Tin House Magazine, Volume 9, Issue 2, Winter 2007: #34 The Dead of Winter

Tin House #34

by Win McCormack (Editor), Joshua Ferris, Yiyun Li

A beautifully designed periodical, Tin House features the best writers of today alongside a new generation of talent who are poised to become the most important voices of the future. This issue further cements the magazine’s reputation as one of the country’s leading literary journals. It features new fiction from Joshua Ferris, the author of the smash-hit novel Then We Came to the End; a tour de force essay on William Trevor by PEN/Hemingway winner Yiyun Li; and new poetry from Pulitzer Prize-finalist Bruce Smith. Also included are regular features like short stories, profiles, author interviews, poetry, essays, and Tin House favorites such as “Lost and Found,” reviews of overlooked or underrated books; and “Blithe Spirits” and “Readable Feast,” which present tales and recipes for drinks and food in a delightfully literary fashion.

224 pages, Magazine

First published November 28, 2007

About the author

Win McCormack is an American publisher and editor from Oregon.

He is editor-in-chief of Tin House magazine and Tin House Books, the former publisher of Oregon Magazine, and founder and treasurer of MediAmerica, Inc. He serves on the board of directors of the journal New Perspectives Quarterly. His political and social writings have appeared in Oregon Humanities, Tin House, The Nation, The Oregonian, and Oregon Magazine. McCormack's investigative coverage of the Rajneeshee movement was awarded a William Allen White Commendation from the University of Kansas and the City and Regional Magazine Association. His latest book, You Don’t Know Me: A Citizen's Guide to Republican Family Values, examines the sex scandals of Republican politicians who espouse "moral values."

As a political activist, McCormack served as Chair of the Oregon Steering Committee for Gary Hart's 1984 presidential campaign. He is chair of the Democratic Party of Oregon's President's Council and a member of the Obama for President Oregon Finance Committee. McCormack was also chosen as Alternate Delegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention. He currently serves on the Oregon Council for the Humanities and the Oregon Tourism Commission. Additionally, McCormack sits on the Board of Overseers for Emerson College, and is a co-founder of the Los Angeles-based Liberty Hill Foundation

Reviews

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Favs:
-- Shawn Vestal's short story "The First Several Hundred Years Following My Death"

-- William Wenthe's poem "From the Travel Journals of Basho: August 1684"

-- the interview with Deborah Eisenberg (but not enough to want to read Eisenberg)

-- Frances McCue's essay "In Pursuit of Wisdom" (made me buy Richard Hugo's collected works)

-- Kim Adrian's essay "Red Currants and 'Gooseberries'"

-- Sara Roahen's recipe/essay "Sazeracs"

[Iris · Rating 3 out of 5]

read this just for The First Several Hundred Years Following My Death by Shawn Vestal. I also loved the Going to Estonia story. Actually, this was a really strong fiction issue. Much stronger than its poetry, though the bees section sticks out.