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Pif Magazine
Pif Magazine |
Switched On Gutenberg
Switched on Gutenberg debuted impressively back in 1995 with an inaugural issue that featured, among other offerings, new poems from Joyce Carol Oates, Maxine Kumin and David Ignatow. A second issue followed suit, with work from Heather McHugh, Marge Piercy and Alicia Ostriker One can only guess, however, that editor Jana Harris solicited these heavy hitters in an effort to launch with as big a bang as possible, as, since then, SOG has mostly featured work by lesser-known and beginning poets. (Now when a familiar name appears — as in Ruth Daigon's "Every Herring Hangs by its Own Head" in issue Vol. 3, No. 1 — it's likely to be a reprint.) But this isn't to suggest that the absence of name-brand talent has meant a decline in quality. Harris has a keen editorial eye, and you'll find more than enough quality verse here to make a visit worthwhile. The current issue (volume 4, no. 2) is devoted to poetry inspired by "food/hunger/sustenance." In keeping with this theme, the table of contents reads like a menu with each section modeled, more or less, after one of the courses of an elaborate meal. There are "Nibbles," "Comfort" and "Discomfort Food," "Vegetables with Tips," "Bebidas/Boissons/Beverages," and, finally (of course) "Desserts." Appropriately, featured poems run the range from what might be described as "lighter fare" to decidedly more substantial offerings. "Nibbles," for instance, showcases a number of poems that are indeed the verse equivalent of hors d'oeuvres: short, tightly-constructed, often humorous pieces that satisfy in an immediate-gratification manner, as in Larry Rapant's "Lowku":
In general, the bulk of the poems Harris has selected are upbeat in tone, the goal being, as promised on the main page, to present a collection that will "gladden and edify...." A notable exception, however, is the "Discomfort Food" section which features poems that focus on the darker side of gastronomy/gustation. Particularly worth noting here are Richard M. Rocco's blackly humorous "Sunday paper," which contemplates the food potential of roadkill and euthanized housepets, and Norah Christianson's venomous, almost lyrical "Donut," a poem as rich and mouth-filling as the decadent concoctions it describes. To be sure, there are fine poems to be found elsewhere in SOG as well: Laura Snyder's "Ode to Range Cows, 2nd Movement" in the "Non-dairy" section, Bryan Murphy's "Slimming Without Pills" in "Salt and Pepper," and Mercedes Lawry's "Big Tomato" in "Vegetables with Tips," to name but a few. What you will not find in SOG is HTML wizardry or eye-popping visuals. Harris's unapologetically simple text-based design allows content to take center stage and makes for quick load times and hassle-free navigation. (It's also printer-friendly.) Also, the main table of contents lists every SOG to date, which makes it a snap to surf back through past issues and hunt down gems like David Ignatow's "As If." (Issue 1) and Heather McHugh's "Figurative Leaf" (Issue 2). Tell us what you think. Email talkback@pifmagazine.com Want Pif to review your zine? A graduate of Columbia University and The University of Pennsylvania, life-long New Jerseyan and New York Mets fan, Tom Hartman now lives in Philadelphia where he's an Associate Poetry Editor at Painted Bride Quarterly. Over the years his writing has appeared in numerous publications, including The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Photo Review, City Paper (Philadelphia), and Philadelphia Weekly. When he's not writing he spends far too much time hating the Atlanta Braves.
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