better word. Doesn’t jealousy just pertain to romantic stuff? People of htmlgiant- weigh in on this.

      I love you too Barry!!!!

  50. barry

      im jealous of that 20 year old who’s fucking hannah montana

  51. pr

      Gian- But I think envy might be the better word. Doesn’t jealousy just pertain to romantic stuff? People of htmlgiant- weigh in on this.

      I love you too Barry!!!!

  52. darby

      pr, nothing is derivative. Everyone knows that. Everything is unique. Except that everything is also derivative. Some things are also innovative except for the things that aren’t which is everything. I’m looking for the next Hemingway derivative. I’m looking for the next innovate Shakespeare who is as uniquely not innovative as possible. I’m looking for the future Junot Diaz. I’m looking for the baby Junot Diaz of the future and as soon as I find him I will throw him away to search for baby Junot Diaz’s future derivative.

  53. darby

      pr, nothing is derivative. Everyone knows that. Everything is unique. Except that everything is also derivative. Some things are also innovative except for the things that aren’t which is everything. I’m looking for the next Hemingway derivative. I’m looking for the next innovate Shakespeare who is as uniquely not innovative as possible. I’m looking for the future Junot Diaz. I’m looking for the baby Junot Diaz of the future and as soon as I find him I will throw him away to search for baby Junot Diaz’s future derivative.

  54. darby

      pr, nothing is derivative. Everyone knows that. Everything is unique. Except that everything is also derivative. Some things are also innovative except for the things that aren’t which is everything. I’m looking for the next Hemingway derivative. I’m looking for the next innovate Shakespeare who is as uniquely not innovative as possible. I’m looking for the future Junot Diaz. I’m looking for the baby Junot Diaz of the future and as soon as I find him I will throw him away to search for baby Junot Diaz’s future derivative.

  55. Blake Butler

      i have a gelerrum in my coinsmith

  56. Blake Butler

      i have a gelerrum in my coinsmith

  57. Blake Butler

      i have a gelerrum in my coinsmith

  58. Blake Butler

      i want to start a very classically traditional journal that publishes Oinxbennum Lerpstensen and Bod Lississ

      i will be like no colony but with 1/100th of the dickcrew

      meaning i’m going to read it all by myself

  59. Blake Butler

      i want to start a very classically traditional journal that publishes Oinxbennum Lerpstensen and Bod Lississ

      i will be like no colony but with 1/100th of the dickcrew

      meaning i’m going to read it all by myself

  60. Blake Butler

      i want to start a very classically traditional journal that publishes Oinxbennum Lerpstensen and Bod Lississ

      i will be like no colony but with 1/100th of the dickcrew

      meaning i’m going to read it all by myself

  61. pr

      OK, jealousy used to just pertain to romantic shit, but I think the meaning now can go for other shit, too. I researched a little. That’s my feelin bout it.

  62. pr

      OK, jealousy used to just pertain to romantic shit, but I think the meaning now can go for other shit, too. I researched a little. That’s my feelin bout it.

  63. pr

      OK, jealousy used to just pertain to romantic shit, but I think the meaning now can go for other shit, too. I researched a little. That’s my feelin bout it.

  64. Ryan Call

      barry:

      oh that makes sense, i think i misread something.

      gripes, hmmm. i dont know if im griping, more just confused, skeptical and just rambling. everyone wants to publish tomorrows somebody, but then they publish todays junot diaz. i dont think this is bad or good. i just think that there is this urgent need in editors (especially new ones) to ‘discover’ someone, and this urgent need eventually has to deal with the reality of the whole submissions pile, i guess, and the reality of what it actually means and costs to print up a journal, distribute it, etc.

      what happened to the ed. of /nor? wasnt he replaced after publishing a lot of innovative work?

      i like gians story about diaz.

      yesterday i thought of aaron burch and bought a huge bottle of jim beam.

  65. Ryan Call

      barry:

      oh that makes sense, i think i misread something.

      gripes, hmmm. i dont know if im griping, more just confused, skeptical and just rambling. everyone wants to publish tomorrows somebody, but then they publish todays junot diaz. i dont think this is bad or good. i just think that there is this urgent need in editors (especially new ones) to ‘discover’ someone, and this urgent need eventually has to deal with the reality of the whole submissions pile, i guess, and the reality of what it actually means and costs to print up a journal, distribute it, etc.

      what happened to the ed. of /nor? wasnt he replaced after publishing a lot of innovative work?

      i like gians story about diaz.

      yesterday i thought of aaron burch and bought a huge bottle of jim beam.

  66. Ryan Call

      barry:

      oh that makes sense, i think i misread something.

      gripes, hmmm. i dont know if im griping, more just confused, skeptical and just rambling. everyone wants to publish tomorrows somebody, but then they publish todays junot diaz. i dont think this is bad or good. i just think that there is this urgent need in editors (especially new ones) to ‘discover’ someone, and this urgent need eventually has to deal with the reality of the whole submissions pile, i guess, and the reality of what it actually means and costs to print up a journal, distribute it, etc.

      what happened to the ed. of /nor? wasnt he replaced after publishing a lot of innovative work?

      i like gians story about diaz.

      yesterday i thought of aaron burch and bought a huge bottle of jim beam.

