Absinthe Literary Review... Review by Rev. Brian Worley |
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One of the first important things, as far as I'm concerned, when it comes to judging the quality of a webzine, isn't the quality of the fiction. I have a BFA in Fine Arts, and my bias might be showing when I say that I think the most important element for a webzine is visual attractiveness, mainly when it comes to readability. Whether I'm looking to submit a story or read one, not much bugs me more than unreadable zine. One of the many things that makes Absinthe Literary Review stand out is the fact that, much more than being readable, it's elegant. Every issue utilizes the same format, which may mean that you have to read part of a story before you know if it's a new issue or not, but here, the philosophy of "if-it-isn't-broke" seems justified.
They publish "transgressive works dealing with madness, sex, death, disease, and the like; the clash of archaic with modern day; archetype, symbolism, Surrealism, philosophy, physics, existential and postmodern flavoring; experimental or flagrantly textured language..." which is exactly the sort of sentence that makes everyone at Susurrus set up and beg. They consistently deliver what they promise.
Every issue is divided into four sections that feature fiction and poetry: "The Wormwood Collective," "Dropping Balm," "Hyssop and Hermetics," and "The Gray Area." As I am in so much else, I've been a sporadic reader of ALR, but in my few years of sporadic readership, I haven't managed to figure out what pattern they use to decide what story or poem goes in which category. They feature one story and one poem in each section, and the poems are consistently pretty good (I hold a grudge against poetry in general, so that is high praise), and the stories are consistently quite good or better.
The bad news is, at the end of 2005, they made announcement that they were going to be closed to submissions throughout 2006. They promised that there would be three 2006 issues. It's October, and they still have a 2005 issue online. We don't need to panic yet, as small and independent presses everywhere are notoriously unreliable, and ALR has been online since 1998.
It also may be forgivable than they've had a year-long hiatus because in the past year, they've had an editorial restructuring and a major data loss, and they're working on a print version of the magazine.
So, until there's a new issue, either print or online, we at Susurrus heartily recommend you check out the most current issue of ALR, as well as their archives. Don't forget their occasionally published Eros and Thanatos, special issues that focus on sex and death. If you like what you read, send them an e-mail or a check (they, like Susurrus, have an all volunteer staff). Tell them the brainoctopus sent you. They probably won't know what you're talking about.