Elimae

reviewed by Tom Hartman

Originally published on June 20, 2002

A quick glance at Elimae‘s index page suggests that only a modest assortment of content awaits readers: a few announcements, pitches for Elimae-published limited-edition books, with just a sprinkling of new writing. Select “archive” from the pulldown menu at the top of the page, however, and you’ll see just how much poetry, fiction, criticism and [...]

VeRT

reviewed by Tom Hartman

Originally published on January 3, 2002

Perhaps the single most interesting bit of content in the current edition of the San Fran-based VeRT is editor Andrew Felsinger’s brief response (a retraction, really) to the controversy surrounding “Meatball Curtain,” a poem Felsinger published in VeRT #4 and credited to John Ashbery, but which has been revealed to be of dubious authorship. Was [...]

Fifty Word Fiction

reviewed by Tom Hartman

Originally published on December 1, 2001

From one of the folks behind the smart UK zine Tangents comes Fifty Word Fiction, a new zine that seeks to publish what might be the shortest stories possible. If you think 50-word fiction sounds suspiciously like a creative writing workshop exercise you’d be right: the mag owes its genesis to an assignment a friend [...]

Mr. Beller’s Neighborhood

reviewed by Tom Hartman

Originally published on December 1, 2001

You won’t find any twee toy choo-choos, squeaky-voiced hand puppets or cardigan-wearing hosts in Mr Beller’s neighboorhood. Mr Beller’s neighborhood is Manhattan, and what you will find are personal essays, reflections, memoirs and anecdotes chronicling just about every corner of the Big Apple. An impressively designed (if slow-loading) site, MBN uses an aereal map of [...]

Weird New Jersey

reviewed by Tom Hartman

Originally published on October 1, 2001

Going up against Randy Constan’s Peter Pan’s Homepage in the “weird” category of this year’s Webbys, Weird New Jersey didn’t stand a chance. No matter how bizarre your content, it’s tough to compete with photos of a late-forty-something bloke leaping about in a ragged-hemmed green tunic or posing longingly in front of a fireplace decked [...]

Poetry Super Highway

reviewed by Tom Hartman

Originally published on October 1, 2001

The initial raison detre of Poetry Super Highway was to promote the poetry and other activities of literary entrepreneur Rick Lupert. But since its launch a donkey’s age ago, this site has evolved into both a zine of sorts (there are submission guidelines) and a fairly rich resource for all things poetry-related. On the zine [...]

Drunken Boat

reviewed by Tom Hartman

Originally published on October 1, 2001

After a spotty initial effort, Drunken Boat has returned with an impressive second issue (Winter/Spring 2001). Edited by Ravi Shankar, who notes in his bio that he does NOT play the Sitar, and elegantly designed by Michael Mills, Drunken Boat features poetry, criticism and an assortment of web-friendly art. Overall, readers will find here a [...]

Goodreports

reviewed by Tom Hartman

Originally published on September 1, 2001

Goodreports is a Canadian indie book site of reviews, essays links and etc. – sort of a home-published, North-of-the-Border Rain Taxi or NYT Books section. Amidst an assortment of capable criticism, bestseller lists, a trivia challenge and other content is editor Alex Good’s “Puffy Awards”, launched to honor “that most essential of all contemporary literary [...]

Both Magazine

reviewed by Tom Hartman

Originally published on September 1, 2001

Finally… In addition to demonstrating that it’s quite possible to make a cool text-only web page, the homepage of Both magazine, a 1 year-old print mag out of Alston, MA, that has published work by James Tate, Tomaz Salamun and Joe Wenderoth among others, also showcases a truly marvelous sample poem by Michael Lynch, titled [...]

Tragos

reviewed by Tom Hartman

Originally published on September 1, 2001

For many a twenty-something guy, spending three weeks as the researcher at Hustler magazine (where your duties include sorting reader-submitted cheesecake shots, fact-checking cover model bios and procuring copies of competing magazines for the boss) might just be the temp-job equivalent of nirvana. For a woman, however, as Margaret Gray tells us in her memoir, [...]