  67. Ryan Call

      also, i really do think people should submit to this. he wants innovative work.

  68. Ryan Call

      also, i really do think people should submit to this. he wants innovative work.

  69. Ryan Call

      also, i really do think people should submit to this. he wants innovative work.

  70. pr

      I bought a bottle of Knob Creek the other day! Aaron Burch-Elizabeth Ellen-inspired.

  71. pr

      I bought a bottle of Knob Creek the other day! Aaron Burch-Elizabeth Ellen-inspired.

  72. pr

      I bought a bottle of Knob Creek the other day! Aaron Burch-Elizabeth Ellen-inspired.

  73. Ryan Call

      cheers

  74. Ryan Call

      cheers

  75. Ryan Call

      cheers

  76. barry

      i jerked off the other day. aaron burch – elizabeth ellen inspired.

      then i drank some bourbon.

      i didnt do any of this.

      i am not innovative. i exist within current literary trends. is there anyone writing now who doesnt. who is truly innovative. who is redefining fiction for a future generation of yet unborn writers?

      there is nothing new under the sun

  77. barry

      i jerked off the other day. aaron burch – elizabeth ellen inspired.

      then i drank some bourbon.

      i didnt do any of this.

      i am not innovative. i exist within current literary trends. is there anyone writing now who doesnt. who is truly innovative. who is redefining fiction for a future generation of yet unborn writers?

      there is nothing new under the sun

  78. barry

      i jerked off the other day. aaron burch – elizabeth ellen inspired.

      then i drank some bourbon.

      i didnt do any of this.

      i am not innovative. i exist within current literary trends. is there anyone writing now who doesnt. who is truly innovative. who is redefining fiction for a future generation of yet unborn writers?

      there is nothing new under the sun

  79. Ryan Call

      sam pink

  80. Ryan Call

      sam pink

  81. darby

      They only accept pdf submissions electronically. That is a little strange.

  82. darby

      They only accept pdf submissions electronically. That is a little strange.

  83. Ryan Call

      sam pink

  84. darby

      They only accept pdf submissions electronically. That is a little strange.

  85. Ryan Call

      i dont know how to make something a pdf

  86. Ryan Call

      i dont know how to make something a pdf

  87. Ryan Call

      i dont know how to make something a pdf

  88. darby

      I only recently learned because I needed my novel in pdf for a submission. There’s a website somewhere that allows you to upload any kind of document and it spits out a pdf for you.

  89. darby

      I only recently learned because I needed my novel in pdf for a submission. There’s a website somewhere that allows you to upload any kind of document and it spits out a pdf for you.

  90. barry

      if anyone wants a free pdf converter from word to pdf, go to http://www.diggypod.com. it installs in a second or a minute and its free and easy to use. it will show up in your printer drive as diggy. then just print doc and it will save to your desktop as a pdf. it is read only though.

  91. barry

      if anyone wants a free pdf converter from word to pdf, go to http://www.diggypod.com. it installs in a second or a minute and its free and easy to use. it will show up in your printer drive as diggy. then just print doc and it will save to your desktop as a pdf. it is read only though.

  92. darby

      I only recently learned because I needed my novel in pdf for a submission. There’s a website somewhere that allows you to upload any kind of document and it spits out a pdf for you.

  93. barry

      if anyone wants a free pdf converter from word to pdf, go to http://www.diggypod.com. it installs in a second or a minute and its free and easy to use. it will show up in your printer drive as diggy. then just print doc and it will save to your desktop as a pdf. it is read only though.

  94. pr

      I compare Sam Pink to Rimbaud in a review I wrote and submitted to some place. Season in Hell, man. I think Pink was once a Catholic, like Rimbaud, and like -well you all know my catholic writer obsession. That goes for once-catholics, too.

      “Look there, are those not honorable men, who wish me well?…Come on… a pillow over my mouth, they cannot hear me, they are only ghosts. Anyway, no one ever thinks of anyone else. Don’t let them come closer. I must surely stink of burning flesh. “

  95. pr

      I compare Sam Pink to Rimbaud in a review I wrote and submitted to some place. Season in Hell, man. I think Pink was once a Catholic, like Rimbaud, and like -well you all know my catholic writer obsession. That goes for once-catholics, too.

      “Look there, are those not honorable men, who wish me well?…Come on… a pillow over my mouth, they cannot hear me, they are only ghosts. Anyway, no one ever thinks of anyone else. Don’t let them come closer. I must surely stink of burning flesh. “

  96. pr

      I compare Sam Pink to Rimbaud in a review I wrote and submitted to some place. Season in Hell, man. I think Pink was once a Catholic, like Rimbaud, and like -well you all know my catholic writer obsession. That goes for once-catholics, too.

