July 28th, 2009 / 2:32 pm
Snippets
Snippets
Blake Butler—
Curious: when you are published in a magazine, how often do you read the whole issue when it arrives, or even most of it, eventually, over time? How often do you read only your thing and maybe 1-2 things by people you know or have heard of? How often do you just put it on the shelf or blog the link and not read anything in the magazine at all after looking at your own pages, and perhaps reading the bios in the back? Why?
I just read all of the current Puerto del Sol. It smoked. There’s a Blake Butler piece in there that kicked my ass. Also a bunch of shit about French lit (but not too academic). It’s a strong issue.
I also read every Denver Quarterly when they come in the mail (with or without any Markus).
The new issue of Unsaid, it’ll take me a year to read all of it. But read all of it I intend to do.
I don’t publish much these days but the places I do the mags are publishing work that feeds me so yes I read as much as I can get to.
I just read all of the current Puerto del Sol. It smoked. There’s a Blake Butler piece in there that kicked my ass. Also a bunch of shit about French lit (but not too academic). It’s a strong issue.
I also read every Denver Quarterly when they come in the mail (with or without any Markus).
The new issue of Unsaid, it’ll take me a year to read all of it. But read all of it I intend to do.
I don’t publish much these days but the places I do the mags are publishing work that feeds me so yes I read as much as I can get to.
I’m scared to read my own pieces and find out I had some typo I missed or something.
I’m scared to read my own pieces and find out I had some typo I missed or something.
those are good specific locations. it is good to only send to journals that you want to read in this way. it should only be like that i think
those are good specific locations. it is good to only send to journals that you want to read in this way. it should only be like that i think
what about the rest of any issue
what about the rest of any issue
I try to read most of everything I’m in. Sometimes I fail. I almost never read my own stuff. It would seem masturbatory.
I try to read most of everything I’m in. Sometimes I fail. I almost never read my own stuff. It would seem masturbatory.
you arent into masturbation?
you arent into masturbation?
I don’t get published anymore, but I read lit magazines anyway. At least I skim them, I’ll start to read a piece and if it grabs me I finish it, that probably only happens 1/3 of the time. I skip anything with contemporary references and anything looking too much like poetry. It all depends.
Thanks for sending me the Puerto Del Sol mag, Peter. Looks like a lot of good stuff in there.
Lets see if I can post this. Last time I tried to post on HTML Giant I got blocked, but that’s because I called myself Derek White the Rugby Player. Now I have forsaken Rugby much as I like the sounds of it.
sorry, kidding. i try not to read mines either. but because it feels like the opposite of masturbating.
I don’t get published anymore, but I read lit magazines anyway. At least I skim them, I’ll start to read a piece and if it grabs me I finish it, that probably only happens 1/3 of the time. I skip anything with contemporary references and anything looking too much like poetry. It all depends.
Thanks for sending me the Puerto Del Sol mag, Peter. Looks like a lot of good stuff in there.
Lets see if I can post this. Last time I tried to post on HTML Giant I got blocked, but that’s because I called myself Derek White the Rugby Player. Now I have forsaken Rugby much as I like the sounds of it.
sorry, kidding. i try not to read mines either. but because it feels like the opposite of masturbating.
i am excited to get the PdS. thanks for the compliment also Peter
i am excited to get the PdS. thanks for the compliment also Peter
i received my copy of pear noir! and read some of it but i still have a lot to finish. i started from the beginning then jumped around (reading authors i knew). i read all of qf#15. i try to read everything when i appear in an issue but i usually skip the poetry. i just don’t fancy most poetry out there.
i received my copy of pear noir! and read some of it but i still have a lot to finish. i started from the beginning then jumped around (reading authors i knew). i read all of qf#15. i try to read everything when i appear in an issue but i usually skip the poetry. i just don’t fancy most poetry out there.
My stuff is too disturbing to masturbate to…
My stuff is too disturbing to masturbate to…
Damn, that made me feel guilty.
Damn, that made me feel guilty.
i made myself feel guilty too.
i made myself feel guilty too.
Glad you liked PdS, Peter — we’re really happy with it too.
Glad you liked PdS, Peter — we’re really happy with it too.
What counts as a contemporary reference? What’s so bad about contemporary references? If you are anti-contemporary references, shouldn’t you not be using the Internet?
