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Swivel – 2004

The Nexus of Women & Wit

Volume 1

2004

Ann Stapleton

An enjoyable new offering that hails from Seattle, Swivel showcases “women writers of wit.” As editor Brangien Davis writes, “In Swivel, you’ll find both funny ha-ha and funny strange, but mostly you’ll find that we take funny women seriously.”

An enjoyable new offering that hails from Seattle, Swivel showcases “women writers of wit.” As editor Brangien Davis writes, “In Swivel, you’ll find both funny ha-ha and funny strange, but mostly you’ll find that we take funny women seriously.” Included here are works by The Typing Explosion, “a trio of performance typists” who stage guerilla poetry collaborations (on sidewalks, in bookstores, etc.) on Olivetti typewriters. Heather Cochran’s “Shuffling Toward Womanhood in Wedge-heeled Sandals” is an acutely funny flashback to what it’s like to be thirteen, wanting “to be rendered invisible” while you pursue your Holy Grail of coolness, yearn for a kiss from Robbie Mitchko, and, if you’re lucky, come upon that perfect first pair of heels, “dyed the same lazy caramel brown of warmth and summer and hope.” Kate Lake’s “My Belief System” is a humorous take on second generation atheism: “So. That’s my system. Eating. Napping. Not flipping the bird to drivers who cut you off in case they decide to pop you one (what goes around).” You’ll also find a comic strip illustrated by Christine Olsen and written by Nancy Pearl, author of Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason and, even more entertainingly, the real-life prototype for the only librarian action figure: “This is the true story of how Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl became immortalized as a toy (with amazing push button “shushing” action!).” Thus there exists the mind-numbing possibility that you could be reading Swivel in the library, be giggling away, and be shushed by the very librarian whose shushing was making you laugh. Woh! [Swivel, P.O. Box 17958, Seattle, WA 98107. E-mail: [email protected]. Single issue $9. http://www.swivelmag.com] – AS

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