The Weekly Atticus (02/10/2018)

How to Win Our Poetry Contest: Avoid Sanity | The Weekly Atticus

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

Dear ,I admit it: I’m not the most patient person in the world. When I first joined the team at Atticus Review, back in my darker-haired days of 2011, part of me probably expected that by the following year, our fame would have spread from coast to coast, and AWP would throw a party at the next conference honoring our incredible talent and literary heroism. Tears would be shed. Laughter and applause would shake the rafters. Mysterious benefactors would make our bar tabs disappear, and generous grant checks would be left under our windshield wipers like restaurant coupons. But that’s not the way this business works. This will come as no surprise to most of you, but starting a magazine isn’t just about attracting readers and challenging literary trends; first and foremost, it’s about attracting quality writers who are willing to take a chance and trust you with their work. On that score, though, we’ve always been exceptionally lucky. When I first started reading poetry submissions, I felt a bit anxious because we were already getting far more quality poems than we could possibly publish. However, that’s an extremely good problem to have, and I’m happy to report that said problem has only gotten worse over the years. Add to that all the positive attention our humble little 'zine has gotten for our recent contests (flash fiction last year, judged by Carmen Maria Machado, and now, a poetry contest judged by Aimee Nezhukumatathil), and our submissions queue is getting so heavy, it's starting to warp spacetime. And lately, for all my impatience and anxiety, I often find myself pausing, shaking my head, and brimming with gratitude for the incredible writers and readers whose work we’ve been privileged to read. So thank you to everyone who’s sent us their work—and thank you, readers, for helping us find that work a home. 

Enjoy this week's stories. We're glad you're here.

Michael MeyerhoferPoetry Editor

ATTICUS NEWS

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THIS WEEK AT ATTICUS

FERAL TOWN by Adam Gustavson

CNF: TO PERFORMBy Juliana Roth"'Is she going to get naked?' the old man up front asks, adjusting himself on his blue metal stool."READ ON

FICTION: WHAT WAS LOST IN THE WANING LIGHTBy Chad Schuster"Standing barefoot behind one of the lighted windows on the hillside, a woman parts the curtain to look out toward the water. Because her infant son has just vomited on her shoulder, she cares nothing for ghosts."READ ON

POETRY: PEAS (AND THE WOMAN IN THE BLUE HIJABBy Marcela Sulak"In the garden, the peas are beginningto put their green round seeds in their beautiful greenpackages, curling themselves up the white,cotton strings hung on bamboo frames I madefrom bamboo I harvested along the Yarkon"READ ON

POETRY: EXPERIMENTBy Jonathan Duckworth"The camera I left inside recorded the moment the bookshelf lifted from the floor & disgorged its contents into the rising tide. Recorded the moment my bed began to float. When my bedroom door started to creak like a crippled animal pinned under a hunter’s boot, I knew it was time to abandon the apartment."READ ON

MIXED MEDIA: MY PLASTIC PEOPLEA photo project by SEIGAR"This set of photos belongs to my most personal and ambitious project so far. I try to give dignity and humanity to the plastic people all around the world."READ ON

BOOK REVIEW: LET THE GAMES BEGINA review of POST-HIGH SCHOOL REALITY QUEST By Meg EdenReviewed by Bailey Drumm"Post-High School Reality Quest doesn’t attempt to comfort the reader about life changes being easy so much as present an opportunity for the reader to reflect on how he or she has handled change."READ ON

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