Stone’s Throw Magazine – April 2009

This website is rather spare and the editors don’t tell much about the magazine. Its first issue was apparently in December 2008, and as of this writing the summer issue has not yet appeared. Based on a paucity of information, they are based in Montana “featuring writers and artists from all over the world.” The present issue gives a healthy presentation of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, and “reviews and interviews.”

This website is rather spare and the editors don’t tell much about the magazine. Its first issue was apparently in December 2008, and as of this writing the summer issue has not yet appeared. Based on a paucity of information, they are based in Montana “featuring writers and artists from all over the world.” The present issue gives a healthy presentation of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, and “reviews and interviews.”

In the fiction section, one of the more entertaining and intriguing stories I have read recently is “Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down,” by Eric Ramseier. It follows the peculiar relationship that a country boy living along the Missouri River has with his father and with a town eccentric named Earl Fink The Man Who Stinks. One cannot help but be impressed with the characters that have been created here. Another very good story is “Bearing a Cross,” by Joseph Bates, a longish production about a town that turns to theocratic government after 9/11. It is a humorous, tongue-in-cheek account that gives the reader a number of good lines, including: “He’d bought his wife a facelift for her fiftieth birthday that made her look on the verge of constant orgasm.” Plaudits also to a nicely constructed piece of flash fiction by Kathryn Kulpa entitled “Mine.”

There is a true international flavor to the nonfiction section with experiences being recounted from obscure parts of the globe. “The Brown Rice Scene in Dehradun” by Christine Moore presents a lively account of life in a crowded Indian town where not following the status quo creates interesting problems for a foreigner. Another very vivid story is “Brazil Ten Ways” by Melissa Young, relating the travels of two young people in a culture very different from what they are used to. Also, mention should be made of the book review of Craig Lancaster’s Six Hundred Hours of Life by Russell Rowland, about a person who suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Interestingly enough, this book was self-published.

The worst thing about this lit mag is the website, which is relatively primitive and needs a bit of work. The best thing is the wide ranging and generally well written prose available to the reader. Since they are new, one can only hope that they improve their presentation over time because there is a lot of potential here.
[www.stonesthrowmagazine.com/]