The Rag, Issue 4: Summer 2012

by Seth Porter (Editor), Dan Reilly (Editor)

Our Summer 2012 release is the 4th issue of The Rag, and in it we've explored the side of writing that assumes the risk that comes with invention and ingenuity. As most of us know, those who take risks are exposed to the possibility of failure and sometimes disaster, but taking risks can also result in greatness. We believe the material we've found this quarter falls into the latter category.

Some of the themes you'll encounter this time around challenge the sanity of modern society and the human values that claim to shape it. This is familiar Rag territory to an extent, but these tales are woven in ways we haven't seen before. From the wild spasms of foulness and hilarity that coat the pages of Patrick Million's "The Fall of a Fool's Paradise" to the surface density of Allan Shapiro's "has and have", the ways these writers attack their themes vary greatly, but in each case it makes for a unique and memorable reading experience.

Contents:

"The Fall of a Fool's Paradise" by Patrick Million
"Massacre in Pink" by Elise Kaplan
"has and have" by Allan Shapiro
"Inside the Aimless" by Samantha Salvato (poetry)
"Notes to a Future Me" by Kristin Kearns
"Scalpel" by Kathleen Jercich
"13 Units (According to Polish Logicians)" by Amber Cash
"Intersex" by Jenny Lederer (poetry)
"The Watch" by Rachel Thomas-Medwid
"Transformation" by Tamer Mostafa (poetry)
"Pistol" by Philip Cole
"Revolution on Ten Dollars a Day" by Wes Trexler
"Bag Worm" by John McKernan (poetry)
"Dorela's Response When Asked About the Current Sociopolitical State of the World" by Olatundji Akpo-Sani (poetry)
"Terminal" by George E. Wade

Cover art by Meredith Robinson
Featuring art from Ken Wong & Lawrence Yang

117 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 3, 2012

Reviews

[Sheri · Rating 2 out of 5]

So this is my second issue of The Rag and it was not as good as the other. Unlike the first issue, which had the Zeke story, there was not any strongly compelling story in this issue. Overall, I think the stories were stronger, but there was nothing particularly outstanding. These were all thematically linked with insanity. A few dealt with homeless folks, but the overarching link has to do with our perceptions of reality and how that determines behavior. I liked the pictures in this one better (although again I read on kindle paperwhite and so have no idea on color). The one of the woman in a fishbowl and the woman with the trunk coming out of her head I found compelling in a pop surreal/Mark Ryden/Audrey Kowasaki way (of course the actualization of the work is not as good or nearly as detailed). Odd for me, i think i liked the poems the best. I have comments on each below.

The Fall of a Fool's Paradise: I did not care for this story. I thought the whole relationship was absurd and the fact that they were able to live within walking distance of a city but unnoticed except when they went in to dumpster dive unlikely. It was also just gross (and I am not typically easily disgusted).

Massacre in Pink: This was also kind of far fetched. As a high schooler my friends and I would smashing soda cans with hammers on which we had written people's names to get out our aggression. So it is not the smashing that I found to be silly...it was the relationship between strangers that somehow blossoms and becomes authentic upon first meeting.

has and have: I just did not get this story. I followed it and I get the subtext if reality as perception and our understanding of the world being "correct" or "incorrect" as arbitrary, but it was just not fun to read and I felt like I just didn't get it. It did have the best quote in the issue though: "Like how when we first start off it seems like we're doing something we shouldn't, not shouldn't as in other people think we shouldn't, but shouldn't like how some things just shouldn't be done. But then days go on and it just becomes something you do, like not a big deal, just connecting a wire to a head. Like it's all okay now, but not because it actually is okay, more because it doesn't really matter anymore if it's okay or not. And maybe that's why it still seems wrong sometimes."

Inside the Aimless: I am not really a poetry girl, but the atheist in me liked the sayers and the doers buried in their chapel underground being shat upon by the birds.

Notes to a Future Me: This was my favorite story (maybe because I like reality TV and I found the press funny), but it was it the believable. It might work for newlyweds but I have been with my husband for 18 years and I think I would definitely be able to recognize him (and he, me).

Scalpel: Just short and lots of medical terminology, I wasn't sure about the purpose of this story.

Thirteen Units:I liked this one too. It was funny and poignant in the message that who and what we are is continually changing and that little things can determine our life outcomes.

Intersex: I liked the play on words. For a poem it was not bad.

The Watch: this was too predictable and boring. For a ghost story there was no suspense.

Transformation: this made me laugh because I made a film in college using a cat skeleton that we found in an alley. I pictured the skeleton and Jim Crace's phenomenonal work Being Dead. It was a good poem.

Pistol: This was just another pointless snippet. I was not really very impressed.

Revolution on Ten Dollars A Day: So this encompassed the necessary homeless, drug addled, and mentally unstable elements that were thematic to the issue, but I did not find the story interesting or compelling. It was told in 2nd person which I usually like, but fell flat here.

Bag Worm: decent alliteration, but the worst poem in the bunch. I did not like that the use of pesticide was akin to war...seemed a bit over the top.

Dorela's Response When Asked About the Current Sociopolitical State of the World: This felt cheaply done. The use of slang to highlight race and class and emphasize the parallels between war and slavery was just yucky.

Terminal: This story was at least compelling, but there was no surprise. I think it would have been better to see the main character tortured (as we are led to believe the others are) and I was not sure why the incident with the gangbangers and the mentally challenged boy was so pivotal for Lou.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I had to describe Issue 4 of The Rag in one word, it would be "evocative." From the absurd and surreal to the hyperrealistic and even scientific, these stories, poems, and pieces of artwork demand an immediate and visceral response. At the same time, these pieces leave the reader with the lingering feeling that all is not as it first appears. Whether it's Patrick Milton's use of poetic devices such as repetition and alliteration to tell a raw unfiltered story, or Elise Kaplan's vivid description to tell a story where "nothing really happens," with imagery that suggests otherwise, or any of the other pieces in this issue, this is a body of work worth reading.

[David Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

If it presents a more whimsical face, the Summer 2012 issue of The Rag includes literature no less gritty than previous issues. Characters delve into and swim around stories that focus largely on experimental situations. Grim and dire, the stories are bound to leave the reader cringing and desperate to read more. The pieces each convey an excellence rarely found in mid-size collections as well as a consistency in voice that sets a standard for competing publications.

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Grates against my personality.

DNF