      “Look there, are those not honorable men, who wish me well?…Come on… a pillow over my mouth, they cannot hear me, they are only ghosts. Anyway, no one ever thinks of anyone else. Don’t let them come closer. I must surely stink of burning flesh. “

  97. Blake Butler

      ms word makes pdf docs for you. it’s the same as printing. go like you are printing the file and in the first screen when you press print you’ll see an option for pdf. then it prints to ‘file’ rather than paper. takes 2 seconds.

  98. Blake Butler

      ms word makes pdf docs for you. it’s the same as printing. go like you are printing the file and in the first screen when you press print you’ll see an option for pdf. then it prints to ‘file’ rather than paper. takes 2 seconds.

  99. Blake Butler

      ms word makes pdf docs for you. it’s the same as printing. go like you are printing the file and in the first screen when you press print you’ll see an option for pdf. then it prints to ‘file’ rather than paper. takes 2 seconds.

  100. barry

      blake. is that an 07 feature. ive never seen that in 03.

      SAM PINK

  101. barry

      blake. is that an 07 feature. ive never seen that in 03.

      SAM PINK

  102. barry

      blake. is that an 07 feature. ive never seen that in 03.

      SAM PINK

  103. darby

      yeah, I’m in ’03, I don’t see that either.

  104. darby

      yeah, I’m in ’03, I don’t see that either.

  105. darby

      yeah, I’m in ’03, I don’t see that either.

  106. Blake Butler

      i have word 2004 for mac

  107. Blake Butler

      i have word 2004 for mac

  108. Ryan Call

      yeah ive got it in the newest version 08

  109. Ryan Call

      yeah ive got it in the newest version 08

  110. Blake Butler

      i have word 2004 for mac

  111. Ryan Call

      yeah ive got it in the newest version 08

  112. Justin Taylor

      All this fetishizing of “the new” and “the innovative” is navel-gazing bullshit.

      Sorry I’m weighing in late, but I just read all these comments and the talk about “the Junot Diaz of the future” makes my head spin. Dude’s written a total of 2 books, he’s under 40, he’s one of the best living writers in America, and there’s not even any dust on his fucking Pulitzer yet. Talk to me about the next Junot Diaz after we’ve lost the one we’ve got. JUNOT DIAZ IS THE JUNOT DIAZ OF THE FUTURE.

      I feel like there’s a real feeling on this blog–and in indie lit in general, but in its online factions especially–that as soon as an author gets their first taste of real success, they suddenly become suspect, and/or their work stops counting.

      I feel like the standard of judgment around here is frequently: if I recognize the names on a TOC, and they’re not friends of mine, then therefore the editor of Whichever Journal must be a star-fucking sellout.

      It’s just such a reductive, and generally unhelpful way of talking about things.

      I agree that “the Hemingway of tomorrow” and all related notions, are pretty stupid. He’s clearly invited a lot of the heat he’s drawing–albeit probably not on purpose.

      But give dude a little credit: he’s an undergrad whose got Sy Hersh and Junot Diaz in his magazine. What did you do this week? (Gian has a really good answer to this question, but ten bucks says he’s the only one.)

  113. Justin Taylor

      All this fetishizing of “the new” and “the innovative” is navel-gazing bullshit.

      Sorry I’m weighing in late, but I just read all these comments and the talk about “the Junot Diaz of the future” makes my head spin. Dude’s written a total of 2 books, he’s under 40, he’s one of the best living writers in America, and there’s not even any dust on his fucking Pulitzer yet. Talk to me about the next Junot Diaz after we’ve lost the one we’ve got. JUNOT DIAZ IS THE JUNOT DIAZ OF THE FUTURE.

      I feel like there’s a real feeling on this blog–and in indie lit in general, but in its online factions especially–that as soon as an author gets their first taste of real success, they suddenly become suspect, and/or their work stops counting.

      I feel like the standard of judgment around here is frequently: if I recognize the names on a TOC, and they’re not friends of mine, then therefore the editor of Whichever Journal must be a star-fucking sellout.

      It’s just such a reductive, and generally unhelpful way of talking about things.

      I agree that “the Hemingway of tomorrow” and all related notions, are pretty stupid. He’s clearly invited a lot of the heat he’s drawing–albeit probably not on purpose.

      But give dude a little credit: he’s an undergrad whose got Sy Hersh and Junot Diaz in his magazine. What did you do this week? (Gian has a really good answer to this question, but ten bucks says he’s the only one.)

  114. barry

      ahhhhhhhhhhhhh

  115. barry

      ahhhhhhhhhhhhh

  116. darby

      too much work, anyway. I’ll just submit my innovative work elsewhere.

  117. darby

      too much work, anyway. I’ll just submit my innovative work elsewhere.

  118. Justin Taylor

      All this fetishizing of “the new” and “the innovative” is navel-gazing bullshit.

      Sorry I’m weighing in late, but I just read all these comments and the talk about “the Junot Diaz of the future” makes my head spin. Dude’s written a total of 2 books, he’s under 40, he’s one of the best living writers in America, and there’s not even any dust on his fucking Pulitzer yet. Talk to me about the next Junot Diaz after we’ve lost the one we’ve got. JUNOT DIAZ IS THE JUNOT DIAZ OF THE FUTURE.

