Friday, June 1, 2007

E-zine? and Baby Jesus Likes Top Speed

Praise be to baby Jesus--- I am off today. Yes, that's the same baby Jesus who made top speed (see The Contender to understand the reference).

Since receiving the news that ToasterMag will be ending after the next issue, I have been tossing around the idea of starting a bimonthly or quarterly e-zine. For the few months I've worked with ToasterMag, I have enjoyed myself even though it's been a decent amount of work reading through submissions. But, to be honest, I don't know the ins and outs of starting and maintaining an e-zine. Advice anyone? Feel free to post it or email me.


and for baby Jesus, one last Gylys poem:

MY SAVIOR IN THE FORM OF A BUS

"Do you believe in Jesus Christ our Lord?"
An old, balding man was in my face.
He wasn't someone who could be ignored.

I thought he'd go away if I looked bored.
I rolled my eyes and yawned. He kept his place."
Do you believe in Jesus Christ our Lord?"

"I'm Jewish, give it up," I moved toward
the street, but then my heel caught on some ice.
I fell. "You see, He mustn't be ignored."

This guy, I thought, is someone for the ward.
But I was at his feet. "It must be grace,"
he said, held out his hand. "You know the Lord

can work in wondrous ways." He'd struck a chord:
my days in Catholic school, a veil of lace,
these words a priest once said, that I'd ignored:

"He'll come to you, carrying a sword.
And Beth, how will you meet him face to face?"
My bus pulled up just then, thank the Lord,
rescuing me from questions I'd ignored.

~ Beth Gylys
from BODIES THAT HUM, Silverfish Review Press

2 comments:

Collin Kelley said...

Go to my blog and look at some of the e-zines I've got listed there. Study their submission guidelines, graphics and see what appeals to you. You might want to talk to David Herrle at SubtleTea. Although it's online, keeping up an e-zine is a lot of work. Once you start it, you have to commit to it. The internet is a graveyard of failed online lit mags. It really comes up to how much time you have and deciding if keeping it up will interfere with your own writing. I've toyed with the idea for years, but I just don't think I have time.

Dustin Brookshire said...

THANKS CK!