The Externalist: A Journal of Perspectives |
Note: This site is best viewed using Internet Explorer. Alternate web browser may appear distorted. Issue 7 will be available in .pdf format soon. |
Issue 7, April 2008 A Note from the Editor A year has passed since I sat down at my computer and asked, “How do you put together a journal, anyway?” Since that first issue, we’ve published nonfiction about bulimia, military life, racism, familial abandonment, and life in the sixties; fiction about the death of a child, gender expectations in marriage, religious controversies, food allergies in education, and political satire; and poetry from and about social issues across the United States and the world. A short story published here was recognized on “Best of the Net 2007.” And the submissions are still coming in. This issue takes a slightly different approach than past issues with stories, poems, and nonfiction that focus on the effect of the outward world—societal standards and deviations—on the individual. Never before have we had so much difficulty deciding on an Editor’s Choice piece. Kathie Giorgio’s short story “Chain of Events” is so well-written and thought-provoking that I read it four times before I added it to the online version. |
Tom Sullivan’s essay “I Could Be One, But No One Will Tell Me” could become a popular staple of those times we’re reading aloud to visitors and stands as perhaps the most humorous piece we’ve ever had the opportunity to publish. Poetry in this issue crosses the entire gamut of externalist thought. In the end, we decided upon the one piece that we never thought we would see: the externalist love poem. We included more experimental styles this issue, including Caryl Klein Sills’ short story “a broken w” which exemplifies how important form is to content. We also introduce in this issue a new section for reader response, “Gut Reaction.” We actively encourage submissions to this new section. In the coming year, we’re looking at new ways to promote literature. May 24th and 25th, I will be serving as a panelist for PRESS: a cross-cultural literary conference. This year’s theme for their conference is “Activism and the Avant Garde.” We are considering methods to include more media on the site, as well as ways to reach a larger audience. We thank you for accompanying us this far, and hope to see you as we continue the journey. L. |
Issue 8 coming in June! |
| Cover Photograph: "Back Porch Rockers" by O.P.W. Fredericks |