      I feel like there’s a real feeling on this blog–and in indie lit in general, but in its online factions especially–that as soon as an author gets their first taste of real success, they suddenly become suspect, and/or their work stops counting.

      I feel like the standard of judgment around here is frequently: if I recognize the names on a TOC, and they’re not friends of mine, then therefore the editor of Whichever Journal must be a star-fucking sellout.

      It’s just such a reductive, and generally unhelpful way of talking about things.

      I agree that “the Hemingway of tomorrow” and all related notions, are pretty stupid. He’s clearly invited a lot of the heat he’s drawing–albeit probably not on purpose.

      But give dude a little credit: he’s an undergrad whose got Sy Hersh and Junot Diaz in his magazine. What did you do this week? (Gian has a really good answer to this question, but ten bucks says he’s the only one.)

  119. barry

      ahhhhhhhhhhhhh

  120. darby

      too much work, anyway. I’ll just submit my innovative work elsewhere.

  121. Blake Butler

      books

  122. Blake Butler

      books

  123. Blake Butler

      books

  124. Blake Butler

      when i hear ‘junot diaz’ i think ‘no i don’t know diaz’

  125. Blake Butler

      when i hear ‘junot diaz’ i think ‘no i don’t know diaz’

  126. pr

      More Rimbaud.

      “For a long time I boasted that I was master of all possible landscapes and I thought the great figures of modern painting and poetry were laughable.

      What I liked were: absurd paintings, pictures over doorways, stage sets, carnival backdrops, billboards, bright-colored prints; old-fashioned literature, church Latin, erotic books full of misspellings, the kind of novels our grandmothers read, fairy tales, little children’s books, old operas, silly old songs, the nave rhythms of country rimes.

      I dreamed of Crusades, voyages of discovery that nobody had heard of, republics without histories, religious wars stamped out, revolutions in morals, movements of races and continents: I used to believe in every kind of magic.

      I invented colors for the vowels! – A black, E white, I red, O blue, U green. – I made rules for the form and movement of every consonant, and I boasted of inventing, with rhythms from within me, a kind of poetry that all the senses, sooner or later, would recognize. And I alone would be its translator.

      I began it as an investigation. I turned silences and nights into words. What was unutterable, I wrote down. I made the whirling world stand still. ”

      I’m watching a really bad movie. It’s calle Reeker. It’s a horror movie about bad smell.

      Justin makes some good points.

  127. pr

      More Rimbaud.

      “For a long time I boasted that I was master of all possible landscapes and I thought the great figures of modern painting and poetry were laughable.

      What I liked were: absurd paintings, pictures over doorways, stage sets, carnival backdrops, billboards, bright-colored prints; old-fashioned literature, church Latin, erotic books full of misspellings, the kind of novels our grandmothers read, fairy tales, little children’s books, old operas, silly old songs, the nave rhythms of country rimes.

      I dreamed of Crusades, voyages of discovery that nobody had heard of, republics without histories, religious wars stamped out, revolutions in morals, movements of races and continents: I used to believe in every kind of magic.

      I invented colors for the vowels! – A black, E white, I red, O blue, U green. – I made rules for the form and movement of every consonant, and I boasted of inventing, with rhythms from within me, a kind of poetry that all the senses, sooner or later, would recognize. And I alone would be its translator.

      I began it as an investigation. I turned silences and nights into words. What was unutterable, I wrote down. I made the whirling world stand still. ”

      I’m watching a really bad movie. It’s calle Reeker. It’s a horror movie about bad smell.

      Justin makes some good points.

  128. Blake Butler

      JUNOT DIAZ IS THE JUNOT DIAZ OF THE FUTURE.

      this probably wins

  129. Blake Butler

      JUNOT DIAZ IS THE JUNOT DIAZ OF THE FUTURE.

      this probably wins

  130. pr

      Junot Diaz is good and he is from the DR, which makes me like him.

  131. pr

      Junot Diaz is good and he is from the DR, which makes me like him.

  132. Blake Butler

      when i hear ‘junot diaz’ i think ‘no i don’t know diaz’

  133. pr

      More Rimbaud.

      “For a long time I boasted that I was master of all possible landscapes and I thought the great figures of modern painting and poetry were laughable.

      What I liked were: absurd paintings, pictures over doorways, stage sets, carnival backdrops, billboards, bright-colored prints; old-fashioned literature, church Latin, erotic books full of misspellings, the kind of novels our grandmothers read, fairy tales, little children’s books, old operas, silly old songs, the nave rhythms of country rimes.

      I dreamed of Crusades, voyages of discovery that nobody had heard of, republics without histories, religious wars stamped out, revolutions in morals, movements of races and continents: I used to believe in every kind of magic.

      I invented colors for the vowels! – A black, E white, I red, O blue, U green. – I made rules for the form and movement of every consonant, and I boasted of inventing, with rhythms from within me, a kind of poetry that all the senses, sooner or later, would recognize. And I alone would be its translator.

