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Mag Spotlight: Best of Issuu.com (Part II)
By Tiffany Wong
With less than a week before AmLit’s release party, we know you’re getting antsy, so here’s Part II of our “Best of Issuu.com” to satisfy your creative needs.Freckled Magazine
http://issuu.com/freckledmag
Recent issue: http://issuu.com/freckledmag/docs/freckled_summer_2013
Created in Vancouver, Canada, Freckled Magazine describes itself as a “season, non-profit online visual inspiration magazine featuring photography, writing, traditional art forms, fashion and music.” Sounds overwhelming for an online publication, but Freckled manages to balance its dreamy photography and art pieces with interviews with emerging photographers, artists, fashion pioneers, and bands, especially when Freckled is over 100 pages.
In its most recent issue, Summer 2013, Freckled Magazine features photography spreads of Croatia, paintings and illustrations of characters from another world, and personal written pieces. Like its past issues, the magazine seems to take pleasure in transporting its readers to a place that doesn’t exist in the real world – where everyone has the time to take long road trips and watch the sun set, documenting their adventures along the way.
Little White Lies
http://issuu.com/lwlies
Recent issue: http://issuu.com/lwlies/docs/lwlies_47
Unbeknownst to many of us, Little White Lies is a popular publication hailing from London and focuses on the wonderful world of movies. Each of its issues are dedicated to a single film, interviewing its main actors and exploring different aspects of the film’s creation. Unlike many other publications that feature films, Little White Lies relies heavily on graphic design rather than generic movie stills or photographs from behind the scenes. Each of its covers are a work of art and it’s obvious that every page’s design was created with a purpose.
As for its verbal content, Little White Lies is able to hold its readers’ attention, dividing its issues into different acts. In its “latest” issue on issuu.com (which came out five months ago; because the magazine stopped publishing online yet continues to churn out hard copies, reading its back issues will more than suffice), the magazine focuses on Man of Steel, the most recent film for the Superman franchise. Notable features include an analysis of hilarious vintage Superman comic covers, an exposé on the woman who served as the inspiration for Lois Lane, and an article on the five different ways Superman’s story was transformed in order to humanize a superhero who seems invincible.
Loud and Quiet
http://issuu.com/loudandquiet
Recent issue: http://issuu.com/loudandquiet/docs/loudandquiet54
For those of us tired of the usual music magazine that focuses an obscene amount of attention on the same old artist that’s writing the same old music about the same old thing (love and heartache?) in the same way for a new album, there’s the U.K.- based Loud and Quiet. What better way to be ahead of the curve than to learn about new artists from the P.O.V. of another country?
Its most recent issue includes short interviews with nine bands about things that piss them off, an interview with Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth fame in his own home, and numerous profiles of artists on the rise. Have you ever heard of the German band called Autobahn who’s compared to the likes of Joy Division, or the London-based band Shopping that produces “DIY funk punk”? I haven’t, but I definitely want to know what “DIY funk punk” sounds like.
Art Exhibit Review: "Damage Control" at the Hirshhorn
By Vera Hanson
Last weekend I had the chance to escape from my essays and find a bit of peace at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Currently on view is an exhibition called Damage Control: Art and Destruction Since 1950. If I’m being honest, I am not normally drawn to exhibits that are largely centered on film, television and sculpture, but I was left completely captivated by many of the chilling pieces at this exhibition. On view through late May, Damage Control works to explore the themes of destruction in art and the context in which these pieces were created. Stemming from the “escalation of the arms race and the prospect of nuclear annihilation” in the early 1950s, the exhibition uses different art mediums to convey the significance of media coverage of these disasters, both large and small.For me, one of the most mesmerizing and unsettling moments at the exhibit came from the work of the artist Ori Gersht. An Israeli photographer, Gersht’s “Big Bang 1” is a video showing a still, non-moving vase of flowers. After tense and distressing music in the background plays for over a minute, the vase finally explodes. As a group of us crowded around the video screen, Gersht’s work left all us viewers visibly shaken. It was in the contrast of simplicity and ‘destruction’ that the artist’s execution of his work was so successful. Gersht’s piece conveys one element in a much larger motif of demolition and chaos represented at the exhibit.