What counts as a contemporary reference? What’s so bad about contemporary references? If you are anti-contemporary references, shouldn’t you not be using the Internet?
i’m sure this is your way
i’m sure this is your way
it depends on how large the magazine is, how impressive it looks, whether or not the font size / color on the website is readable, whether or not the stories poems are very long / short / have impressive titles / have retarded titles / are interesting looking / are strangely formatted / etc…
im the stupidest poet in the world and the worst read
i read the majority of pear noir 2 (which i wasn’t published in)
and only a few peices in pear noir 1 (which i was published in)
i regularly reread my own poems on websites and in print (mostly because i am tremendously self absorbed and either feel like im the greatest writer in the world or the worst and i want to feel great or terrible, respectively)
sometimes i read things i am not published in cover to cover just for the sake of it and sometimes i dont
am i a bad person?
it depends on how large the magazine is, how impressive it looks, whether or not the font size / color on the website is readable, whether or not the stories poems are very long / short / have impressive titles / have retarded titles / are interesting looking / are strangely formatted / etc…
im the stupidest poet in the world and the worst read
i read the majority of pear noir 2 (which i wasn’t published in)
and only a few peices in pear noir 1 (which i was published in)
i regularly reread my own poems on websites and in print (mostly because i am tremendously self absorbed and either feel like im the greatest writer in the world or the worst and i want to feel great or terrible, respectively)
sometimes i read things i am not published in cover to cover just for the sake of it and sometimes i dont
am i a bad person?
we’re all damned
we’re all damned
There are specific magazines where I only like their fiction or only like their poetry and don’t read the other.
There are specific magazines where I only like their fiction or only like their poetry and don’t read the other.
I read the fiction in magazines where I’m published. Sometimes I read the poetry. It depends. If it’s erotica anthologies, I don’t read shit, including my own work. I just put the contrib copies on the shelf.
I read the fiction in magazines where I’m published. Sometimes I read the poetry. It depends. If it’s erotica anthologies, I don’t read shit, including my own work. I just put the contrib copies on the shelf.
What’s wrong with erotica?
What’s wrong with erotica?
I often try to read the entire journal if I’m in it- sometimes I’m disappointed & other times I’m blown away. I pretty much read jubilat, LIT, and NYQ cover to cover, as well as, online journals like Octopus, H_ngm_n, and Harp & Alter.
I often try to read the entire journal if I’m in it- sometimes I’m disappointed & other times I’m blown away. I pretty much read jubilat, LIT, and NYQ cover to cover, as well as, online journals like Octopus, H_ngm_n, and Harp & Alter.
The only lit mag I read front to back is NY Tyrant. It’s the only one with any type cohesiveness. I have only read the first three of them though so maybe the later ones aren’t like that. But the green cover Tyrant with the Smiths image flows like all the writers in it got together and mapped it out. Open City (the only mag I have published in) used to be like this too but something happened.
The only lit mag I read front to back is NY Tyrant. It’s the only one with any type cohesiveness. I have only read the first three of them though so maybe the later ones aren’t like that. But the green cover Tyrant with the Smiths image flows like all the writers in it got together and mapped it out. Open City (the only mag I have published in) used to be like this too but something happened.
I read cover to cover, but if I don’t feel up to it I often skip the fiction (ha ha you suckers!). I’m really looking forward to when the winter Action Yes and Nov. Reconfigurations go live.
What the fuck is wrong with poetry (the genre,not the mag – the mag is usually pretty terrible)?
I read cover to cover, but if I don’t feel up to it I often skip the fiction (ha ha you suckers!). I’m really looking forward to when the winter Action Yes and Nov. Reconfigurations go live.
What the fuck is wrong with poetry (the genre,not the mag – the mag is usually pretty terrible)?
I try to read most although usually I find journals best served hot when it seems fresh and you know it’s arriving in mailboxes and not yet getting dust-moted. Maybe this is some weird karma thing that doesn’t really hold a lot of water, but I want to think that at least the other contributing authors might be reading my piece if no one else is, so I should read theirs. Also, it’s just plain curiosity. As in, someone thought I fit in here, so I wonder what (the hell) they were thinking. The aesthetic of a given literary magazine can be tough to pin down in any case; having your story accepted somewhere could mean that you’ve had an aha moment and grasped it, but it could mean that your instincts were good or that you got lucky. So you’re still learning about the journal and in the process you might learn something about your own aesthetic(s).
I try to read most although usually I find journals best served hot when it seems fresh and you know it’s arriving in mailboxes and not yet getting dust-moted. Maybe this is some weird karma thing that doesn’t really hold a lot of water, but I want to think that at least the other contributing authors might be reading my piece if no one else is, so I should read theirs. Also, it’s just plain curiosity. As in, someone thought I fit in here, so I wonder what (the hell) they were thinking. The aesthetic of a given literary magazine can be tough to pin down in any case; having your story accepted somewhere could mean that you’ve had an aha moment and grasped it, but it could mean that your instincts were good or that you got lucky. So you’re still learning about the journal and in the process you might learn something about your own aesthetic(s).
Am I the only one who, when receiving only one copy of something I’m published in, gives it to my parents?
Am I the only one who, when receiving only one copy of something I’m published in, gives it to my parents?
what is whose way
action yes yes
what is whose way
action yes yes
There’s nothing wrong but I’ve been writing it for 6 years and I don’t have the time to read all the anthos I’m a part of and I honestly cannot read another story without getting nauseous. So much of it is so so bad. This is not to say that I’m doing anything groundbreaking with my own smut but the bad is very bad and somehow, it often manages to get published.
