Begun as a project featuring the collective works of a Brooklyn writing group, this three-and-a-half year-old e-zine now publishes artists and writers from all around the world. The latest issue features some excellent poetry and prose, such as Erik Seadale's "Shoe Story" – telling of a man's quest to find the perfect pair of "chukkas" because he believes that a man's soul is in "the shoes he wears when his time is his own, when he feels free." There's also "Streamlining", a one-act radio drama by George Bricker – the Internet is great for publishing things like this that may not otherwise find an audience. In addition to an interview with Barry Lopez, there are two new sections: the Editors' Corner (written jointly by the five-member editorial board) and a bulletin board - the Shotgun Messageboard - where visitors and contributors can share comments, view follow-ups and post follow-ups using a single, simple-to-use form! The comments range from simple praise: "Please tell Doug that I thought his Color Chart poems were breathtaking" to obscure: "Jeremy" on July 10, 1999 posted the message, "Cool Beans." Maybe a bit of filtering is needed for this idea to fulfill its potential.

Personally, I’m fond of the multimedia readings section where you can "pull up a chair and hang with" the folks from 12 Gauge while listening to poetry and short fiction readings and checking out the photo gallery. I was recently asked by a local newspaper to compile my top-ten list of all-time favorite literary Web sites. This was one of them. Gauge it. Link it. Bookmark it. Whatever - enjoy.

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