CHICAGO, IL — The world’s writers of literary prose and poetry have realized that too many books out there already saturate the market and that continued production is no longer justifiable. Instead of continuing to pen the best writing they can, they have decided to give it up.
Inner Voice has issued an official press release: “I’ve been telling them this for years. I’d literally nag at them: Who cares what you have to say? Nobody reads books anymore, let alone damned journals. Plus, you are just not that good, just think of all the rejections you’ve received. I am proud to say they finally saw the light. I fully endorse their collective decision.”
Our sister news agencies internationally have confirmed that the phenomenon is global and without exception. Instead of thinking about writing, procrastinating, and then finally typing away guiltily, all literary writers and poets woke up yesterday morning feeling completely liberated from their destructive old compulsions.
They have already begun repairing their personal and professional relationships. It is expected that they will soon take control of their finances and become productive members of the society, as well as get proper treatment for their allergies. All the online and literary journals have consequently decided to fold.
Stay tuned for further developments.
Raise your hand if you also secretly expect that this fake news will become reality any minute now.
We just wanted to let you know that you are not alone, and that it’s okay.
The real news is that Volume 5 of Packingtown Review is here, tuto completo: lyric narrative poetry, experimental poetry, fiction, nonfiction, hybrid pieces, audio, and even music, from experienced hands like David Starkey to the absolute beginner Elisabeth Arlen, whose poem in this issue is the first one she’s ever written. Journals like ours bring together writing that would otherwise never appear together publicly. Yet, once we sequence the pieces according to the inner logic of their images and ideas, they seem like they came into being during a special session of some clandestine writing workshop that goes simply by the name: Zeitgeist.
The art we showcase is all Chicago, and all monochromatic, as strange and evocative as the writing we present.
Welcome to Packingtown, best experienced as it gets hot outside.
Snezana Zabic
with Heather Brown, Cynthia Cravens, Dubravka Juraga, Tasha Marren, Todd Marren, and Roxanne Pilat
