Tin House Magazine, Volume 17, Issue 1, Fall 2015: #65 Theft

Tin House #65

by Win McCormack (Editor), Rob Spillman (Editor), Holly MacArthur (Editor)

Tin House's Theft Issue spends some time in the larcenous land of literature with stolen stories, embezzled essays, and pick-pocketed poetry. “Talent borrows, genius steals” is usually attributed to Oscar Wilde, and occasionally Pablo Picasso. There is, however, no record of either one actually saying or writing this. T. S. Eliot, on the other hand, wrote, “Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal; bad poets deface what they take, and good poets make it into something better, or at least something different.” Theft and appropriation have always been artistic engines, and in this issue of Tin House, those engines run hot . . . Featuring new work from Laura Lippman, Kevin Young, Mary Ruefle, George Singleton, Victor LaValle, Alissa Nutting, and more.

225 pages, Magazine

First published August 19, 2015

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

[Michael Kitchen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Removers - 1
Monument - 3
Toward the Company of Others - 4
Run Your Shit - 4
The Thief - 3
Fortune Smiles - 5

Avg. 3.33

[Cindy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This edition of Tin House centers around the issue of theft whether it’s pure plagiarism, hurting readers’ trust in you, or someone physically stealing something from you. Despite the gorgeous cover art by Martin Wittfooth, this was my least favorite issue to date. I didn’t care for the “celebrity” pieces by Laura Lippman and Mary Higgins Clark and found many of the pieces boring or weightless. However, I did like the poetry by Timothy Liu, “Cooks Are Different” by Michael Ruhlman, and “What We Want Is Your Boy” by Sarah Dohrmann. There are definitely some gems here, but it was an overall weak edition.

[A-ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great issue of Tin House. Nearly all of the prose was fantastic. The short "I've Been Robbed" essays were a hoot. Other highlights:

Vonnegut on the Road by Ginger Strand. What starts as a story of a roadtrip from Vonnegut's youth becomes a discussion of free use laws.

Finders Keepers by Jenn Shapland, which tells about life working for the Ransom Center Archives.

Victor LaValle's tale of naiivity in NYC. "Run Your Shit"

Sarah Dohrman's disturbing exploration of a kidnapping in Iowa.

Cooks are Different by Michael Ruhlman

[Jason McKinney · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best Tin House issues in awhile. I can't really speak to the poetry because I'm not a poet and I do know it, but the features and stories are all uniformly solid. The only one I was a bit disappointed in was Adam Johnson's "Fortune Smiles", but that's probably more because I was spoiled by how amazing his last novel was.

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fiction is terrific in this issue. Adam Johnson brings the goods, of course, but all the other pieces were good as well, especially Samantha Hunt and Kevin Barry. As a native Iowan, the piece on Johnny Gosch resonated with me. His disappearance was a pretty big deal when I was young. Ginger Strand's piece on a young Vonnegut's road trip with friends was quite enjoyable as well.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was definitely one of Tin House's stronger issues. The essay "What We Want Is Your Boy" alone is worth the purchase price.

Other strong entries are essays by Michael Ruhlman and Jillian Weise, and fiction by Kevin Barry, Adam Johnson, and Kirstin Bakis.