Recognizing the Well-Timed Timing (David Intro) (09/04/2021)

Recognizing the Well-Timed Timing | The Weekly Atticus

A recap of the week's writing at Atticus Review. Intro by David Olimpio.

We're excited to be back and publishing after several weeks off for some R&R&R — rest, recuperation, and ... reflection. Actually, I can't say I did much in the way of rest or recuperation, but I sure did a lot of reflection.It's funny, when I conjure up a mental image of "reflection" — when I reflect on the act of reflecting, as it were — I usually envision something quite calm and peaceful. A person — a "me," or a somewhat better, more organized version of "me" — sitting next to a lake in an impossibly comfy chair, a cup of coffee in my relaxed hand, looking out at a sunrise or a sunset (whichever I desire and summon to exist in that particular moment) free of any nagging ache or pain, and smiling like I have just dreamed up the perfect solution to life and somehow it involves never again receiving mail from a bank or needing to decide what's for dinner.But alas, this is not the way I reflect. I think the best way to describe what reflection is actually like for me is the tornado scene from Wizard of Oz. And basically I'm Toto. I'm not sure what happened over the past six weeks, but somehow at the end of it I have ended up owning a camper-trailer (which I've been too terrified to actually use yet) and signing a lease on a new apartment (which I now need to move into).Oh, and I sold Atticus Review back to its Founder, Dan Cafaro. The exchange became official on September 1st. And so that is actually the "news" part of this Weekly Atticus newsletter, this missive which I am delivering to you now with mixed emotions. I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity and privilege to run Atticus Review for these past five years. I've learned a lot. I've poured a lot of energy and heart and soul into it, and the experience has been deeply rewarding. But I have a sense that the time has come to move on to new things, both for the good of myself as well as the good of Atticus Review.As I read and do the final editing and posting on the pieces we publish each week, I've been so impressed with the caliber of work that gets sent to us and it makes me proud of what we've been able to accomplish the last five years. I'm grateful to everybody who has trusted us with their work, and also to the amazing staff of editors and readers who have worked so hard to bring you that work. Thanks to them, I have been able to focus on things like finding creative ways to help new and established authors market their work through our site, launching an annual print edition of the journal, and working out a way to pay contributors. And I'm grateful to you all, too. For being here, for reading, for contributing, for supporting us.Sometimes a thing comes into your life at exactly the right time, and Atticus Review was that thing for me in the summer of 2016. The opportunity to now let it go and grow into something new has arrived at exactly the right time as well. And it appears I have Dan to thank for each well-timed timing. I will be staying on for a few months as Managing Editor and "General Web Person" in order to help with the transition, so I'll still be here in the background for a bit. I can't wait to see what's next for Atticus Review. I'm confident that, in Dan's capable hands, whatever it is, it will be good.Thank you for reading. I've been so very glad you've been here.Warmly,David OlimpioOutgoing Publisher & Editor-in-Chief

Our Reading List is updated each week. Go check it out!Are you a contributor to Atticus Review who'd like your book featured in the reading list? Send us an email at [email protected]. 

THIS WEEK AT ATTICUS

FICTIONBIRDSONG FOR A DOGby Nancy Au"The sunshine is lovely today, and I'm giving dogs back their eyes. But the whole world seems just fourteen inches wide."READ ON

POETRYTHE FREE BIRD OF METUCHENby Martha Silano"The first time I heard Free Bird, I was in seventh grade.Some kid from across the tracks—there were actual tracks,on a street named High..."READ ON

POETRYIF WE WERE NOT SO SINGLE MINDEDby Martha Silano"What’s hidden is how we’re more like dandelions than dragonflies.What’s hidden is where the music goes once it escapesits strings, its hollow avenues of sound."READ ON

CREATIVE NONFICTIONTHE SNOW DOGSby Joelle Fraser"The divorce is a year old, and still for me these exchanges require healing meditations, sometimes merlot, and a recovery time that can spill over to the next day."READ ON

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