      I began it as an investigation. I turned silences and nights into words. What was unutterable, I wrote down. I made the whirling world stand still. ”

      I’m watching a really bad movie. It’s calle Reeker. It’s a horror movie about bad smell.

      Justin makes some good points.

  134. Blake Butler

      JUNOT DIAZ IS THE JUNOT DIAZ OF THE FUTURE.

      this probably wins

  135. pr

      Junot Diaz is good and he is from the DR, which makes me like him.

  136. Christopher Robbins

      Fuckin’ MFA Emo muthafuckers

  137. Christopher Robbins

      Fuckin’ MFA Emo muthafuckers

  138. Christopher Robbins

      Fuckin’ MFA Emo muthafuckers

  139. darby

      I was being kind of sarcastic when I said that, to make essentially the same point Justin is making. It’s a ridiculous cycle and as soon as we find a name we discard it and look for the next name.

  140. darby

      I was being kind of sarcastic when I said that, to make essentially the same point Justin is making. It’s a ridiculous cycle and as soon as we find a name we discard it and look for the next name.

  141. Christopher Robbins

      with your douchebag avant garde crap

  142. Christopher Robbins

      with your douchebag avant garde crap

  143. darby

      I was being kind of sarcastic when I said that, to make essentially the same point Justin is making. It’s a ridiculous cycle and as soon as we find a name we discard it and look for the next name.

  144. Christopher Robbins

      with your douchebag avant garde crap

  145. Christopher Robbins

      you can suck my surrealist cock

  146. Christopher Robbins

      you can suck my surrealist cock

  147. Christopher Robbins

      you can suck my surrealist cock

  148. Christopher Robbins

      and lick my dadaist balls

  149. Christopher Robbins

      and lick my dadaist balls

  150. Christopher Robbins

      and lick my dadaist balls

  151. barry

      justin:

      i dont think anyone was trying to dis the kid. except gian who called him a faggot which i thought was uneccesary.

      but i agree. all this talk of innovation. i prefer writers like davy rothbart and elizabeth ellen who don;t give a shit about innovation, they just like telling really good stories. sort of mark twainish. what happened to great storytelling

      what about storytelling what about it

  152. barry

      justin:

      i dont think anyone was trying to dis the kid. except gian who called him a faggot which i thought was uneccesary.

      but i agree. all this talk of innovation. i prefer writers like davy rothbart and elizabeth ellen who don;t give a shit about innovation, they just like telling really good stories. sort of mark twainish. what happened to great storytelling

      what about storytelling what about it

  153. barry

      justin:

      i dont think anyone was trying to dis the kid. except gian who called him a faggot which i thought was uneccesary.

      but i agree. all this talk of innovation. i prefer writers like davy rothbart and elizabeth ellen who don;t give a shit about innovation, they just like telling really good stories. sort of mark twainish. what happened to great storytelling

      what about storytelling what about it

  154. Blake Butler

      books
      books

  155. Blake Butler

      books
      books
      books

  156. Blake Butler

      books
      books

  157. Blake Butler

      books
      books
      books

  158. Blake Butler

      books
      books
      books
      books

  159. Blake Butler

      books
      books
      books
      books

  160. darby

      what is it about Sunday nights?

  161. Ryan Call

      i did nothing this week.

      justin, not late. i am glad you weighed in.

      i guess i dont feel like diaz is suspect or anything cause of his success. i think i read one of his stories once and enjoyed it.

      i think i was confused by al-hariri’s talking about wanting to publish ‘tomorrows’ hemingway but he is publishing todays diaz. like i feel like he is confusing me in how he is presenting the journal.

      the ‘sellout tag’ was a mindless joke

  162. pr

      Reeker is over. It sucked.

      Barry and pr 2gether4ever.

  163. darby

      what is it about Sunday nights?

  164. Ryan Call

      i did nothing this week.

      justin, not late. i am glad you weighed in.

      i guess i dont feel like diaz is suspect or anything cause of his success. i think i read one of his stories once and enjoyed it.

      i think i was confused by al-hariri’s talking about wanting to publish ‘tomorrows’ hemingway but he is publishing todays diaz. like i feel like he is confusing me in how he is presenting the journal.

      the ‘sellout tag’ was a mindless joke

  165. pr

      Reeker is over. It sucked.

      Barry and pr 2gether4ever.

  166. Blake Butler

      is publishing someone an act of accomplishment?

  167. Blake Butler

      is publishing someone an act of accomplishment?

  168. Blake Butler

      dont apologize. tomorrow’s hemingway is rubbish.
      marketing is rubbish, but a way to sell, what can you do?
      the magazine could still be great. i hope it is great.

  169. Blake Butler

      dont apologize. tomorrow’s hemingway is rubbish.
      marketing is rubbish, but a way to sell, what can you do?
      the magazine could still be great. i hope it is great.

  170. Justin Taylor

      i figured as much, ryan, but i’m feeling fiesty tonight so i’m writing a whole post about it anyway. not directed at you personally, but it got me going.

      who is tomorrow’s hemingway?

      who was 1912’s jonathan lethem?

      i feel like these questions only work as long as you don’t think about them at all. if you expand the terms, even a little, the system of meaning breaks down.

