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STAFF SPOTLIGHT | Anna Stusser

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAMarketing Ninja and Associate Editor Anna Stusser gives some guidelines for writing good fiction (because, really, your muse may be a knock-out, but her beauty in no way necessitates two pages of writing), explains what writing and a chimpanzee have in common, and divulges where the  brilliant and bold go to find amazing literature.

 

Q) How did you learn about/become involved with Eckleburg?

Anna Stusser: While ignoring my required reading (by taking 10 minutes to read something of my own choice), I found Eckleburg. The super long title intrigued me and I started reading its fiction and watching videos in the comedy section. The piece “Emily Applies for a Job“, made me laugh so hard, I almost rolled off my unstable wooden bed from IKEA. Naturally, I have not stopped reading Eckleburg since.

 

Q) What genre do you edit/what role do you have?

AS: I read fiction submissions and give my input for acceptance to their (potential) publication. Ever week is story time for me. I love it.

 

Q) What are you looking for in submissions?

AS: Yes, I know I am not easy to please. Try to use these bullet points as ways to help improve your writing. Of course there are always exceptions to the rules. Also, there are times when there is nothing wrong with the story per se; I just did not love it. Someone else might feel differently. Keep submitting, keep trying.

Here are some points for what I do and do not look for:

  • Clarity of imagery. I would rather read about your Omelet with tomatoes, scallions and mushrooms than a mere “I had eggs for breakfast.” I want see what is happening, not be told. Let the actions of your characters drive your story and let your descriptions paint a clear picture of the surroundings.

  • Write about characters that I cannot get out of my head. People with quirky, well-rounded, realistic and exquisite descriptions.

  • Does the character have a goal and can you convince me to root for him or her?

  • Have you already told me what is going to happen in the first line or paragraph? If so, why should I keep on reading? Lead me though your story, do not give me the resolution right away.

  • Does your use of grammar or paragraph organization enhance or distract from your piece?

  • Have you used the same word or phrase in same paragraph?

  • Like the Literarian’s Dawn Raffle, I am turned off by whining. Unless the complaints of the characters relate to the plot of your story, I would rather not hear it. I prefer stories that are likable, relatable or be disturbed by a snake-bite of poisonous truth. 

  • Are you relying on clichés, stereotypes, or using any bland technique that is about as spicy as a slice of plain white bread?

  • Yes, I know your muse is beautiful, but you do not need to spend 2 full pages telling me that. Not only does it distract from your story line, but it objectifies the person you claim to elevate. Besides, most muses have dreams of their own that have little to do with their physical appearance.

 

Q) What have been one or two of your favorite pieces you have seen in Eckleburg so far?

AS: “Flour Riot” by Jill Birdsall was phenomenal. Every sentence is action packed and has a purpose. Her prose twists and turns and demanded my attention. Her quote “Father, Son–  At the same time, above her head one last barrel heavy with flour rolled over the ledge” was very James Joyce-like. 

Like most sarcastic bastards, I thoroughly enjoy Bukowski time. Every post is a cigarette for my soul, I dare say I look forward to them every week. Click here to read the latest.

 

Q) What are some publications you have/accomplishments you want to share?

AS:

  • My debut publication, “Race, Space and Place” was featured in Brown University’s Bluestockings Magazine

  • Francesca Lia Block once responded to my tweet on Twitter

  • Ich spreche und lese auf Deutsch

  • לייענען אויך אַ ביסל פון ייִדיש

  • Look for an upcoming piece concerning the actions from Dartmouth Lawsuit from me that will be featured in Eckleburg

 

Q) How do you approach writing?

AS: Most of the time, I try to approach writing with the meticulous concentration of a chimpanzee picking off insects crawling on her baby’s back and with the thunder in a lion’s roar. Additionally, I try to follow my own rules that I look for in the submission guides I listed above.

 

Q) In 5 words or less, describe what kind of a journal you think Eckleburg is.

AS: For the brilliant and bold

 

Q) Any other promotion/interesting fact/random tid bit you want to share?

AS: I am reading My Escape by Benoite Groult. For those who are interested in Feminism and French culture, you might enjoy reading while sipping some Merlot in an outdoor café.

 

 

Anna Stusser is a music maker and a dreamer of dreams. At her semi-prestigious liberal arts school in New England, it was confirmed that she lied to a cop in order to sneak back stage and bombard Noam Chomsky. Since then, she has moved down south and prepares to sprinkle her zany madness wherever she will go.

