Ever have someone tell you to stand up straight? Look you in the eye where they’re talking?
What you’re viewing now is the third incarnation of slouch. I think that’s part of the charm. slouch has seen a lot of changes; most of which have occurred within myself. When I started this magazine more than four years ago I had vast hopes to be one of the greats. slouch would have a broad output of cool, relevant book reviews, interesting poetry, fiction, art and interviews. Maybe I could help other writers grow, maybe I could quit my job and do this full time. But here’s where blessed ignorance snatches you up and sets you straight. There’s a lot that I don’t know about in the literary world, a lot of writers and styles and fads that I frankly don’t give a fuck about. And if you want to get ahead; there’s politics, ass kissing and cow-towing to messages and artists that just don’t jive with your sensibilities. Plus, it’s a hell of a lot of work for not much reward. I don’t care so much about the reward, but I don’t like the work part at all––I call it slouch for a reason. Really though, there are a lot of good, full feature magazines out there––check the sidebar––and I had to come to the painful and honest realization that we aren’t one of them.
Ok then, what is slouch?
An erratically published West Coast-centric journal of fiction, book reviews and industry news. My goal is to put forth a simple, concise and honest magazine that accentuates my passions and strengths––realist fiction, reviews, book news––and leave the rest––poetry, non-fiction, experimental prose, art––to those that know.
Occasionally, I’ll illicit opinions and knowledge from other writers, editors and publishers. I encourage you, if so moved, to do the same to slouch. You can submit, just like you would a real magazine. You can read it––or get RSS feeds straight to your inbox––like all the cool magazines. You can even laugh at it and drop comments like, god, what are you thinking? I welcome it.
Thanks very much for reading and participating in my slacker literary experiment.
-joshua citrak
