The Weekly Atticus (01/13/2018)

All We've Ever Wanted Is Your Heart | The Weekly Atticus

A recap of the week at Atticus Review, along with some extras.

Dear ,When I was invited to read and select creative nonfiction for Atticus Review, I signed up with Patreon, a site through which I donate a small amount of money every month to the journal. No one told or asked me to do this; I simply believe it’s important to invest in what you value, and I value contemporary literature and those independent publishing spaces that provide a platform for talented, hard-working writers whose voices need to be amplified. I accepted an unpaid job as an editor then began making regular financial donations to the journal for which I work. My now-retired, corporate vice-president uncle would hold this example up as proof that a liberal arts degree not only fails to pay, but loses money. But he’s not my audience here, and even economists acknowledge that value runs much deeper than what the stock market measures. I am paying—gladly—for the privilege of reading your work. Let me explain.I am writing this column on the morning of New Year’s Day—significant for me, not because of any resolutions (I abandoned those flimsy self-promises long ago), but because of a private belief that whatever I do on the first day of a new year sets an intention that will grow and develop for the rest of the year. I woke early, as I always do, thinking, “Write, now, before anyone wakes!” I have several projects underway, and it made sense to open one of those files, but I felt pulled instead to open a new document and write about the arts and my place in the literary community as both writer and patron. Maybe I needed a reminder that my own writing doesn’t happen in a vacuum.We all need the support of people who love what good writing can do; we need editors, publishers, a reading audience, and patient partners who not only tolerate, but champion our need for solitude. One of the qualities of a patron, as in a patron saint or patron of the arts, is someone who supports, protects, defends, or advocates for.  The patronage system of kings and wealthy citizens paying artists to create is all but dead, but the democratization of literature expanded the ways ordinary citizens can keep literature alive. I recognize that I’m privileged to have a steady teaching job that pays the bills. I’m not dependent on my writing or editing for income. I also recognize that’s not true for everyone, that there are writers more gifted than I whose stories and poems will only be read and shared as long as independent publishers can pay their bills and keep their journals available. Atticus Review publishes new content every weekday most weeks of the year. That means that in 2017, we published about 225 new pieces. For some writers, it was their first publication. For others, a welcome return to a public forum, a reminder that their artist-selves have not been lost to all the noise of modern life.  We haven’t yet been able to pay our contributors, but we don’t charge reading fees either.To those of you who make a small, voluntary donation with your submission, thank you. If you're somebody who would like to take your support a step further, please consider becoming a regular Patreon subscriber. Alternatively, you can make a one-time contribution via PayPal. To those unable to do so, remember all the ways you can contribute to sustaining a vibrant literary community: by reading magazines, sharing links through social media and “liking” pieces, by contacting an author whose work you loved and telling her so, by thanking editors for their time. And by making space for your own writing in this new year.Thanks for reading. We’re glad you’re here.

Chauna CraigNonfiction Editor

ATTICUS NEWS

We have launched our winter poetry contest. Please

!

We're pleased to nominate

for The Best Small Fictions.

THIS WEEK AT ATTICUS

FERAL TOWN by Adam Gustavson

BOOK REVIEW: Small Spaces of Large RevelationsA Review of SHE RECEIVES THE NIGHT by Robert EarleReview by Aditya Desai"The stories work best in confined spaces and moments, when characters are placed in contradictions, offering equally playful and sinister at thrusting dramatic shifts in plot on an unsuspecting reader. These show a writer constantly pushing for invention and opportunity..."READ ON

FICTION: "the feeling you want"by Sara Lippmann"Once she said, 'Why not make something useful instead?'Brownies, a scarf. My mom can knit two purl two until acorns drop free, provided there are no sleeves or seams.'There’s more to life,' my dad said, then left to get it."READ ON

POETRY: SMILING MOUSEby Marietta Brill"So, of course I had to kill her.There are many ways to catch a mouseand kill it, each with its own moral complexities.Poison is painful and dirty business, Hitchcockian:how quick the death? where does the carcass decompose?For expediency and cheapness, I settled on glue traps."READ ON

POETRY: RESCUE MISSIONby Bethany W. Pope"When you emerge from the tub, still dripping,and streak into our living room, nakedand pink as the snout of a pig, your roundbelly hairy and steaming, I know thatI am loved."READ ON

CNF: RETURNING IN THE SNOWby Mary Carter"Behind them—fainter, but taller yet—looms a pale monster. It is a glacier, moving slowly, moving and growing, swallowing villages as it advances."READ ON

MIXED MEDIA: FUCKING HIMby C.O. Moed and Adrian Garcia GomezAdrian Garcia Gomez and C.O. Moed’s collaboration originated from C.O. writing to her partner about what was what. Using C.O.’s images and ideas as a launching point, Adrian brought his interdisciplinary craft in film/video, photography and illustration to the text, creating a visual landscape from archive materials, animation and original materials.READ ON

CNF: REMAKING ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLDby Alison Lanier"Despite the drama surrounding the making of this movie, it’s definitely one to see in theaters, with all the glamor of its cinematography and the tension of its plot experienced uninterrupted and on a grand scale. The finished product should certainly outshine its backstage drama."READ ON