In addition to Damage Control, the Hirshhorn Museum was a great location for a relaxing Saturday morning. I highly recommend going up to the third floor and taking advantage of the ‘observation’ room fully equipped with desks and couches overlooking D.C. Other exhibitions that are currently on view include Black Box: Gerco de Ruijter and Barbara Kruger: Belief + Doubt. While both are incredibly different from one another, together they are very worthwhile.
The Hirshhorn is located on the National Mall at the corner of 7th Street and Independence Avenue SW. The museum is open from 10am – 5:30pm daily and admission is always free. Also, Jake Chapman, an artist with work featured in Damage Control, will be giving an Artist Talk on Wednesday, December 11 at 7pm. So, be sure to check that out if you’re interested in gaining more insight into the mind of one of the artists central to the exhibition.
http://www.hirshhorn.si.edu/collection/home/#collection=damage-control&detail=http%3A//www.hirshhorn.si.edu/bio/damage-control-art-and-destruction-since-1950/&title=Damage+Control%3A+Art+and+Destruction+Since+1950
Artist Spotlight: Mikala Rempe
By Emma Bartley
Meet Mikala Rempe – my partner in crime. The empty voids in both of our lives were filled the day we were brought together as assistant poetry editors for AmLit. If you’re wondering what that position even is, it
basically just means that we get to geek out about poems while excessively using the words “dude” and “literally,” along with a somewhat shameful list of colorful expletives. Rest assured, while this girl most definitely talks the talk, she can also walk the walk. At the AmLit open mic early this semester, she wowed everyone with her slam piece, “Early Onset.” So, without further adieu, enjoy these wise musings from the ultimate poetry babe herself.
What got you into slam poetry? When did you start?
I started slamming at the start of my senior year of high school. I have been writing short stories and poems pretty much since I could spell, and I started to watch slam videos on Youtube and became obsessed with the art and the way that page meets stage. I didn't really gain the confidence to join a team until my best friend forced me into it. It was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. It's amazing the sense of community you gain from slam.
Talk a little about your writing process. Where does most of your content seem to come from? How have you played around with form? In what ways do you use – or perhaps avoid – certain formal elements of poetry, like rhyme and rhythm?
Coming from a slam background I now write for cadence and sound above anything else. When I write poetry I have to read all of my lines out loud, just to find where my voice naturally builds and falls. I like to play with form in unconventional ways. Lots of slam poets do list poems where they number each stanza, so I like to play with that form. I have a poem about my dad's battle with early onset Alzheimer's. One test to diagnose Alzheimer's is to ask the patient to count backwards from 100 by 7's to test their cognitive state. So in this poem I number my stanza 100...93...86... and so on, like the test. I absolutely loathe traditional rhyme scheme, like nothing turns me off from a poem more, but I am in love with internal and slant rhyme.
Have you written much poetry outside of the slam genre? If so, describe how your writing process for these poems differs from writing slam.
Hmm, not so much right now. But I will say that I don't think that the majority of slam poems transfer well to the page, so I definitely want to try my hand at more academic poetry. I also tend to write longer poems, so I want to play around with shorter poems and see if I can still write evocatively.
How are you pursuing your passion for poetry at American?
I work with AmLit's poetry genre and it has been so eye opening to see what other people appreciate about poetry. All of the other editors make comments on poetry that I never would have thought to comment on. Everyone that came to the AmLit poetry review sessions made me appreciate poetry so much more, and the feedback has pushed me to make my own writing better.
Whether it’s other poets, musicians, or visual artists, what creative work has influenced your own writing?
I could talk about influences for days! I always write to music, and it can range anywhere from some old school Frank Sinatra or lately I've really been into Chance the Rapper's Acid Rap. I definitely would say whatever I'm listening to is reflected in my writing. My favorite slam poets are Sam Cook from the twin cities and Jeanann Verlee from NYC. I could seriously listen to their poems all day. My favorite page poet will always be Langston Hughes, like if I ever have a son I will probably name him Langston. I also just feel the need to admit my love for Kate Chopin's The Awakening, I can only reread that novel if I am okay with my view on life being completely flipped upside down… that book is probably the reason I am a literature major.
basically just means that we get to geek out about poems while excessively using the words “dude” and “literally,” along with a somewhat shameful list of colorful expletives. Rest assured, while this girl most definitely talks the talk, she can also walk the walk. At the AmLit open mic early this semester, she wowed everyone with her slam piece, “Early Onset.” So, without further adieu, enjoy these wise musings from the ultimate poetry babe herself.
