July 10, 2008
Lish’s The Quarterly
We talked about this a few months ago, but can someone scan the table of contents of some of the issues? Or, rather, which are the best issues to purchase? I’d love to read the issues with Cooper and Daryl. And of course Diane Williams, etc. Thanks.
comments
17 Responses to “Lish’s The Quarterly”
Leave a Reply
Cindy might know of a database (what’s that one that has all of the table of contents pages?) with this information, but if we can’t find that I’ll scan them. I have just about the whole run. Many great things therein; it’s one of the only magazines I have held onto long after the run stopped.
I know of no resource for The Quarterly TOCs. The journal was never indexed, which was a shame–it would have probably fared better financially, had it been.
Brandon
I’ve been meaning to pull all mine out and have a look at the TOCs for some time now. (I know I don’t have as many as Daryl, but I have several.) With my time on C’flock I’ll bet I know a few more names. Right off the top of my head I remember Q13 as especially good, to me at least. If I remember correctly, it came out around Hallowe’en of the year it came out whatever year that was. And the theme was scary?
I’m shutting this laptop down right now, to pull them out and have a look. I might be a while, you know once you start looking at “old photos” it’s pretty addicting.)
(Sheila, I took the pictures on the patio, I’ll post a couple soon, I promise…I know you’re just breathless waiting. ;o)
Matter of fact, Rick, I am eager.
Dear Brandon,
Though he took great pains to assure us it wasn’t our writing, Gordon once rejected one of our submissions to “The Quarterly”.
We’ll scan it and e-mail…if it has not crumbled to dust from sheer tristesse.
Sincerely,
The World
Thanks to all. Please don’t go to too much trouble, Rick. I’d like to order several used copies, so #13 per your recommendation will be one of them I’ll try to find. I’m sure they’re all amazing. How great, Daryl and Cooper Rick, to be a part of such a great thing.
Oh, Daryl–you don’t have to scan all the TOC’s. Maybe just list a few of the issues you think are the best. All of them, each one?
The World: please email me at bwhobson@cox.net
.
Dear World and Brandon
Every submission I made to “Q” was rejected. Always with a sweet note. The worst? “Not this, Rick.” The best? (I’ve told this before) “You’ve done it, hurray!” But just then, “Q” was no more.
The Quarterly was, for me, an aspiration. When I first saw it, I scarce knew what to make of it. Just now, I looked “quickly” through every issue that I have. I don’t have the first four. So I came to know it in its second year. I have the last, number 25, by reckoning of Lish’s bit on the “first” leaf of that issue. I’m only missing two or three, a few, between. To review them, made me happy, made me sad.
Honestly, it was thrilling and devastating. My exposure, first and now, colors everything anyone’s seen of me in this world.
Rick, this can scarcely be news to you, but the place that The Quarterly and Lish occupy in the chronicle of your life strikes me as not typical, shall we say, of that held by editor/publishers who regularly reject one’s submissions. I expect that this says something about Lish and the manner of his rejections, but I’m thinking of what it says about you and your capacity to receive what comes your way and to nourish yourself no matter whether what’s served is to your taste.
Every rejection let me see a little clearer, not that my vision, now, is anywhere clear. But every rejection pushed me a little further. And I held those who appeared in the Quarterly in respect and admiration. Little by little I began to see something about the honest art of words. I still try, fumbling along.
Folks here seem, at least, tolerant of such fumblings. In my early days of clusterflock, someone said “and there are snacks!” For me this has been a feast beyond comprehension.
I’m honored to show up here with y’all.
Rick, you are the dearest man in the world.
Rick,
I’d love to read your piece GL accepted back then. Or any of your fiction.
Rick is in a couple of issues of elimae, though I don’t know which ones, off the top of my head.
Brandon, you might also try going to M Sarki’s site (I think the official name is Rogue Literary Society) for the issues of The Quarterly which he has for sale. He will list many of the authors included in each of those issues, though there won’t be a complete table of contents.
And how astonishing for me, at this late date, to read your words, “I’d love to read the issues with Cooper and Daryl.” Thank you, sir. I first appeared in issue 10 and was in most of those subsequent, if only for a page. Due to my RVing and not-piling-up lifestyle, however, I don’t have any of the issues on hand: I passed them into Deron’s hands a number of years ago.
I have all of them, I think.
Brandon: I’m working on the contents scans but it might take a few days–my scanner is really slow. I’ll e-mail them to you soon.
I seem to be missing issues 13, 22 and 23–I don’t know where they got off to. I probably loaned them and–there you go. But I’ll round them up eventually.
Oh yes, Rick is in elimae. Daryl, you absolutely rock. Thank you! Cooper: I’ll check Sarki’s site.
2007:05, 2006:09 and 2006:10, which is the piece Lish said the words above about though it was untitled at the time. (I’m a little embarrassed I can rattle that off so quick, but honestly for me there isn’t that much to keep track of.)