Narrative Magazine
Previous reviews of online literary magazines have concentrated on the emergent and inchoate; sites managed by tireless, unpaid devotees struggling for notice, gain, and honest invention. These do-it-yourself collectives, intoxicated by the desire to discover, establish, and assert, do so against the eddying specter of what's left of the traditional publishing mainstream. Where before the staid establishment of print publication rested comfortably on those formats proven and perfected by time, the depth and boundless nature of the Internet not only uprooted their working knowledge, but also led to an inundation of competing online publishers eager to embrace the limitless possibilities of multi-media. The triumphs and failures of this new crop of cyber-aesthetes are in equal measure, ranging from the frenetic, though brilliant visual, audio, and textual amalgamation of sites such as the Mad Hatters' Review, to the bland, prosaic html of sites such as, well, read my earlier reviews...
Though it is tempting to outright discard the pillars of old, the "ancient regime" remains peopled with talent, ambition, and innovation, and many of them will indeed successfully extend much of their operational capacity across the various virtual media outlets that are quickly displacing the mediums of print and gloss. Advantaged as they are with access to financial resources, artists, and investor networks, it's difficult to conceive that a Simon & Schuster or a Random House will altogether disappear. Regardless, the era of literary hegemony exercised by the publishing old guard is definitely over. In its place is a virtual literary market that at its best demonstrates a viable and creative alliance between little known grassroots publications (bringing with them their knowledge of social networking and technological savvy) and the literary agents, editors, and financiers who once comprised conventional publishing (offering their expertise on how to create an industry through which artists can hope to earn an income!). Blending these extremes with great aplomb and deft is Narrative Magazine.
The co-editors of Narrative Magazine, Carol Edgarian and Tom Jenks, are no strangers to the world of professional print. Having contributed to, and held positions with, some of the most distinguished and sought after publications (Vogue, Allure, Harper's, and the Los Angeles Times just to name a few), the seasoned expertise of Edgarian and Jenks is clearly illustrated in the sophisticated and well coordinated layout of the site's homepage. The headers, print, and sub titles are easy to read, appropriately varied, and adequately spaced. Additionally, the images, font and background coloring, and the lengths of text consistently evidence control, balance, and restraint; no graphic flaunts, no type is sized to exaggerate, and no disclaimer begs needlessly for attention. Yet this is not to suggest a site whose appearance is lifeless and absent of the creative energy and verve that constitutes its content. Rather, it is a logical aesthetic that seeks to attract readers accustomed to the organizational arrangement of, say, a New Yorker or an Atlantic Monthly.
When I first tried to expand a particular selection, I was surprised by a prompt instructing me to create a user account. Typically, I dislike subscription based websites. They require the user to enter too much information and the benefits offered for setting up an account are not enough to justify the compromise in personal privacy. In contrast, Narrative Magazine's request for information does not extend beyond an email address and the process took no more that thirty seconds.
After registering and toggling about I was impressed to discover the convenience and ease of submitting works for consideration. Not only is there a dedicated pane system for submissions, but also an added feature that allows aspiring applicants to keep track of the status of their works, including admission/rejection updates, an archive directory, and posted commentary. The anxiety and anticipation that goes along with waiting for a response, which for many websites can take months, Narrative Magazine shortens and alleviates through its interactive submission system.
Opening the link to Richard Bausch's featured work, Blood, a short story about the consequences of obsession, familial isolation, and communicative delay that unfolds between two brothers, offers a neatly arranged page with a photo of the writer, a personal biography, and a body of text generous in its double spaced format; that the author's work can be downloaded separately as a PDF document is yet another example of Narrative Magazine's emphasis on an intuitive and user friendly interface. I experienced no discomfort or strain in reading all of Blood's 33 page length exclusively off a computer screen.
Impressive too is Narrative Magazine's dedication to a section titled "Narrative Outloud," where you'll find streaming audio readings by various authors. Check out the poetry of Michael Dickman, whose unassuming and subtly modulated voice wonderfully complements works full of vivid imagery, teasing ironies, and unforced metaphors.
Where most online literary magazines are oriented singly around contemporary works, Narrative Magazine maintains historical continuity when reintroducing some of the great works of the past. Along a column at the far left side of the site's homepage, and distinguished by its pale yellow background color, NM displays two sections titled "Story of the Week" and "Poem of the Week," which for the current edition highlights Fyodor Dostoyevsky's "First Night" and Anna Swir's "The Same Inside," respectively.
In conclusion, Narrative Magazine achieves an admirable balance of design and content, combining the stylistic elements of older print publications (in its efficient use of space) with the novelties available through the net (in its incorporation of multimedia and ease of access). Though Narrative Magazine does not revolutionize any one aspect of on-line publishing, what the site does accomplish is to perfect many of the existing tools pioneered on the net; not a single glitch was encountered when clicking on an audio, visual, or interview stream. In terms of the site's content, editors Carol Edgarian and Tom Jenks more than prove their taste and influence as most of their selected contributors are seasoned and award winning veterans.