What got you into slam poetry? When did you start?
I started slamming at the start of my senior year of high school. I have been writing short stories and poems pretty much since I could spell, and I started to watch slam videos on Youtube and became obsessed with the art and the way that page meets stage. I didn't really gain the confidence to join a team until my best friend forced me into it. It was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. It's amazing the sense of community you gain from slam.
Talk a little about your writing process. Where does most of your content seem to come from? How have you played around with form? In what ways do you use – or perhaps avoid – certain formal elements of poetry, like rhyme and rhythm?
Coming from a slam background I now write for cadence and sound above anything else. When I write poetry I have to read all of my lines out loud, just to find where my voice naturally builds and falls. I like to play with form in unconventional ways. Lots of slam poets do list poems where they number each stanza, so I like to play with that form. I have a poem about my dad's battle with early onset Alzheimer's. One test to diagnose Alzheimer's is to ask the patient to count backwards from 100 by 7's to test their cognitive state. So in this poem I number my stanza 100...93...86... and so on, like the test. I absolutely loathe traditional rhyme scheme, like nothing turns me off from a poem more, but I am in love with internal and slant rhyme.
Have you written much poetry outside of the slam genre? If so, describe how your writing process for these poems differs from writing slam.
Hmm, not so much right now. But I will say that I don't think that the majority of slam poems transfer well to the page, so I definitely want to try my hand at more academic poetry. I also tend to write longer poems, so I want to play around with shorter poems and see if I can still write evocatively.
How are you pursuing your passion for poetry at American?
I work with AmLit's poetry genre and it has been so eye opening to see what other people appreciate about poetry. All of the other editors make comments on poetry that I never would have thought to comment on. Everyone that came to the AmLit poetry review sessions made me appreciate poetry so much more, and the feedback has pushed me to make my own writing better.
Whether it’s other poets, musicians, or visual artists, what creative work has influenced your own writing?
I could talk about influences for days! I always write to music, and it can range anywhere from some old school Frank Sinatra or lately I've really been into Chance the Rapper's Acid Rap. I definitely would say whatever I'm listening to is reflected in my writing. My favorite slam poets are Sam Cook from the twin cities and Jeanann Verlee from NYC. I could seriously listen to their poems all day. My favorite page poet will always be Langston Hughes, like if I ever have a son I will probably name him Langston. I also just feel the need to admit my love for Kate Chopin's The Awakening, I can only reread that novel if I am okay with my view on life being completely flipped upside down… that book is probably the reason I am a literature major.
Mag Spotlight: Best of Issuu.com (Part I)
By Tiffany Wong
You love AmLit. I love AmLit. We all love AmLit, but for those of us who need some sort of creative stimuli as we await the next release of our beloved semiannual student publication, Issuu.com is a great gift. On our college budgets, dismal and meager, pretty interest magazines published on premium card stock with minimal advertisements are usually out of our financial reach.Issuu.com, an online hub of self-produced publications, is here to help you bide your time before AmLit’s December release. Here are a few free magazines featured on the website that’ll quench the literary thirst of the curious.
Au Science Magazine
http://issuu.com/ausciencemag
Latest issue: http://issuu.com/ausciencemag/docs/issue8
Like our precious baby AmLit, Au Science Magazine is a publication written, edited and produced by university students. Unlike our baby, Au is a product of the University of Aberdeen and focuses on current science research, views, and news. The complete opposite of what we go for, but intriguing nonetheless.
In its latest issue, “Dauntless Discovery”, Au “explores just how far science can take you, and how – even without the melodrama of big screen films – some of the quietest labs have sparked the most dauntless discoveries ever made.” The magazine is able to hold the interest of those of us who aren’t the most science-savvy by tying unexpected topics together with the academic, like space psychology, historical diets, and relief efforts to save endangered, “ugly” animals.
Off LIFE Comic
http://issuu.com/offlife
Latest issue: http://issuu.com/offlife/docs/off-life-issue7
I’ve never been one to read comics because I’ve never found a comic book – not a graphic novel – that really spoke to me, especially after I got over my short-lived Sunday newspaper Peanuts obsession (my frustration with Charlie and that football, however, still persists). Luckily, I discovered United Kingdom-based Off LIFE Comic.
A little over 20 pages, the comic book reads like a book of short stories. Most comics are only two pages and in order not to bombard the reader with illustration after illustration, Off LIFE also includes interviews with comic artists and writers. It’s not surprising that the publication prides itself as U.K.’s only street press comic magazine, especially when it holds so much substance in its collection of short comics.
