The Southern Review, Spring 2011

Hi everyone!  A lot of you may have noticed that we have a new employee here at ISSUES,  the lovely Ms. Harmony.  She is mostly here in the mornings, which we are very grateful for!  :)  She's also a massive literary fan, loves literary journals, and loves writing even more!   So from time to time, she's going to be reviewing some of our favorite publications.  Here's her first one, about the current issue of The Southern Review.  Check it out & stop by to welcome her when you get a chance!  xoxo noella  

Americana: the theme of the Spring 2011 edition of The Southern Review is limited by few formal boundaries.  Editor Jeane Leiby and Assistant Editor Jessica Faust-Spitzfaden spoke to this subject when dialoging about the fascinating process of choosing what selections to be featured in this installment of the journal.  Leiby comments in the Introduction:

“I learned that Americana means something different to everyone.  An image of diner desserts—the ruffled frosting of cakes, pastries with their crinolines of cream hidden deep inside, all revolving in a glass case—comes to mind.  I also think, in the suburban spirit of Americana in the 1970s (which informs my own particular nostalgia), of a family member of mine who was in charge of an ice cream truck for one summer.  The Blue Sky Bar, from which he sold weed to the adults and Charleston Chews and rocket pops to us kids.  All this is to say that there’s a great deal of choice when it comes to defining this term.  Most of the pieces we received drew their subjects from the last few decades.  Certain furnishings I saw a lot: Vegas and Elvis, road trips, mixtapes, sideshow figures, Ferris wheels, dust (as in dusty lanes and dirty farms), down-and-outs and murder—but these last few seem to show up whether it’s a theme issue or not.  Our writers have a definition of Americana that’s specific to them.  I often agreed and when I didn’t, it was unusually because a piece seemed simply American and didn’t have the yellow cast of an old photograph that makes it Americana.  It has to have a little roller-skate grease on it—something more retro and less out of a history book.”

Leiby’s definition caused me to think about what images come to mind when I ponder what is specifically “Americana” to me.  I think of the Oklahoma plains, large belt buckles and scuffed boots, desaturated mid-western towns, Texas roadsigns, fields of wheat and corn, the bar on dark and desolate Highway-41 near my parent’s home on the central coast that features jug bands and bluegrass on Friday and Saturday night.  I think grain silos, the Las Vegas sign graveyard, motorcycle grease, the intricate weaving of a Native American blanket sold at a roadside stand, hot fudge sundaes with a cherry on top, buffaloes, cracked pavement, and skin weathered and wrinkled. These images are endless and expansive; Americana to me is that subtle crossover between a slick, Southern, and sullied past that permeates our hopelessly nostalgic culture.

Notable selections come from poet Jane Springer and photographer Edward Keaton, who perfectly present what—to me—captures Americana through a well-focused, wide-angle lens.  I highly suggest picking up your own copy of Spring 2011 Southern Review of your own before we run out of stock!

- Harmony