Gargoyle 57

Gargoyle #57

by Richard Peabody (Editor), Corey Mesler (Contributor), Peter Tieryas (Contributor)

57th issue of an international literary magazine based in the Washington, D.C. area. This volume features cover art by Marilyn Stablein, plus collages by C. Albert and Bill Wolak. Number 57 also features Brandel France de Bravo's memoir piece about her late father, DC-based Beat poet and owner of Coffee 'n Confusion, Bill Walker. Simiki Ghebremichael's nonfiction piece focuses on family life in Eritrea, and other NF pieces by Claire Blechman, Carolyn Cooke, and Carmen Delzell cover Derrida, Rape parades, hard times and making rent, plus fiction and poetry by Forrest Aguirre, Roberta Allen, Stephanie Allen, Nin Andrews, Mary Bargteil, Tom Carson, Michael Casey, Kim Chinquee, Susann Cokal, Ramola D, Jim Daniels, Janice Eidus, Thaisa Frank, Molly Gaudry, James Grady, Colette Inez, Nathan Leslie, Ben Loory, Adrian C. Louis, Aoife Mannix, Joyce Mansour, Janet Mitchell, Susan Smith Nash, James Norcliffe, Zena Polin, Wena Poon, Pilar Quintana, Doug Rice, Kris Saknusseumm, Tomaz Salamun, Robert Scotellaro, Lynda Sexson, Elisabeth Sheffield, Barry Silesky, Edgar Gabriel Silex, Curtis Smith, Patricia Smith, Daniel Stolar, Lee A. Tonouchi, Billie Travalini, Ronald Wallace, Elizabeth Warren, and lots more.

Genres: Short Stories, Poetry

604 pages, Paperback

First published September 23, 2011

Reviews

[Vin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of all the journals I've read this year, this is defifnitely...the longest! And it seemed to take itself less seriously and take risks with content (and that's refreshing.) It did veer into hipsterish territory at times, but that too was refreshing. The fiction stood out more than the poetry or non-fiction, but it was often hard to distinguish which was which...

[Kristine Muslim · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this volume, or shall I say, "tome," Richard Peabody lumped almost everybody who is important in contemporary literature. I'm in it, so don't take my comment at face value. :)

[Forrest · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second time editor Richard Peabody has published my work in the pages of Gargoyle. In fact, I've taken my first-published Gargoyle work as the title story in my e-chapbook collection Fossiloctopus. So I'd be ungrateful if I didn't acknowledge some debt there to Peabody's good taste.

Still, I felt that this issue of Gargoyle ran hot and cold. When it is hot, it's white hot. But when it's cold, the stories and poetry seemed like so much navel gazing. On balance, the mix is good. Not fantastic, but good and recommended because of the sheer breadth of work.

I recall a conversation I had with author Stepan Chapman after Jeff VanderMeer and I won the World Fantasy Award for editing Leviathan 3. Stepan remarked that the volume was so big that "there's something for everyone to hate". And this might just be my problem with this issue of Gargoyle. It's huge, 591 pages. And there is something here for everyone to hate, no doubt about it. The flip side of this, of course, is that there's something here for everyone to love, as well. Really, there are some great stories and, if poetry is your bent, great poetry, as well.

I particularly enjoyed the stories that bordered on the fantastical and surreal. Standouts for me were Joyce Mansour's "Four Poems: Paris of the Surrealists in 1977", Robert Kloss' "How the Old Man Trained his Assassins", Ben Loory's "The Swimming Pool: A Fable", and Jonathan Mack's "The Extinction of Stories". But the standout piece was Wena Poon's excerpt from "The Biophilia Omnibus". I will be seeking out the full book, for sure. Rarely does an excerpt grab me like that. It has that mix of literary aloofness and Science Fiction thriller intensity that I love. It's a beautifully dark melange, one that leaves me craving more.

I count 77 pieces of fiction alone in this issue of Gargoyle. I guarantee there is something in there to strike your fancy, maybe even punch your fancy in the mouth and break its teeth. Poon's work did that for me. Brace yourself and wear a mouthpiece while reading. You're bound to be caught by a surprise uppercut somewhere in there.

[Corey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chock full of delicious literature, essays, poems and stories.