The Weekly Atticus

This Week at Atticus Review

A recap of the week's writing at Atticus Review. Intro by Christopher Linforth.

This week I'd like to introduce you to Rachel Laverdiere, our new Nonfiction Editor. Based in Canada, Rachel is a prolific and accomplished writer of creative nonfiction. This year she's already had publications in two of Canada’s top print journals: Grain and The New Quarterly. In 2021, she had sixteen prose publications in journals such as Atlas and Alice, The Citron Review, Pithead Chapel, and Bending Genres. In 2020, her work was shortlisted for CutBank's Big Sky, Small Prose Contest, made The Wigleaf Top 50, and was nominated for Best of the Net. I chatted to Rachel about what she is looking for in a CNF submission. She told me, "I’m drawn to CNF that provides new perspectives that help shrink the spaces between our lived experiences and those of others. I love essays that are confident enough to avoid artifice, that clear their throats and speak firmly in unique voices. Whether traditional, hybrid, experimental, I crave essays that speak to the heart and the mind. Honestly, unless the writing is tight, I prefer essays that are under 2,000 words. An ideal essay would delve directly into the action, hold my attention throughout, and leave me with an image that lingers for weeks." Rachel and her new team of fresh-faced readers look forward to reading your submissions during this unthemed issue period. On the site this week, Lillian Tsay's "They Say" exemplifies the type of CNF Rachel loves to publish. Tsay's piece speaks to the contradictions of identity and the uneasy acceptance of immigrants in America. In a related but different vein, Patricia Bidar's flash piece "Company" explores the territory of loneliness and past traditions and who we leave behind. Finally, Claire Scott's poem "Opera’s Tragedies" delves into the nature of classical opera and the melancholic nature of performed death. Over at The Attic, our Managing Editor, Keene Short, writes eloquently about his newfound appreciation of virtual readings and the community they create. And, lastly, at Atticus Books, founder Dan Cafaro is still on the lookout for book manuscripts. He's accepting book manuscripts in several genres until March 31st! If you would like, you can also support the press and the journal through our Patreon or a PayPal donation. Until next week, thanks so much for reading. Christopher LinforthEditor-in-Chief

THIS WEEK AT ATTICUS

NEW FROM THE ATTIC

ON VIRTUAL READINGSbyKeene Short"I think virtual options are a useful part of the design now. They expand the potential for literary participation, adding to the community rather than merely replicating it."

FICTION

COMPANYbyPatricia Bidar"The horse finishes her water and I take them on a tour of the house. That’s what people do now, isn’t it? Give tours of their houses when people come over? I don’t remember anyone doing that when I was growing up."

POETRY

OPERA'S TRAGEDIESbyClaire Scott"Just once can Violetta fly to Paris with Alfredoand Tosca not leap from the parapet.Just once can Leonora refuse to swallow poison"

CREATIVE NONFICTION

THEY SAYbyLillian Tsay"In the cafeteria (where all the internees once dined together) the only visitors besides you were a white mother and her son. You did not catch the son’s questions but overheard the mother answer, “But they were being Americans.” And you wondered what being American meant. Were you being American?"

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