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swinsword's review
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Wonderful poetry and art. Some stories were misses but most were hits
margaret_adams's review
Wow, Paper Darts Volume Seven really knocked it out of the park. This was my first time reading Paper Darts, and it’s a gorgeous literary magazine. The art was beautiful, the formatting was really interesting, and the work was GOOD. One of the choices the they made was to have one or two large blocks of text for each story, like a pull-quote, only instead of pulling from the story, they just enlarged a few lines of text within the story. I really liked the effect of that decision. I also loved the art by Laura Callaghan, Meghan Murphy, and Greta Koltz.
I ordered Paper Darts Volume Seven because I knew Margaret Malone’s phenomenal story “The Instruction” was in this issue (I’d heard the story read at WTAW PDX) and that was reason enough. But guys, the whole issue. Right out of the park. You can still order a copy online here and I really recommend that you do.
Some favorites:
“What to Expect When You’re Becoming a Chimera” by Rebecca Saltzman (“The first symptoms will be fire breathing.”)
“The Instruction” by Margaret Malone (“There is not much to say about the building. Two stories. Shaped like an L. Siding painted Atlantic Ocean gray and each identical apartment door painted a dour winter blue. I was eighteen. He was twenty-four. We held hands. We were in the kind of love people only are when they just don’t know any better.”)
“The Briefest Recess” by Dessa (“Despite good-faith efforts of both parties (Elliot Jackson and Misha Jackson), the Agreement of Legal Separation made on January 3rd of this year has proven non-viable. By mutual covenant, it is hereby dissolved.”)
“Basil” by Erini Katopodis (“When I lived in the swamplands, rowing from one place to the next, I met the devil.”)
“The Possible Causes of Your Suffering” by Mercedes Lucero (“Your mother. Your father. Mostly your mother. The fish that was only supposed to live in saltwater. The new goldfish that had baby goldfish and then ate them.”)
“Inhalants” by Blaire Hurley (“The autopsy report showed the dime-sized, mossy patches of tar from three and a half furtive, nauseated years of smoking and pretending to like it in front of a college boyfriend.”)
“Headlines, Teasers & Ads from Media in a Parallel World Where We Live under Oppressive Matriarchy Instead of Oppressive Patriarchy” by Harmony Neal (“Get the Help You Need. Are you or your loved one suffering from nervous disorders? Mother Wombhaven’s Center for Nervous Men can help. We help men get back to their families faster so they can again take pride in fatherhood!”)
“My Noise Will Keep the Record” by Julian K. Jarboe (“Most of this city is not for me, and would rather I not visit or approach, even the building I work in. I discern this without a single word of law or custom, although I press my employee badge to the fob reader and am permitted inside.”)
I ordered Paper Darts Volume Seven because I knew Margaret Malone’s phenomenal story “The Instruction” was in this issue (I’d heard the story read at WTAW PDX) and that was reason enough. But guys, the whole issue. Right out of the park. You can still order a copy online here and I really recommend that you do.
Some favorites:
“What to Expect When You’re Becoming a Chimera” by Rebecca Saltzman (“The first symptoms will be fire breathing.”)
“The Instruction” by Margaret Malone (“There is not much to say about the building. Two stories. Shaped like an L. Siding painted Atlantic Ocean gray and each identical apartment door painted a dour winter blue. I was eighteen. He was twenty-four. We held hands. We were in the kind of love people only are when they just don’t know any better.”)
“The Briefest Recess” by Dessa (“Despite good-faith efforts of both parties (Elliot Jackson and Misha Jackson), the Agreement of Legal Separation made on January 3rd of this year has proven non-viable. By mutual covenant, it is hereby dissolved.”)
“Basil” by Erini Katopodis (“When I lived in the swamplands, rowing from one place to the next, I met the devil.”)
“The Possible Causes of Your Suffering” by Mercedes Lucero (“Your mother. Your father. Mostly your mother. The fish that was only supposed to live in saltwater. The new goldfish that had baby goldfish and then ate them.”)
“Inhalants” by Blaire Hurley (“The autopsy report showed the dime-sized, mossy patches of tar from three and a half furtive, nauseated years of smoking and pretending to like it in front of a college boyfriend.”)
“Headlines, Teasers & Ads from Media in a Parallel World Where We Live under Oppressive Matriarchy Instead of Oppressive Patriarchy” by Harmony Neal (“Get the Help You Need. Are you or your loved one suffering from nervous disorders? Mother Wombhaven’s Center for Nervous Men can help. We help men get back to their families faster so they can again take pride in fatherhood!”)
“My Noise Will Keep the Record” by Julian K. Jarboe (“Most of this city is not for me, and would rather I not visit or approach, even the building I work in. I discern this without a single word of law or custom, although I press my employee badge to the fob reader and am permitted inside.”)
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