Prime Number Magazine
is a publication of
Press 53
PO Box 30314,
Winston-Salem NC 27130
ISSN 2160-4207
Welcome to Issue No. 7 of Prime Number:
A Journal of Distinctive Poetry & Prose
Letter from the Editors (or jump to the Table of Contents)
Dear Readers,
First, congratulations to our Poetry Editor, Valerie Nieman, on the publication of her first novel, Blood Clay (Press 53). Way to go, Val!
And now: we’re very excited to present Issue No. 7 of Prime Number Magazine. (In case you’re new to the magazine, this is our fourth issue, since we number in primes: 2, 3, 5, 7 . . .) We thought the last issue was packed with great writing—and it was—but this time we’ve got even more. There are eight short stories ranging from Daniel Meltzer’s very funny “Les Is Mor” to Paul Hetzler’s moving story, “The Matador.” You’ll also find new work by Jessica Hollander, Robert Dart, Dan Moreau, Linda Stewart-Oaten, and Juleigh Howard-Hobson, as well as an excerpt from a novel by Robert Boucheron.
On the poetry front, we’ve got a delightful mix: haiku by Bill Wolak (who also interviews Naoshi Koriyama in this issue), senryu by Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé, and poems by Naomi Benaron, Ruth E. Foley, Emilie Lindemann, and Victor David Sandiego, as well as several poems by Naoshi Koriyama.
Speaking of interviews, we’ve outdone ourselves. Besides Bill Wolak’s interview with Naoshi Koriyama, we have two firsts for the magazine. Novelist and short story writer Chris Gavaler and his wife, the poet Lesley Wheeler, interview each other while they spend the academic year in New Zealand. Also, we have an audio interview of biographer Charles Shields, conducted by Dean King during the James River Writers’ Conference in October 2010. Charles discusses both his best-selling biography of Harper Lee and also his forthcoming biography of Kurt Vonnegut. Listen to the whole thing—both Dean and Charles have great insights on what it means to be a writer.
But wait! There’s more!
In this issue we have fine essays by Stephen J. West and Eric Day as well as three book reviews. To top it all off, we’ve got a fascinating cover photograph by Stephen Millner.
As we said last quarter, it has become increasingly difficult to turn down the wonderful work we are offered. If we have had to decline your work, please try us again! Now that we have four issues for you to look at, you should be getting a better sense of what we like.
A number of readers have asked how they might comment on the work they read in the magazine. We’ll look into adding that feature in the future. In the meantime if you are moved to comment I would encourage you to send us an email (editors@primenumbermagazine.com) and we’ll pass your thoughts along to the contributors. Similarly, if you are a publisher and would like to send us ARCs for us to consider for reviews, please contact us at the above email address. We’re especially interested in reviewing new, recent, or overlooked books from small presses.
Finally, we’ve begun reading submissions for Issue 11, scheduled to launch in July. We’d love to include your work, so please submit! We need short stories, flash fiction and non-fiction, poetry, reviews, interviews, short drama, and cover art. To learn more, visit our submissions page.
One more thing: Prime Number Magazine is published by Press 53, a terrific small press helping to keep literature alive.
The Editors
FICTION
Slow SummerSomething Life-AffirmingThe MatadorA Father's MaskLes Is MorAgrippinaFlamesReflectionPOETRY
DualitiesStudying for the Massage Licensing ExamThings She Wouldn't Tell MeAnomiaLove Poem for a Celery StickWe Heart Our CustomersWeekendLooking for MuwadiKeepersTo climb the neck of MuwadiAn Artist's Apology to his DaughterUnder the Evening Sky of RomeA Poem Just for YouA Morning Songwhen my children and iNine Haikubonism in the finite field of senryuas with the clear sky of senryuas with atomism a pearlescent senryuINTERVIEWS AND REVIEWS
Interview with Naoshi Koriyama, poet and translator
Interview with Chris Gavaler and Lesley Wheeler, authors of School for Tricksters and Heterotopia
Interview with Charles Shields, author of Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee and And So It Goes: Kurt Vonnegut, A Life
Review of The Wilding, by Benjamin PercyReview of Sudden Flash Youth: 65 Short-Short Stories, edited by Christine Perkins-Hazuka, Tom Hazuka, and Mark Budman. Review of Anti-Twitter: 150 50-Word Stories, by Harold Jaffe
7
Issue 7, April-June 2011
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Table of Contents, Prime Number Magazine
Issue 7, April-June 2011
Prime Number Magazine is a publication of Press 53, PO Box 30314, Winston-Salem, NC 27130
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Seven Axles © Stephen Millner