 

 

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STAFF SPOTLIGHT | Vipra Ghimire

Vipra_eckleburgAssistant Nonfiction Editor Vipra Ghimire discusses the Eckleburg family, what she is looking for in submissions, and how her writing practice is a psychological salvation.

 

Q) How did you learn about/become involved with Eckleburg?

Vipra Ghimire: I took a class with Rae Bryant (Editor-in-Chief of Eckleburg) my first semester in the MA in Writing Program at the Johns Hopkins University. I wanted to take her class, because it promised to teach me everything I ever wanted to know about literary magazines and writing. And, the class was AWESOME. Rae exposed us to a variety of magazines – traditional and avant-garde – as well as various styles of writing. The class met primarily online, but the set up of this course lent itself to creativity and personal development. I vividly remember mentioning to Rae that I was hesitant about the style I’d chosen for a piece I’d written for her class. She said something like: go with it until you decide if it’s for you or not…maybe something great will come of it. Man. What a great teacher. I knew that I would want to help her if I could.

 

Q) What genre do you edit/what role do you have?

VG: I work with a gifted writer and editor: Chelsey Clammer. I’ve only worked with her for a few months, and she’s already taught me so much about good writing and editing. In many ways, Chelsey and Rae are similar in their approach to writing and mentoring: they are open to creativity as long as the writing is damn good. I do the best I can to help Chelsey work with various non-fiction pieces, including reading the submissions that come in.

 

Q) What are you looking for in submissions?

VG: I am looking for pieces that reveal something brutally honest about the soul of the writer, and timelessness about the story. I read every submission I come across at least twice to make sure that I really like it or don’t. I am a sucker for a good story, though. If it’s written well – no clichés, has a voice that’s grounded and can stand the test of various days of reading – then, I’m hooked.

 

Q) What have been one or two of your favorite pieces you have seen in Eckleburg so far?

VG: I love them all – from the interviews with the artists to pieces about teaching those who prefer to cheat. Really. I’m not withholding.

 

Q) What are some publications you have/accomplishments you want to share?

VG: My background is in public health. I’ve had a few publications in my discipline. My accomplishments are many, but I’m not one to talk about them. I’m most happy when I’m helping folks.

 

Q) How do you approach writing?

VG: Writing is my psychological salvation. Sometimes, this means that I don’t yell at folks. Other times, it means that it sustains my happiness.

When I sit down to write, I’ve got to be excited about my topic and must have spent a few days (or weeks) thinking about the subject of my piece. It took me two weeks to answer these interview questions: I had to think about the writing, not the questions. It’s strange, I know. Writing doesn’t come easily, and when it does, I quickly become paranoid that the words will be too simple and lame.

 

Q) In 5 words or less, describe what kind of a journal you think Eckleburg is.

VG: Politically charged and literary honest

 

Q) Any other promotion/interesting fact/random tid bit you want to share?

VG: I laugh easily. I love That 70s Show. And, I’m a total goofball.

 

Vipra Ghimire is a student at the Johns Hopkins University’s MA in Writing Program. She has an MPH, and her interests in writing and health care range from felines to tuberculosis. Originally from Kathmandu, Nepal, she’s lived in the US since 1980. Her passion is literature, feminism, animal rights, politics, music, and art. The vast world sometimes frightens her. However, she laughs easily and has been known to say and do many nonsensical things.

 

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STAFF SPOTLIGHT | Rae Bryant, Editor-In-Chief

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Rae Bryant, the creator of, the Editor-In-Chief of, and the mastermind behind The Doctor T.J. Eckleburg Review shares the journal’s history, what she’s looking for in submissions, and how to approach writing like the tip-toeing Elmer Fudd.

Q: How did you learn about/become involved with Eckleburg?

Rae Bryant: Eckleburg started as Moon Milk Review in 2010. I’d been working as an assistant editor with a few other journals and after a time felt I had acquired enough skill to start my own. It began very small, just me and my computer. I never thought it would become what it is, today. In fact, one of my primary business strategies has been small steps in an effort to retain sustainability. I’ve seen so many fantastic journals headed by thoroughly talented and motivated people shut down due to what has appeared to me a result of taking on too much too soon. Burn out.

I thought of the title, Moon Milk Review, while taking “Experimental Fiction” at Hopkins. Richard Peabody had assigned “The Distance of the Moon” by Italo Calvino to us and the rest just fell out from there. When the Hopkins M. A. in Writing program decided to house MMR, I liked the idea of adopting a title for the journal that reflected our location. The Great Gatsby had always been one of my modernist favorites, particularly the Eckleburg glasses section, because it seemed so strange and gritty and surreal in this very real NY decadence, so it stuck.

