2/4/2009

It has been two and a half days since the fog has taken flight and I am quite pleased with our reception. At our current pace we are set to reach 15,000 unique visitors by the end of this month alone. Thanks to Amy King and friends our poetry contingent is very strong and the quality of poetry submissions continues to be exceptional (I thoroughly enjoy reading them). I am also pleased to announce that next month we will be featuring new work by Professor Joseph Wagner, who is the former chair of the political science department at Colgate University and one of the most brilliant minds I have come across in my travels.

Is the short story a dying art?

To even imagine that it is troubles me deeply. I love the medium, and Cheever and Carver are two of my literary heroes. 10 pages = an articulation of the human condition. I would personally like to invite anyone capable of delivering a short, fictive gutshot to submit to the clarity.

John Updike

When I was 17 John Updike made me care about the problems of a 40-something year old car salesman. Rabbit is Rich prompted me to consider the futility, and small escapes from it (swapping wives), inherent in middle class adulthood. He will be missed and I toast his life and work. Here is a wonderful interview with the master himself: https://wiredforbooks.org/johnupdike/