Tin House Magazine, Volume 5, Issue 2, Winter 2004: #18 Squatters

Tin House #18

by Win McCormack (Editor), Julia Slavin

In this issue, as with every issue of Tin House, we’re publishing stories that have come to us from every possible angle. Andrew Roe’s story “Are you OK?” was plucked from the Tin House Summer Writers’ Workshop. Alison Grillo’s story “Phone Sex in Milwaukee” was excavated from the slush pile, the very same one that one-time Tin House reader Anthony Swofford, pre-mega-selling Jarhead, used to mine for buried gems. In this issue, Swofford returns to Tin House with a chilling story of marines in Iraq during Gulf War I. Sebastian Matthews, in an excerpt from his memoir about his father, the late poet William Matthews, captures his father’s passion for the craft of poetry. Accompanying Sebastian’s piece are two previously unpublished poems by William Matthews. There are also interviews with Paul Collins, intrepid rescuer of old texts, and with Jim Shepard, who has two new books out this year. Shepard talks with his old friend, novelist Ron Hansen, about why in the world we keep on doing what we do.

Genres: Short Stories

Magazine

First published January 1, 2004

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