  171. Justin Taylor

      i figured as much, ryan, but i’m feeling fiesty tonight so i’m writing a whole post about it anyway. not directed at you personally, but it got me going.

      who is tomorrow’s hemingway?

      who was 1912’s jonathan lethem?

      i feel like these questions only work as long as you don’t think about them at all. if you expand the terms, even a little, the system of meaning breaks down.

  172. Justin Taylor

      Blake- publishing someone TOTALLY is an act of accomplishment. I was as proud to publish Jared Hohl in The Apocalypse Reader as I’ve ever been to get something of mine accepted somewhere.

  173. Justin Taylor

      Blake- publishing someone TOTALLY is an act of accomplishment. I was as proud to publish Jared Hohl in The Apocalypse Reader as I’ve ever been to get something of mine accepted somewhere.

  174. darby

      It’s not an accomplishment to publish someone. Nor to publish something. It’s an act of opportunistic acquirement. The publisher doesn’t and shouldn’t fully understand the strength of anything they publish until it is out there beyond their control, where all sense of accomplishment reverts to the author.

  175. barry

      pr:

      FOREVER

  176. darby

      It’s not an accomplishment to publish someone. Nor to publish something. It’s an act of opportunistic acquirement. The publisher doesn’t and shouldn’t fully understand the strength of anything they publish until it is out there beyond their control, where all sense of accomplishment reverts to the author.

  177. barry

      pr:

      FOREVER

  178. pr

      Justin, I see you review Chris Adrian. I read a short story of his in Tin House and loved it and then had to read everything out there about him. But I have yet to read his novels. He’s a fascinating writer.

  179. pr

      Justin, I see you review Chris Adrian. I read a short story of his in Tin House and loved it and then had to read everything out there about him. But I have yet to read his novels. He’s a fascinating writer.

  180. darby

      I read the first like ten pages of The Children’s Hospital and couldn’t get into it. I don’t know why.

  181. darby

      I read the first like ten pages of The Children’s Hospital and couldn’t get into it. I don’t know why.

  182. Ryan Call

      justin, i am glad thigns were gotten going. i amd glad you are fiesty. i want to hear more about standards of judgment and indielit suspicions of success.

      darby, sundays, peaople are drunk probably.

      christopher, i am glad you posted those coments.

  183. pr

      Darby, if an editor want to feel proud to publish someone – happy comes to mind too- that is OK. We want people to be proud and happy, right? That is what I take from “accomplishment”.

  184. Ryan Call

      justin, i am glad thigns were gotten going. i amd glad you are fiesty. i want to hear more about standards of judgment and indielit suspicions of success.

      darby, sundays, peaople are drunk probably.

      christopher, i am glad you posted those coments.

  185. pr

      Darby, if an editor want to feel proud to publish someone – happy comes to mind too- that is OK. We want people to be proud and happy, right? That is what I take from “accomplishment”.

  186. pr

      I haven’t picked up his novels because I read so few contemporary novels (short stories are another matter). But that Tin House story blew my mind. I think I read another story of his elsewhere that I loved, too.

  187. pr

      I haven’t picked up his novels because I read so few contemporary novels (short stories are another matter). But that Tin House story blew my mind. I think I read another story of his elsewhere that I loved, too.

  188. darby

      I think I’m taking ‘accomplishment’ as something that needs to be agreed upon by others besides the publisher. Feeling proud and happy to publish something a publisher loves is different, I think. I don’t think that at the time of publishing something, before anyone else has read it, that it’s right to say, this is an accompishment. I may be playing semantics.

      Drunk, yes.

  189. darby

      I think I’m taking ‘accomplishment’ as something that needs to be agreed upon by others besides the publisher. Feeling proud and happy to publish something a publisher loves is different, I think. I don’t think that at the time of publishing something, before anyone else has read it, that it’s right to say, this is an accompishment. I may be playing semantics.

      Drunk, yes.

  190. Justin Taylor

      Ryan, I’m not drunk yet, but that’s the next thing on my list.

      Darby- you’ve never been more wrong. the idea that a publisher should lack understanding, about either the quality or potential of what they’re publishing is just insane.

      pr- Chris Adrian is one of the most innovative writers I know of. Definitely read the collection, A Better Angel, if nothing else.

  191. Justin Taylor

      Ryan, I’m not drunk yet, but that’s the next thing on my list.

      Darby- you’ve never been more wrong. the idea that a publisher should lack understanding, about either the quality or potential of what they’re publishing is just insane.

      pr- Chris Adrian is one of the most innovative writers I know of. Definitely read the collection, A Better Angel, if nothing else.

  192. pr

      It has that story about that high school kid who ends up being Satan in it? Man, he is such a good writer.

  193. pr

      It has that story about that high school kid who ends up being Satan in it? Man, he is such a good writer.

  194. Ryan Call

      well this was fun

  195. Ryan Call

      well this was fun

  196. barry

      i reread that article from rigefsky, which started this whole thing. man, everyone is getting down on this ir-jarir kid but man that fucking rifegsky sounds like a whiny pussy poor sport. if someone at GW started a new journal maybe its because they were not satisfied with the one already there. what a whiny little bitch.