Hot Rum Cow
http://issuu.com/hotrumcow
Latest issue: http://issuu.com/hotrumcow/docs/hot_rum_cow_____issue_4_-_issuu
Hot Rum Cow was, admittedly, a surprising find. Its print magazine is typically 100 pages, but because the publication is based in Edinburgh, U.K., its sample 18-page issues on Issuu will have to suffice. Fortunately, Hot Rum Cow packs a lot of alcohol-soaked punch in its pages. Self-described as a “bi-annual independent magazine for people who are fascinated by great beers, wines & spirits – and the extraordinary stories behind them,” Hot Rum Cow spotlights one type of alcohol for each issues.
For its most recent issue, Issue 4, the magazine focuses on sherry, a fortified wine made from white grapes that was once the drink of choice for kings and Shakespeare. Fancy stuff, but Hot Rum Cow insists that sherry has a wild side. This issue explores the 3,000-year-old history of a drink once savored by Phoenicians, interviews a man who drank 30,000 beers, and introduces a rock star turned Michelin-star chef. It’s a magazine drunk off its love for alcohol.
As for its odd name, its editors say, “We’ve named it after a warm cocktail made from rum, milk, brown sugar and nutmeg. Some people love it, others don’t get it – and that’s exactly the sort of magazine we publish.”
Location Review: Kramerbooks & Afterwords
By Mia Saidel
“Esteemed city institution” and “DuPont’s replacement ritual for church” are among the words of praise for the long-running bookstore and café, Kramerbooks & Afterwords, a D.C. must-see nestled comfortably on the cosmopolitan Connecticut Avenue. A well-oiled machine, the establishment first opened in 1976 and has since been coined as the first bookstore in the country to feature a full bar and an adjunct restaurant. Its alliterative slogan, “Serving Latte to the Literati since 1976,” gleans some truth; the bookstore is also credited for being the first to serve espresso and cappuccino to its customers. Discerning eyes will recoil in defeat as they enter; Kramerbooks is deserving of its praise and location.Upon entering, the wood-clad interior illicts a comforting and casual feel to both newcomers and frequenters (I observed tourists and D.C. natives alike leaning against the shelves, elbows propped, leafing through intriguing reads). The overstuffed ledges and nooks are unpretentious, as the books converge playfully in horizontal and vertical stacks against the walls. Void of any flashy advertisements, the store is elegant in its simplicity and allows customers to stumble upon their own finds. The unobtrusive air it offers gives clear explanation of its national exposure during the Lewinsky scandal when it refused to disclose records of Lewinsky’s purchases from the store, a clear indicator of the priority it gives to customer service.
The inventory is varied, but leaves room for plenty of paperback fiction and travel writing. The latter is a particularly captivating section, exciting recounts of European travels by bike and treks through France’s cuisine being among the best selling (One particularly intriguing find was Remembrance of Things Paris: Sixty Years of Writing from Gourmet edited by former Gourmet magazine editor-in-chief Ruth Reichl). France dominates the section, with more than 30 books to choose from about Parisian travel. At least two fellow browsers picked up Paris to the Past: Traveling through French history by Train during my visit. Other choices include stories of South America and the Middle East, but few featured stories were from the African continent. Bill Bryson, an expert traveler and superb writer, is also a store favorite.
Despite its location in the heart of a political district, Kramerbooks displays no such partisanship in its inventory. Though there are books to satisfy the future politician, they do not represent an overbearing presence in the store as one might imagine. Of course, the newest from Bill O’Reilly and Chris Matthews take center stage in the front, but most people flocked to the likes of James Patterson to satisfy their leisure time. However, in light of the recent government shutdown, a few customers seemed to be inspired and walked away with Ira Shapiro’s The Last Great Senate: Courage and Statesmanship in Times of Crisis.
Dining aside, Kramerbooks & Afterwords reminds D.C. that reading is an adventure. It is reminiscent of “The Shop Around the Corner” from the film You’ve Got Mail in its charm, but differs in that it will not be defeated by the corporate bookstore across the street. In other words, Kramerbooks is here to stay.
Address: 1517 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036
Hours: 7:30 AM-1AM daily, 24 hours Friday & Saturday
Live Music Wednesday-Saturday night