There’s nothing wrong but I’ve been writing it for 6 years and I don’t have the time to read all the anthos I’m a part of and I honestly cannot read another story without getting nauseous. So much of it is so so bad. This is not to say that I’m doing anything groundbreaking with my own smut but the bad is very bad and somehow, it often manages to get published.
It’ll probably get me hung, drawn and quartered as some kind of anally retentive trainspotter, but one of the things that regularly stops me reading both print and online lit mags are the fonts chosen. I recently received a print collection and admired its beautiful cover – I prepared to dive in and read and … ugh, a font with very little line spacing, too compact, awful. And on the switch side, enough already of online mags that try to make themselves look like print with beautiful serif fonts that render abysmally on a screen. People *really* need to get some design sense in their heads.
(Yes, I’m right, that did make me sound like a complete idiot.)
So to answer properly, I do try and read most of what’s included in a lit mag – if I like that particular lit mag. Mainly because I’d feel horribly guilty if I didn’t, and can’t help but imagine all the people who would pass over my name if it was there. Bastards, each and every one of them.
Having said that, I generally start with the names I recognise, and then go back and read the work by the names that are unfamiliar to me.
It’ll probably get me hung, drawn and quartered as some kind of anally retentive trainspotter, but one of the things that regularly stops me reading both print and online lit mags are the fonts chosen. I recently received a print collection and admired its beautiful cover – I prepared to dive in and read and … ugh, a font with very little line spacing, too compact, awful. And on the switch side, enough already of online mags that try to make themselves look like print with beautiful serif fonts that render abysmally on a screen. People *really* need to get some design sense in their heads.
(Yes, I’m right, that did make me sound like a complete idiot.)
So to answer properly, I do try and read most of what’s included in a lit mag – if I like that particular lit mag. Mainly because I’d feel horribly guilty if I didn’t, and can’t help but imagine all the people who would pass over my name if it was there. Bastards, each and every one of them.
Having said that, I generally start with the names I recognise, and then go back and read the work by the names that are unfamiliar to me.
I’m with you on fonts, or design in general. if the design isn’t good (and this goes for books too) it’s really off-putting. And if there’s more than one poem per page – that’s disrespectful to the poems (though this can happen mostly for reasons of $$, and I do sympathise). Look at Harryette Mullen’s prose poems – soem are just one line, but if you crammed them up you wouldn’t be able to read them properly.
For online design Action Yes is fantastic (hi Blake! looks like we have taste in common!), as is Otoliths (both mags I’m forthcoming in plug plug). O publishes some realy cool vispo – y’all should check it out.
On a similar note Reconfigurations has a special in the Nov. issue on innovative New Zealand writing (featuring me – god i’m a slut tonight) which should be realy interesting. I don’t know many local writers of my generation who don’t write sappy poems about the weather and that kind of shit, so i’m fascinated.
I’m with you on fonts, or design in general. if the design isn’t good (and this goes for books too) it’s really off-putting. And if there’s more than one poem per page – that’s disrespectful to the poems (though this can happen mostly for reasons of $$, and I do sympathise). Look at Harryette Mullen’s prose poems – soem are just one line, but if you crammed them up you wouldn’t be able to read them properly.
For online design Action Yes is fantastic (hi Blake! looks like we have taste in common!), as is Otoliths (both mags I’m forthcoming in plug plug). O publishes some realy cool vispo – y’all should check it out.
On a similar note Reconfigurations has a special in the Nov. issue on innovative New Zealand writing (featuring me – god i’m a slut tonight) which should be realy interesting. I don’t know many local writers of my generation who don’t write sappy poems about the weather and that kind of shit, so i’m fascinated.
I tend to think I do better than most of the print magazines I’ve ever seen, excluding most of those with massive budgets. People think sans-serif typefaces are so beautiful because they don’t know what they’re talking about. A typeface selection is as much reflective of the content and mood of the subject as are the words themselves. Millions of dollars have been made on the backs of commoner fonts, nobody ever bothering to credit their makers. Obviously Firefox 3.5 and HTML5 etc are on the way to improving the democratization of typography, but all the same, you’re always going to have people who think Arial or Helvetica or Times is somehow a conscious and defensible “choice.”
I tend to think I do better than most of the print magazines I’ve ever seen, excluding most of those with massive budgets. People think sans-serif typefaces are so beautiful because they don’t know what they’re talking about. A typeface selection is as much reflective of the content and mood of the subject as are the words themselves. Millions of dollars have been made on the backs of commoner fonts, nobody ever bothering to credit their makers. Obviously Firefox 3.5 and HTML5 etc are on the way to improving the democratization of typography, but all the same, you’re always going to have people who think Arial or Helvetica or Times is somehow a conscious and defensible “choice.”