Beyond the writing I have done here at The Hot Iron I have also explored more creative and expressive forms of writing. Don’t get me wrong, what I wrote about registering domain names for your children took a unique approach, but it’s not certainly something to curl up and read in bed.

With this in mind, I attended last year’s Printers Row Lit Fest in Chicago with a different lens and steps than previous times. Not only was this quest more fulfilling, but I spent most of the day there as well.

One of the first stops I made was at the table of December magazine, a biannual literary journal. The non-profit magazine has its roots in the Windy City but now hails from St. Louis. I was intrigued as this publication presents works from a variety of authors, some being their first published work. I subscribed on the spot – a mere $20 for a year – and got the current issue as a bonus. Later that day I tore into it, reading it cover to cover, all the while thinking, “hmmm.”

When the latest issue, volume 27.2, arrived, I was now 3 issues relatively new world of poetry and short stories, and as you may have already guessed I have some takeaways from reading this edition and the others of December magazine.

Poetry is more than what I was taught in school – First I have to say when I say “school” I stop at high school, as my college experience had me mostly in the computer lab. I was taught poetry was about structure and rhyming. So as I grew up, if it didn’t have a set structure or rhyme, it wasn’t a poem. Granted much of the lyrics of the songs I grew up listening to didn’t always rhyme either, but I must have been too busy singing and moshing to them to notice.

The drama is in the details – The greatest thing I have enjoyed of the many short stories I have read has been how details of whatever story is being told, from gripping to mundane, come alive as the details are being revealed. It’s like peeling layers of the onion to reveal more connection to the story. That zoom in on the details, or lack thereof, can make or break a story.

I can do this – Enough said there… I’ll stop this takeaway, wrap up and get back to an idea for a short story that has been simmering in my head.

Upon further perusing the Lit Fest that day I found many, many other periodicals similar to December magazine. Rather than collect them all, I stuck with one, one I just renewed for another year of unique reading and inspiration.

As I give away books as I read them, I did the same for this issue of December magazine. Rather than directly giving it to someone, I simply left it on a Chicago CTA Red Line subway car one morning. I only hope the person who happened upon it enjoyed it as much as I did.

Do you read any literary journals? Perhaps December magazine? I welcome your thoughts in the comments of this post.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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Book Take-Aways • Strategize • (2) Comments • Permalink