Letter from the Editor
In a recent debate on social media, many wondered if anyone reads little magazines. It started when someone posted befuddlement about a certain kind of nonstory story. You know the one, a perfectly crafted end table of a thing that serves to hold fine language, passable plot, and believable characters but offers very little else. These stories, she claimed, make up most of what’s published in our contemporary magazines. It’s not that I don’t enjoy reading these stories, the poster explained, it’s just that they don’t do anything, don’t make me feel anything, and they certainly don’t stick in my memory.
Others helpfully explained to our original poster that this kind of story is the fault of MFA programs, of careerist “portfolio building,” and of literary magazines like this one where, someone said, everyone has the best intentions, but no one really cares about literature. Clearly, the commentators agreed, no one actually reads this stuff, and, if they do, they’re dummies for wasting their one precious life. Call me a dummy, I guess.
To some degree, it’s true. This is the kind of attitude and literary culture that could only take hold after the MFA boom and the internet revolution, when we have more writers, readers, and little magazines than ever before. And, certainly, it can take real effort to find a memorable oasis in the sea of submissions—novice scribbling, well-crafted apprentice work, and the continued output of excellent writers who’ve not yet found mainstream success enough to focus on novels or screenplays or webisodes or whatever else the literati deem deserving of celebration this news cycle.
But to condemn this entire enterprise, as many glib commentators did, because it doesn’t produce enough remarkable content is to both misunderstand the purpose of the endeavor and to expose one’s ignorance of the many gems that have always sparkled in the little magazines.
Small presses, independent publishers, and little magazines like The Headlight Review are (and always have been) the substrate of literary culture. Like the rich loam from which the forest blooms, the little magazines offer what most beginning and even experienced writers will find nowhere else: sympathy, attention, effort, resources, and support. But more importantly, they offer an otherwise unknown freedom from the tyranny of conglomerate taste and the pressure of the profit motive. It is in the little magazines where writers and readers can explore the boundaries of literary form and explode the confines of oppressive community standards; where new authors can refine their style and locate their audience; where the undervalued work of the short story, the translation, and indeed the poem can thrive while the posters scroll by.
As to the quality of the literature published in these venues, I offer this, our most recent issue. With outstanding fiction, excellent poems, vivid new translations, and compelling visual art, this issue represents the culmination of a year spent reading, thinking, editing, and publishing by care undertaken by our exemplary guest editors, Melanie Sumner (fiction) and Gregory Emilio (poetry), and staff, especially Brittany Files, our managing editor, and Antwan Bowen. Thanks this month are also due to our Chapbook Prize judge Valerie Smith, who selected the pieces excerpted in this issue as finalists as well as our winner, Gail Griffin for her chapbook Peripheral Vision. Finally, we owe many plaudits to Zarek Lacsamana who completely redesigned and rebuilt the website over the summer of 2024.
I’m honored to report that the spirit and future of literary magazine publishing is alive and well here at The Headlight Review, and I know after reading this issue you’ll feel compelled to agree. Thanks for reading, writing, and submitting.
This piece was featured in Volume 2, Issue 2. Click here to explore other pieces from this issue.