Tradition and Magic: Hoarse #3

Seattle is home to many literary magazines, journals and reviews (a couple of which I’ve talked about here and here), and like everywhere else, there are those that are good, and those that are not so good. And like everything else, literary journals are all about what you’re looking for. If you’re looking for a creative, unpretentious mix of writers across all genres and fields, you should definitely check out the third issue of Hoarse, which saw a release via a party at the Grotto in Belltown’s Rendezvous.

The magazine comes out quarterly, and each issue follows a theme. As we all know, themes are risky business; they either make or break a publication. In this edition of Hoarse we find the latter. The theme: Houdini. The spirit: magic, transformation, possibility, escape, success, pride and tradition are all swirling elements that have dictated and/or derive from the content of the contributors.

In addition to the unique literary content platform, each issue is also visually grabbing. Elena Moffet, Emily Wittenhagan, and Gregory Flores are the three creators of Hoarse and they put in their time. While the magazine is surely sweating the indie spirit at its brow, there is a professional, concentrated quality to it. Opening the book brings the satisfaction of tight organization and rustic inquiry. This issue features collages and metamorphoses of countless vintage escape artists and magician diagrams. These pictures splice the literary pieces into segments in a mock-illusionary presentation. But the magazine itself is not vexing. There is the appeal to open it, sit back, take your time and read.

And just who will you be reading? The short answer: many people. The editors follow an unusually strict path in only publishing one piece per accepted writer. This is unusual because most magazines that attempt to do so often have at least one exception, and yes, it’s true, Hoarse does except one poet, whose two accepted poems are short and take up half a page each, but there’s no going overboard here. The overall effect is a dense magazine that is rapid fire and relentless. Just as you get to know the writer you’re reading, it’s time to be introduced to another. The implication: you’re discovering a lot of voices all at once, and maybe re-encountering one or two. Think of it as a literary mix tape.

For the most part, the contributors’ abilities are strong and their voices are unique. With a few overlaps, every writing style represented offers something different, something new and something exciting for the stage that these editors have created. For example: Sara Brickman, who opens this issue, starts with an image of girls’ bodies following origami patterns. Jamey Braden, who follows Sara, interpreted the Houdini theme through the eyes of the straightjacket the escape artist was so well-known for donning voluntarily. Brielle Isaac takes the theme into her poetry more literally, using Houdini as performer and person rather than symbol, act or action.

The pieces here are long, short and everything in between. You won’t encounter an epic, eighteen-part statement on poetics, but you might find something equally as ambitious. Zachary Navarro imagines himself as an old man in his two-stanza poem. This meditation is emphasized when paired with its neighbor in the magazine, Claire Fox’s abstracted poem that looks like an erasure, or spray of text bullets. Hugo House’s own open mic host and bartender Graham Isaac takes the theme of flight geographically in his poem “The Impact of Escape,” which follows a persona all over North America with several local references distinctly intact.

Writer after writer follows, bringing their own intense and subtle offerings to the Houdini table. Skipping forward we get to the prose, which closes the book in a coup de grâce, leaving us to feel adequate as readers. Elena Reitman’s flash fiction maintains a conflicted tension and release through the identity, absorption and questioning of the Jewish culture. Owen Curtsinger, the book’s closer, is inspired by events and connections to Stranger’s Lake in Jefferson, Washington, a mysterious place that may or may not actually exist. What does exist for Owen is the relative history of Sir Walter Raleigh, the great British explorer and poet of the 16th and 17th centuries.

Perhaps it’s the sense of youthfulness that can be found in this magazine. These poems are powerful, sturdy, at times silly, and yet dealing with problems that have not become hardened over by the scars of age. Most of the contributors are fairly young and new, both in age and in spirit. While they all have their voices well-established, the tone of these poems is high-energy.

It’s hard to find any dissatisfaction with the pieces in here as representations of the writers who have created them, because the work is solid, well-rounded and was chosen to go well with one another. As a statement on the Seattle literary community, Hoarse is a welcome addition that is off to a great start, and promises brave, curious and compelling things to come.

Hoarse is currently available for purchase online via this site and can be found at places in Seattle where literary magazines can be usually be found, like Elliott Bay Books. It costs only eight dollars. The good folks who run Hoarse are currently accepting literary submissions for Issue 4, which is following the theme of “Field Day”. The theme can be literal or loose. Visit www.hoarsey.tumblr.com for more information.

Greg Bem markets for search engines and searches for market engines. His reviews and comments at the Hugo House site are weekly and he accepts review requests. He is one of the contributors to Hoarse #3.

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