Japan might have been big news over the weekend, but now it’s time to fill out the brackets for March Madness. Let’s be honest: we all know which event has a longer life span. A nuclear reactor might contaminate Japan with radioactive waste for decades, but winning your office pool is forever.
You might think that literary journals have nothing to do with March Madness, and you would be absolutely correct. But on occasion, when I do not have a team which is dear to my heart, I cheer for the university with the better literary journal.
I am aware that this is ridiculously geeky.
Still, in the noble effort to bridge between literature and sport, what follows is a Literary Guide to March Madness. Don’t fool yourself: your hours of research and my completely unrelated associations probably have an equal chance of selecting the winning team.
Bucknell vs Connecticut
Bucknell has the veritable West Branch. It’s prestigious. It’s old (est. 1977, which is geriatric in lit journal years). It demands respect.
UConn? Sadly, UConn does not have a literary journal. Connecticut State has Connecticut Review, but UConn is bereft of literary publishing creed.
Easy choice: Bucknell.
Michigan State vs UCLA
UCLA has its Extension program, which offers a number of fiction courses, so props there, but the only journal is Westwind. Westwind only publishes UCLA students and staff. Inbred literary journals count negatively.
Michigan State, however, offers Fourth Genre. Fourth Genre is a hip and clever way to refer to nonfiction. The essays in the journal frequently land in Best American Essay collections. So what if the website is only step away from the minimalism of McSweeney’s? It still scores big time.
With barely any hesitation: Michigan State
Indiana vs Syracuse
Syracuse sports Salt Hill Journal. This is a beautiful journal. It’s binding is made from equal parts love and the tears of hipsters. It’s the type of journal that isn’t mainstream but is cooler because it isn’t mainstream. It’s the type of journal you brag about being in and if people don’t recognize the name, that’s because they’re on the outside, man.
Indiana has Indiana Review. Indiana Review is not to be trifled with. You do not write off Indiana Review lightly on your brackets. They are big. They are the type of big that impresses other writers. Mainly because all those writers were rejected by Indiana Review, according to Duotrope.
Slightly Influenced by the 14 to 3 Rankings: Syracuse
Belmont vs Wisconsin
Wisconsin has two literary journals. Devil’s Lake and The Madison Review. Unfortunately, I’ve heard of neither of them. BUT — Madison does sport Charles Baxter, who just released Gryphon
Belmont who?
No. And no literary journal either.
Also, UCLA wants its mascot back.
Hands Down No Question Even Though Its Literary Journals Aren’t Amazing: Wisconsin
San Diego State vs Northern Colorado
San Diego State has Pacific Review. It’s only annual, which means it’s worth half of a normal bi-annual literary journal. I’ve seen better.
C’mon Northern Colorado. This was a gimme. You could have walked all over San Diego. Especially since they only have four players, according to this team shot. But guess what? The prestigious Colorado Review is published by your in-state rival Colorado State. So this is what you get for not supporting the arts: a big thumbs down from the literary folk.
With Regret: San Diego State
Kansas vs Boston University
Boston University publishes AGNI. AGNI might be the biggest powerhouse journal mentioned on this post. We’re talking Jhumpa Lahiri, Ha Jin and Seamus Heaney. Virtually unbeatable.
The University of Kansas, on the other hand, barely scrapes in with a submission: Cottonwood. The website looks rudimentary. The information is barely posted. Sure, it might have been around since 1965, but longevity is certainly no guarantee of quality. There’s also Coal City Review, but that’s not really helping that much. Kansas looks like it’s going down in flames.
The Official Winner: Kansas.
Why? Just because I read literature doesn’t mean I’m crazy.
One thought on “A Literary Guide to March Madness”
This is amazing. It’s wonderful. Not only are you making literary magazines relevant, you’re making them COMPETITIVE. Let the games begin!
If you’d like to pit lit mag review sites against each other, too, you could pit The Review Review (https://www.TheReviewReview.net) against new pages (https://www.Newpages.com.) I edit The Review Review, and I’m pretty sure we’d lose. But, what the hell. A game is a game.
Cheers,
Becky