  197. barry

      i reread that article from rigefsky, which started this whole thing. man, everyone is getting down on this ir-jarir kid but man that fucking rifegsky sounds like a whiny pussy poor sport. if someone at GW started a new journal maybe its because they were not satisfied with the one already there. what a whiny little bitch.

  198. sam pink

      i made rice krispy treats for everyone. don’t take a second until everyone has had one.

  199. sam pink

      i made rice krispy treats for everyone. don’t take a second until everyone has had one.

  200. barry

      thanks sam. i can always count on you to be considerate

  201. pr

      i can’t find the article. i want to read it.

      i love rice krispy treats.

  202. barry

      thanks sam. i can always count on you to be considerate

  203. pr

      i can’t find the article. i want to read it.

      i love rice krispy treats.

  204. Justin Taylor

      pr- yeah that story’s in there. he is truly beyond beyond.

  205. Ryan Call

      pr i linked to it, it is the letter to the ed.

  206. Justin Taylor

      pr- yeah that story’s in there. he is truly beyond beyond.

  207. Ryan Call

      pr i linked to it, it is the letter to the ed.

  208. barry

      click on the link that says. in a letter to the editor. between the green boxes. then scroll to like the third or fourth article.

  209. barry

      click on the link that says. in a letter to the editor. between the green boxes. then scroll to like the third or fourth article.

  210. pr

      hmm. i can’t get it to work…I might be half asleep. Oh well, anything barry says is usually right.

  211. pr

      hmm. i can’t get it to work…I might be half asleep. Oh well, anything barry says is usually right.

  212. barry

      usually??

  213. barry

      usually??

  214. darby

      Justin- never been more wrong, ouch. I wasn’t saying publishers should lack all understanding of quality or potential when they publish. That is silly. Here is what I wrote:

      ‘publisher doesn’t and shouldn’t fully understand the strength of anything they publish’

      They understand a lot, but they shouldn’t ‘fully’ understand, because they can’t, because no one can, because publishing fiction is not like solving equations.

  215. darby

      Justin- never been more wrong, ouch. I wasn’t saying publishers should lack all understanding of quality or potential when they publish. That is silly. Here is what I wrote:

      ‘publisher doesn’t and shouldn’t fully understand the strength of anything they publish’

      They understand a lot, but they shouldn’t ‘fully’ understand, because they can’t, because no one can, because publishing fiction is not like solving equations.

  216. barry

      ha ha darby. drunk semantics. brilliant.

  217. barry

      ha ha darby. drunk semantics. brilliant.

  218. Ryan Call

      al-hariri should read justins lecture on literary terms

  219. Ryan Call

      al-hariri should read justins lecture on literary terms

  220. Justin Taylor

      can’t and shouldn’t are two very different things. “can’t” touches on the fact that all aspects of existence are fundamentally and necessarily incomplete because they are ongoing. “shouldn’t” indicates a limit willfully imposed on either knowing or–more dangerously, on responsibility.

      A publisher obviously can’t predict every possible vicissitude or future result of a publishing decision, but it is their business to pick the best, strongest work that they believe the most in, and then to fight like blazing damn to get that work out into the world and keep it there. if you don’t believe that strongly in what you’re publishing–don’t publish it. and if you’re not sure whether you believe in it that strongly or not–then you’re not done figuring out whether it’s the right thing for you to be publishing yet.

  221. Justin Taylor

      can’t and shouldn’t are two very different things. “can’t” touches on the fact that all aspects of existence are fundamentally and necessarily incomplete because they are ongoing. “shouldn’t” indicates a limit willfully imposed on either knowing or–more dangerously, on responsibility.

      A publisher obviously can’t predict every possible vicissitude or future result of a publishing decision, but it is their business to pick the best, strongest work that they believe the most in, and then to fight like blazing damn to get that work out into the world and keep it there. if you don’t believe that strongly in what you’re publishing–don’t publish it. and if you’re not sure whether you believe in it that strongly or not–then you’re not done figuring out whether it’s the right thing for you to be publishing yet.

  222. darby

      yeah, I was using can’t and shouldn’t interchangeably was my problem, I think because I saw it as something impossible to begin with. Like saying you can’t or you shouldn’t attempt to breath underwater. “shouldn’t’ doesn’t even apply in this case, so in my head its meaning reverted to being synonymous with ‘can’t.’ Anyway, yeah.

  223. darby

      yeah, I was using can’t and shouldn’t interchangeably was my problem, I think because I saw it as something impossible to begin with. Like saying you can’t or you shouldn’t attempt to breath underwater. “shouldn’t’ doesn’t even apply in this case, so in my head its meaning reverted to being synonymous with ‘can’t.’ Anyway, yeah.

  224. Justin Taylor

      loud & clear, man.

  225. Justin Taylor

      loud & clear, man.

  226. ernie

      Tomorrow’s Hemingway is independently wealthy?

