NP: New Yorker Fiction / Lit Quarterlies

[kelber at mindspring.com]

The kiss of death is when an author's work is described as "well-crafted" -- a euphemism for content-free.

-----Original Message-----
>From: rich <richard.romeo at gmail.com>
>Sent: May 8, 2006 4:36 PM
>To: jd <wescac at gmail.com>
>Cc: Pynchon Liste <pynchon-l at waste.org>
>Subject: Re: NP: New Yorker Fiction / Lit Quarterlies
>
>mostly, the Ny'er publishes shitty fiction. however, there is something
>worthwhile once or twice a year.
>
>e.g., two stories by martin amis this year:  one on saddam's double and
>another called the last day of mohammed atta. both were very good.
>
>the atlantic dropped fiction for the most part, though it does publish a
>fiction issue once a year.
>
>harpers is the other.
>
>sad to say it's of the MFA, navel gazing, epiphany-like pedestrian handjob
>variety
>
>rich
>
>On 5/8/06, jd <wescac at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/
>>
>> I am referring to Matthew Klam's ADINA, ASTRID, CHIPEWEE, JASMINE.
>>
>> I've only rarely been a fan of any of the fiction that appears in the
>> New Yorker, so I don't tend to read it, but I was at work on my lunch
>> break and had run out of things to look at.  This, to me, is pretty
>> crappy, boring writing.  Am I missing something?
>>
>> For that matter, does anyone out there recommend a lit mag that not
>> only focuses on craft, but content as well?  All too often I'll open
>> up a lit mag and find some undeniably well-worded story that is just
>> completely empty to my senses as far as content goes.  Like they're
>> primarily dedicated to writers who are only reading them so that they
>> can figure out if they should submit there.  Like the actual story
>> just doesn't matter.  Perhaps my vision is skewed on the issue, I'm
>> certainly no literature quarterly / whatever else connoisseur, it just
>> seems like every time I try to give a quarterly a shot I'm generally
>> disappointed.
>>
>>