ZYZZYVA – Winter 2005

The seventy-fifth issue of the all-West-Coast-all-the-time-journal ZYZZYVA begins with multi-page editor’s note discussing the careers of writers ZYZZYVA published for the first time, a very interesting follow-up attempt that illustrates more concern for new writers than most lit mag editors display.

The seventy-fifth issue of the all-West-Coast-all-the-time-journal ZYZZYVA begins with multi-page editor’s note discussing the careers of writers ZYZZYVA published for the first time, a very interesting follow-up attempt that illustrates more concern for new writers than most lit mag editors display. The art work, as always, was fascinating – especially impressive were the botanical etchings by Sarah Horowitz and the photoetchings of interior spaces by Lisa Rigge. Lots more pages of prose than poetry, as is usual for ZYZZYVA; my favorite piece was Theresa Sotto’s “Excerpts,” which juxtaposed political prose from 1904 with lyric poetry fragments describing the same time period: “:now that the fairs are over / we’re nostalgic over postcards… / trench coats tossed over loin cloths / bowler hats teetering / on the back: we’re splendid / sights we wish you were / here.” Besides the bits of cover letters usually displayed on the back cover, there is also a section called “Pitches to the Editor,” which includes various bits from cover letters to ZYZZYVA, categorized by Merit, Geography, Timing, and Content. [ZYZZYVA, P.O. Box 590069, San Francisco, CA, 94159-0069. Single issue $11. www.zyzzyva.org/index.htm.]