      This friggin journal doesn’t pay contributors a dime. All work for no pay. It’s an academic journal. It’s for the teachers, the MFA back-slapping wieners. Literary losers.

      Yesterday’s Hemingway would NEVER give this “journal” the time of day. Why should today’s … or tomorrow’s … be different?

      Sorry.

  227. ernie

      Tomorrow’s Hemingway is independently wealthy?

      This friggin journal doesn’t pay contributors a dime. All work for no pay. It’s an academic journal. It’s for the teachers, the MFA back-slapping wieners. Literary losers.

      Yesterday’s Hemingway would NEVER give this “journal” the time of day. Why should today’s … or tomorrow’s … be different?

      Sorry.

  228. Ryan Call

      ah, im surprised it took this long to start shitting on mfas.

  229. Ryan Call

      ah, im surprised it took this long to start shitting on mfas.

  230. t

      I do confess that I am rather surprised as to how much attention The Hatchet article has been getting.

      I won’t defend the “Hemingway” quote; it was stupid. Other more complex explanations were provided that The Hatchet decided not to run.

      As for Junot Diaz and The New Yorker analogy, did it ever occur to anyone that there might have been a misunderstanding? We are not publishing work by Junot Diaz because he has a contract with the New Yorker; rather, we are publishing an interview that we conducted with him. As for comparing The Rome Review with The New Yorker, that was taken out of context, though not with malice, when there was a segue from the topic of Diaz to that of circulation.

      The Hatchet was given the whole list of our contributing authors but they decided to feature Diaz and Hersh over names like David Means, Sheila Heti, Daniel Wallace, William Wall, and Joumana Haddad, not to mention they didn’t take a look at our contributing poets, RIgoberto Gonzalez, GC Waldrep, Jane Shore, and others. The list will be available on the website soon.

      (Our mailing address is on the site, by the way.)

      We’re doing the best we can. It seems there are a few kindhearted and well-meaning individuals here; if you have any suggestions send them over to tarek@theromereview.org

      (As for Rigefsky and that whole thing, he seems to be under the impression that only one literary magazine can exist on a university campus. It has already been explained to him, in more ways than one, that there need be no friction, but it is clear that he is territorial and really, there’s not much I can do about that; I have neither the inclination nor the desire, and neither the aptitude nor the time to go back and forth in some useless and endless argument with the editor of a publication that seeks to be part of a scene that is more than large enough for all.)

      Best,

      -t

  231. t

      I do confess that I am rather surprised as to how much attention The Hatchet article has been getting.

      I won’t defend the “Hemingway” quote; it was stupid. Other more complex explanations were provided that The Hatchet decided not to run.

      As for Junot Diaz and The New Yorker analogy, did it ever occur to anyone that there might have been a misunderstanding? We are not publishing work by Junot Diaz because he has a contract with the New Yorker; rather, we are publishing an interview that we conducted with him. As for comparing The Rome Review with The New Yorker, that was taken out of context, though not with malice, when there was a segue from the topic of Diaz to that of circulation.

      The Hatchet was given the whole list of our contributing authors but they decided to feature Diaz and Hersh over names like David Means, Sheila Heti, Daniel Wallace, William Wall, and Joumana Haddad, not to mention they didn’t take a look at our contributing poets, RIgoberto Gonzalez, GC Waldrep, Jane Shore, and others. The list will be available on the website soon.

      (Our mailing address is on the site, by the way.)

      We’re doing the best we can. It seems there are a few kindhearted and well-meaning individuals here; if you have any suggestions send them over to tarek@theromereview.org

      (As for Rigefsky and that whole thing, he seems to be under the impression that only one literary magazine can exist on a university campus. It has already been explained to him, in more ways than one, that there need be no friction, but it is clear that he is territorial and really, there’s not much I can do about that; I have neither the inclination nor the desire, and neither the aptitude nor the time to go back and forth in some useless and endless argument with the editor of a publication that seeks to be part of a scene that is more than large enough for all.)

      Best,

      -t

  232. pr

      Sounds like you have a great first issue. Congratulations. When a magazine article represents you, it doesn’t necessarily do it correctly, right? Anyway, we all fuck around here a lot- I give you a lot of credit for not defending your Hemingway quote. One moment of humility speaks very very well for a person in my book. And yes, clearly there is a ton of room for more journals. Good luck.

  233. pr

      Sounds like you have a great first issue. Congratulations. When a magazine article represents you, it doesn’t necessarily do it correctly, right? Anyway, we all fuck around here a lot- I give you a lot of credit for not defending your Hemingway quote. One moment of humility speaks very very well for a person in my book. And yes, clearly there is a ton of room for more journals. Good luck.

  234. <HTMLGIANT> » Blog Archive » The Rome Review: an update

      […] emailed Tarek al-Hariri this (weirdly formal) email the other night after he commented on the post about his new journal, The Rome Review. He emailed me back and including a complete list of […]

  235. ryan manning

      The Rome Review is an American literary magazine based in Washington, DC.

  236. ryan manning

      The Rome Review is an American literary magazine based in Washington, DC.