ZYZZYVA the journal of west coast writers & artists
		Spring 2010 • #88 first time in print Leila Binder: Human Shield (story) Michael Ichioka: QC: A Summer Eulogy (poem) Jennifer Jajeh: I Heart Hamas (script) Susan Jonaitis: The Accident (story) Roger Porter: A Foretaste of Elysium (story) Victoria Tishman: Never Let Me Down (story) Yance Wyatt: The Shark's Gut (poem) fiction Jackson Bliss: A Full Cellar Morgan Elliott: Kallio Kiss Peter Tieryas Liu: Forbidden City Hoops Joshua Mohr: Paris, 2010 Dust Wells: The Loop nonfiction Anthony J. Mohr: My Father Died 50 Times Melanie Reitzel: The Brace God of India Jaime R. Wood: This is where poetry Rick Barot: Virgin of Guadalupe Liz Brennan: With over 30 different Meg Day: forget everything you know... Peter Kline: On Seeing Fiona with Her New Lover art works on paper originally in b&w, many of which were shown in the 25th-year celebration show at mina dresden gallery, san francisco, last july Richard Ambrose, Laurie Anderson, David Avery, Lawrie Brown, Timothy Buckwalter, Alika Cooper, John Holdway, Olivia Kuser,; Zhi Lin, Nancy Macko, Melani McKim, Roger Minick, Margaretta Mitchell, Colleen Mulvey, Tomas Nakada,Caleb Powell, Ben Roeder, Kay Ruane, Zachary Royer Scholz, Brook Temple, Matt Wainwright, Heather Wilcoxon cover Christopher Rauschenberg, South Waterfront, 2/3/08, archival inkjet print, 12 x 18 inches, courtesy: Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Portland selections from zyzzyvaspeaks.blogspot.com Jan. 18: The competition [literature had to face] used to be sex, drugs & rock 'n' roll. Now it's more like porn, food & iPhone apps. Foodieism is the most dangerous threat to lit. Jan. 8: The best writing program in the world, by definition, is The Writers' Institute at CUNY. The definition holds that all the instructors are working editors, none are writers. Dec. 21: [Dave Eggers's prototype "newspaper of the future"] Panorama isn't visionary, it's just another McSweeney's grab bag, a pastiche, a let's pretend, let's put on a show, a potpourri of flashy design & packaging cloaking editorial that is well-intentioned but ultimately naive, if not half-baked. Nov. 10: Former managing editor Robin Ekiss, who's expecting, revealed [at our reading at the Jewish Community Center] that she met her husband at a celebration for her first time in print [in ZYZZYVA Summer '93] at Toronado; he spilled three beers, but... Oct. 30: [Alexander Pope on poetry publishers]- This prints my Letters, that expects a bribe, And others roar aloud, "Subscribe, subscribe." reading at the main on april 14 Writers from this issue will read at the Book Bay of the San Francisco Main Library at 6:30 on Wednesday, April 14: Meg Day, Michael Ichioka, Jennifer Jajeh, Peter Kline, Josh Mohr, Roger Porter, Melanie Reitzel, Victoria Tishman, Dust Wells forthcoming Our Fall issue comes out the end of August, closes for ads June 11		EDITOR'S NOTE It's nice to be back in the saddle. Last year, as you may remember, I narrowly averted retirement and spent my time doing two retrospective issues, which made doing this one all the juicier. One thing about my not retiring is that it got some ink. Seems like a cheesy way to get attention, but no more heinous than exploiting the Social Media, and to about the same avail. BTW, I now have 107 followers on Twitter.... You'd think with a year to put out a new issue, it would be a snap. But somehow, it turns out, I need the panic of a deadline to focus my mind. It may be that the secret theme that governs each issue can't take form in the abstract; it has to build, unbeknownst even to me, one piece upon another. For example, last spring, Melanie Reitzel submitted a poem about her life as a polio. I suggested that she might be better served by using prose. And she might want to sketch in the larger picture, since the disease has now been so largely forgotten. I am delighted and moved by her response. Her memoir was the cornerstone. The keystone (the last stone placed in an arch) was bought on January 30, ten days before we went to the printer. I won't give any hints as to how it epitomized the secret theme-you have to discover that for yourself. In any event, I've instituted a new policy: to limit writers to one appearance in our pages, one and done. Since I stopped soliciting Big Names a long time ago, I am now completely at the mercy of the slush pile. Which for this issue yielded: seven first-timers, one second-timer, plus three still in graduate writing programs. Other than that, business as usual. But, of course, things are never as they always were. We've now run big deficits two years in a row. This year, we're deterimined to break even, even if that means massive layoffs, which is sort of a joke, since it's just me manning the fort. Meanwhile, we're continuing to search for a successor. I'm rejuvenated and still having fun, but I really don't want to be shot out of the saddle. It would be much more fun, I think, to have a ceremonial Handing Over of the Reins. So, we're hoping to bolster the bottom line, identify a candidate (lurking in the wings?), and... H.J.
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