Howlings from the Wall
Well I’m glad this holiday is over. For years I’ve been giving my friends and family a hard time about the weight they had gained during the Christmas season. This year however I gained ten pounds and now when I loosen my belt at the end of the meal it a necessity, instead of a mimed action learned from fathers and uncles. This year I feel like someone glued a water bottle to my stomach. Oh, is this what it feels like to trudge into middle age? I guess the only consolation is that the rest of the country feels pretty much the same as I do. Only I didn’t make any New Year's resolutions to change things. Promises like that are for other people, not for a sedentary poet like myself.
I am starting b stephen’s Favourite Ten Canadian Zines (I’m using this term in a very loose sense: it can include zines, little mags, or magazines). There are two restrictions: the zine cannot be a commercial publication, such as Macleans, and it must contain poetry (which means more than one poem). There will be a new list every three months or quarter, with each list containing up to ten publications. At year-end I will choose my ten favourites from these quarterly lists (it won’t be a list in any particular order, just ten zines I really liked). These zines will be recognised either for producing an outstanding issue or for providing a consistently high quality publication, either through its content or through its content and layout/presentation.
My first two picks are, in no particular order: Qwerty, Autumn 1996, Editors Eric Hill & Darryl Whetter, from the University of New Brunswick, c/o English Dept., PO Box 4400, Frederiction NB, E3B 5A3 Canada. and Jones Av., Editor Paul Schwartz published by OEL Press, 88 Dagmar Av., Toronto ON, M4M 1W1 Canada. I received my first Qwerty as a free sample in the summer of 1996. I knew that I was seeing something a bit different in that first issue, and the Autumn 1996 issue is great. The poems, stories, and essays fulfill th promise of the visual presentation; its cover design, cartographic art, and its typographic choice provided more than just function, to provide an enticing, attractive zine that won't leave you feeling bored. Jones Av. is a favourite because I know that when I receive this zine I will be reading some of the most challenging, breathtaking, and inspired poetry to be found in any publication. I have now recieved five issues, and this little zine has never failed to contain the very best poetry, by the best poets from Canada and from abroad. If I had to pick one Canadian zine for poetry, this would probably be my choice: Jones Av., from OEL Press.
If you have you have suggestion for zines who should be nominated for b stephen’s Ten Favourites Canadian Zines, please forward them to: b stephen’s Ten Favourites Canadian Zines c/o graffito, Dept. of English, University of Ottawa, Ottawa ON K1N 6N5 or you make inquiries to the graffito email address below. Of course I can’t consider something I haven’t read so please forward a copy if you wish to have your zine or you favourite zine considered. The list will be published on the graffito web site.
Have you seen the writing on the wall
Managing
Editor: b stephen
harding, Editor: Robert Craig, Consulting Editor: Seymour
Mayne, Art Consultant: Kane Faucher
Guest Editor: Robin
Hannah
Home | Cover
