Dear Reader,
Last month, as quietly as we could, we changed the design of thecollagist.com. Perhaps you've already noticed, though our hope is you haven't. Our aims were simple: simplicity above all, continuity, and respect for the work we've chosen to publish. Respect also for you, reader.
There is, we think, a reason librarians shush us when we forget where we are, a reason that books, unlike newspapers, don't typically split their pages between text and advertisement, a reason, finally, that Facebook looks the way it does and The Collagist looks the way it does. Literature, in our opinion, rarely loves a party. We don't mean literature isn't something to celebrate—far from it. It doesn't, however, benefit much from our distraction.
In making a few design changes, then, we've tried to further focus what was already, in our opinions, pretty focused. The Collagist has always tried to present the work it publishes in the most readable form possible, so if things don't look all that different to you, we say, "Great!" We assume you've come here to read the work of our tremendously talented contributors and not to marvel at our design prowess.
And speaking of the work of our tremendously talented contributors, there is, in this issue, a great deal worthy of your undivided attention, from the surprise of language and genre bent in pursuit of beauty to tragedies both ordinary and extraordinary, murder most foul, and the promise of new beginnings. You may have noticed that this issue is substantially larger than previous issues have been—rather than four stories, poems, and reviews, there are six, and instead of a single essay, there are two. Don't fret! The time between issues has increased, too, so you'll plenty of time to read through it all before Issue 89 drops in February. We think you'll want to.
Until 2017,
Gabriel Blackwell