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Pif Magazine
ISSN: 1094-2726
Published by:
Pif, LLC
PMB 248
4820 Yelm Hwy SE
Suite B
Lacey, WA 98503-4903
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Blue Ear
Reviewed by Tom Hartman
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Blue Ear is a newish 'zine of journalism and essays that promises to bring us "global writing worth reading." We've certainly heard that one before, haven't we? Well, happily, it's a promise Blue Ear makes good on. The centerpiece of the current issue is a diary by Liam Moriarty, a correspondent for KPLU/NPR radio in Seattle, of his experiences covering the recent violence-marred World Trade Organization summit. Moriarty demonstrates the easy narrative flair that characterizes the best creative non-fiction. In one segment, for example, he describes what it was like to endure the imposition of martial law: |
Blue Ear |
It was hard to get to work today. The buses skirted around the expanded security perimeter put in place last night by Seattle Mayor Paul Schell. As I walked the last eight blocks to the bureau, my fellow commuters and I had to pass through Checkpoint Charlie at 9th and Stewart, one of dozens set up at all entrances to the downtown core. Armed State Patrol officers and National Guardsmen in helmets and camouflage screened everyone, whether in cars or on foot. The criteria for gaining admittance were somewhat vague. A well-dressed, clean-cut colleague of mine said he was waved right through. My somewhat scruffier appearance (longish hair, beard, earring) required that I wave the magic press pass to get permission to proceed. As I walked on, I wondered what baristas, janitors and others not blessed with official-looking credentials were doing to get to work this morning.
Like many of Blue Ear's features, Moriarty's piece exemplifies Editor Ethan Casey's editorial vision of presenting writing that operates "on the frontier between the personal, interior world and the outer world of public events."
In addition to the excellent features, visitors should also check out the "Blue Ear Forum," which gives readers the chance to weigh in on related issues. Currently, a debate is underway here about "the ethics and raison d'être of letters to the editor" and what does and does not constitute the permissible revision of a writer's original text. Discussion leader Michael Betzold – apparently a Blue Ear fixture – also leads an earlier debate (available in the Forum archive) about professional sports and sports journalism that centers on the media's coverage of and participation in the "Final Game" ceremonies that attended the recent closing of Detroit's Tiger Stadium. Betzold, the author of Queen of Diamonds: The Tiger Stadium Story, describes the "Final Game" (an unprecedented sports-media event in the Detroit area) as "a sordid orgy of manufactured nostalgia." Ouch. But this isn't a rant; it's solid, well-written media criticism. As a result, the postings in response to Betzold's lead-in are just as intelligent and thought-provoking. Collectively, Betzold and his respondents manage to paint the Tiger Stadium "funeral" as an event of larger cultural significance, not merely an isolated local event. No small feat.
Past forum debates include discussions of "China, East Timor, nationalism and UN peacekeeping" (led by Mary Kay Magistad of NPR), "Joyce Maynard and the J.D. Salinger Love Letter Controversy" and "Refugees in the 1990s," to name but a few. Overall, the quality of the postings throughout the Blue Ear Forum is quite high. Sure, as you might expect, there are average Joes weighing in for the sheer hell of it, but there are also plenty of expert opinions, lengthy, thoughtful postings from journalists and insiders who add to the proceedings a seriousness and air of professionalism all too rare elsewhere.
In fact, Blue Ear stands as an example of how sites similarly dependent on user-input content might be managed. It's a simple idea, really: refine the concept of the BBS forum by adding regular expert commentators and a little editorial tending to weed out the off-topic b.s. and loony-bin rants. Call it a BBS that's been to finishing school – no, make that grad school. Call it whatever. One way or another, Blue Ear is a must-read.
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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.