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The Long Story – 2004

2004

Weston Cutter

I know it’s not polite to talk about politics, and there’s hardly a gray zone in the polarized debate regarding politics in this country right now, but the Long Story is specifically political, so it bears discussion.

I know it’s not polite to talk about politics, and there’s hardly a gray zone in the polarized debate regarding politics in this country right now, but the Long Story is specifically political, so it bears discussion. For the uninitiated: the Long Story is one of the few literary magazines that focuses pretty much exclusively on novellas/long stories (more than 8,000 words), and has done so for a long time and very well. There are eight stories in here, total page count 160, so the magazine in practical terms more resembles a thick collection of stories or essays than a ‘typical’ literary magazine. R. P. Burnham, Editor, begins this issue with a prelude that is so coherent and good, I nearly missed the pedantry, though that may also because I’m sympathetic with his views. He describes, eloquently and at length, the need for writers to tell the Truth, to see the actual world and write of it, and while he has overt political views that he’s making obvious, Burnham’s introductory essay is right up there with some of the things Remnick’s written recently in the New Yorker. The eight stories within are, unfortunately for them, follow Burnham’s essay, which for me meant each was read with new consideration for the world, for what to do next, for how to see better those around me. That said, the stories were uniformly good, readable, and better: each confirmed Burnham’s call for humanistic fiction. [The Long Story – Single issue $6] – WC

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