Q: What genre do you edit/what role do you have?

RB: Heh. I wear many hats.

Q: What are you looking for in submissions?

RB: Raw truth.

Q: What have been one or two of your favorite pieces you have seen in Eckleburg so far?

RB: I can’t answer this. I adore them all. I play on the front page of Eckleburg and click the music clips, view the art, read the excerpted stories, essays and poetry. A tapestry of Punk and more traditional voices. I love it. We’re very lucky to have the contributors we have.

Q: What are some publications you have/accomplishments you want to share?

RB: I’ve recently completed a novel manuscript titled MARROW. The manuscript is with my agent right now. Fingers crossed. It’s difficult to discuss in concept, but I guess you could say it’s the story of twisted events in a twisted life. Woman meets herself in a dark alley sort of thing or a ‘you’d be crying if you weren’t laughing’ and ‘you’d be laughing if you weren’t crying’ and ‘you would probably be sitting in tweed and quiet reflection if you weren’t wearing a Sid Vicious meets Virginia Woolf T-shirt, punching the air, saying fuck yeah, I know how that shit feels’ kind of read. I like wry, dark, humor mixed with socio-political that is relatable and pushes into otherworldly inner-spaces. Excerpted stories and related essays can be found at McSweeney’s, The Paris Review, and Missouri Review, Gargoyle Magazine and other journals. 

Q: How do you approach writing?

RB: Tiptoeing, sort of like Elmer Fudd with a shotgun and a really weird laugh. Sometimes, a blowtorch.

Q: In 5 words or less, describe what kind of a journal you think Eckleburg is.

The quirky Everyjournal. Punk Nouveau.

Q: Any other promotion/interesting fact/random tid bit you want to share?

RB: I’m very excited to have a short story coming in Sunday Salon Magazine and to be participating in the Writing on It All project on Governor’s Island in NY this summer. This project is an intermedia project directed by Alexandra Chasin (The New School, Brief, Kissed By) and includes writers and artists from all over the country. We published work by Alex at Eckleburg and are always astounded with her intermedia and innovative projects. I’ll also be exhibiting a portion of this work at our Rue de Fleurus Salon & Reading Series this June 27th at the Johns Hopkins campus off Dupont Circle in DC, featuring Rick Moody as our reader. This event is open to the public and begins at 7:30 pm. We will be running a Rue de Fleurus event each semester with a plan to circulate between DC, Baltimore and NY. When Hopkins goes back to Florence, we will plan to hold a Rue there, too. The first event was kind of covert and wonderful and spectacular, a few writing and poetic friends collaboratively gathered at Brazenhead Bookstore in Manhattan. A very hush hush and small affair with whiskey and wine. Those with an aficion for worn and lovely books and spectacular art and good friends will understand how deeply in love we are with Brazenhead and how committed we are to creating a salon and gathering point that bridges this Atlantic corridor of cities so often isolated and isolating for writers. I’ve been fortunate to find good friends across the country, spend time with them in person, as well as online. I want to offer this to Eckleburg readers and contributors, too. The next event will be in Baltimore on the Homewood Campus. We are also running our second annual Gertrude Stein Award in Fiction 2014 guest-judged by Cris Mazza. First prize $1000. Our annual Eckleburg No. 18 is NOW on the bookshelves and we are beginning our brand new Workshop Series including an Essays Workshop with Chelsey Clammer and an upcoming workshop titled “How to Suck Less When Writing about Women.”

 

Rae Bryant’s short story collection, The Indefinite State of Imaginary Morals, released fromPatasola Press, NY, in June 2011. Her stories and essays have appeared in The Paris Review,The Missouri Review, StoryQuarterly, McSweeney’s, Huffington Post, BLIP Magazine, Gargoyle Magazine, and Redivider, among other publications and have been nominated for thePen/Hemingway, Pen Emerging Writers, and Pushcart awards. She has won awards in fiction from Whidbey Writers and Johns Hopkins as well as fellowships from the VCCA and Hopkins to write, study and teach in Florence, Italy. She earned a Masters in Writing from Hopkins where she continues to teach creative writing and is editor in chief of the university-housed literary and arts journal, The Doctor T. J. Eckleburg Review. She has also taught in the International Writing Program at The University of Iowa. She is represented by Jennifer Carlson with Dunow, Carlson & Lerner Literary Agency.