Lit Mag Lunch

I Like Lit Mags. I Like Lunch. Dispatches from the Table/ Library of Patricia Colleen Murphy.

[litmaglunch]

Crazyhorse Number 97 with Veggie Chop

We all have favorites, and Crazyhorse has been one of mine for ages. Just look at those leaders: Anthony Varallo in Fiction, Bret Lott in Nonfiction, and Emily Rosko in Poetry. What a dream team! Number 97 does not disappoint. I read the sneak previews on the web, including “Algebra” by Marilyn Abildskov. Such a powerful statement about the early ways women suffer bad men. I enjoyed the line, “The bees inside her honeycomb head work hard to write it all down.”

I also loved seeing more work from Kasey Jueds, who we feature in Issue 25 of Superstition Review. I liked the lines, “River like a steeple intent on its elsewhere, river giving its name to the dead-end road, dividing what we thought we knew from what we never could.” 

Veggie Chop

I have been reading a lot of books about climate change, including Jonathan Safran Foer’s We Are the Weather, where he advocates eating vegan until dinner. I have been through a wide range of eating styles in my nearly 50 years, including many long vegan stints. I like this moderate approach so I am going to try it out this summer. Here you see a veggie chop with romaine, mushrooms, orange bell pepper, and chick peas. It was super yum!

[litmaglunch]

Kale Salad with Salmon and Crackers and Copper Nickel 26. Instead of eliminating foods, I have a list of 16 foods I should be eating more often. High on that list is salmon and kale. So here is a delicious low inflammation salad that makes me very happy for lunch. 

I am being honest here--this took me several lunches! What a delicious and expansive issue. It really looks to me like the poetry is solicited? I mean, do they really get all those all-stars sending all those poems with no prompting? Kevin Prufer’s poem is heartbreaking to say the least. So tender. What a great title by Rosebud Ben-One “Bang a Gong Get It On.” 

And the fiction in this issue is so tight. I have some editorial jealousy right now. 

[litmaglunch]

Salmon Panang and Pank 13. 

I plead guilty to eating Panang all the time in all the ways. I order it from a local restaurant and make it last for four meals by adding veggies and protein. Here I have added some delicious salmon. You will see Panang again here. 

Okay Pank Magazine! That curation made me feel really old. So much going on that felt hip, hippier, and dippier. First, I love the cover image by Mark Dennis. Oil on Linen? Wow! I love paintings that trick me into thinking they are photographs. There is a lot of work in this issue that I don’t understand. It was interesting, too, that Ananda Lima, I was looking forward to reading her here since I’m a fan. It felt like her poem stuck out for its narrative qualities. Much of the work here is shout-y while her poem was quiet.

[litmaglunch]

Egg Pie and Puerto del Sol Spring 2018. Oh how I love making these egg pies ahead of time. I make them in a muffin tin and add lots of veggies, cheese, and an egg. It’s not quite enough calories for a full meal so here I added crackers and grilled chicken breast. Yum. Oh my goodness what a gorgeous and epic issue. With almost 50 contributors and several book reviews, there is a lot to chew on here. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the crocheted birds by Laurel Roth Hope. Really wonderful poems especially “Sex Ed” by Lauren Yarnell. Ander Monson has some fun with elves. And I’m so happy to read the book review of Rocket Fantastic--I’m adding it to my to-read list. 

[litmaglunch]

Yogurt, Fruit, & Gran Bento and Fence Summer 2017.

Well that’s embarrassing! Please excuse my banana. I did not intend to augment the cover. This is more a snack than a lunch, but I’m posting it here because it’s what I ate. It’s a lovely and delicious treat.

I always forget they do a reading list instead of a bio. I like that. Copper Nickel does that too. I enjoyed reading them through though it makes me want to go shopping! There is a lot of work in this issue. That’s good. I especially liked the writing of Rusty Morrison.  

[litmaglunch]

Thai Delight and Field Spring 2018

We have happily discovered Uber Eats, and have used it quite often on a Friday night to get some delicious Thai food delivered straight to our door. This is about the fourth meal I got out of the delivery, so it is well worth the effort. I eat it without rice and with extra steamed veggies. Well Field, you’ve done it again here. There are so many moments in this issue that make me love poetry all over again. Starting with the great Lee Upton, and her wonderful, “Why am I Not Invited to Your Party,” and “The Sunflower,” to my hero and idol Bob Hicok’s poems with lines like “why punch the world in the face/when that’s a very big face.” Such a refreshing read. I needed it today!

[litmaglunch]

Cracker Bento and Raleigh Review Fall 2018.

I have been getting so busy these days that I purchased a bunch of these Bento Boxes and I spend about an hour each Sunday setting up my meals for the week. It makes a huge difference and it is so easy! These are all Trader Joe’s goodies: delicious crackers, grilled chicken, and kale salad. It really works!

I so enjoyed reading this issue of Raleigh Review, especially since it is my first one! The paintings by Chris Kappmeier are nice--they translate well here even though they are not done on glossy paper. I always love reading poems by Chelsea Dingman, and I am happy she is publishing actively.

[litmaglunch]

Literally Pizza and Superstition Review 21

Okay this is what I will call a “Hail Mary” meal. We have been so busy lately that sometimes we literally order a pizza. I like mushrooms and onions. How about you? I am biased, of course, about Superstition Review since I founded it in 2008 and have been going strong for 11 years. This issue has 60 contributors from all over the globe. I have gotten a lot of great feedback about the work by Tara Isabel Zambrano and Todd Dillard. But you should read the whole issue and decide for yourself!

[litmaglunch]

Mediterranean Chickpea Orzo and Third Coast Spring 2017. 

I’m trying something new. A neighbor of mine gifted me a week of meals from Hello Fresh. I continued with the service for a few more weeks because I was really busy at work. Once I had cooked 12 of their meals I got the gist, and I’ve been using their recipes but doing my own shopping. This is fun because I can change some things on the fly. For instance, here I added lots of low calorie veggies and decreased the amount of pasta to bring this dish in around 400 calories. I also pan-fried the chickpeas instead of baking them since it’s too hot to turn on the oven. I’ll continue to provide links to the recipes as I move forward with Lit Mag Lunches.

I’m returning to Third Coast, this time with the Spring 2017 issue. I really liked “The Zomergem Lights” by Jill Maio, especially the line, “She was a full foot shorter than he was, tiny and complete like a new kind of bird.”

[litmaglunch]

Avocado Toast and The Florida Review 42.1 I tried to make this old standby look a little different by putting the avocado on top of the eggs. But let’s face it. Here is a piece of bread, two eggs, avocado, and grape tomatoes. This is one of the easiest ways for me to get my lunch on.

I’m excited to be reviewing The Florida Review for the first time. Hard to believe I have not gotten to it before. Oh my goodness these Mark Jarman poems. How have I not read his work in a little while? Time to go back to his books. I’m also so thrilled to see work here by my ASU colleague David Moody. Loved his poem “Decoy.” Especially, “If my body isn’t fruit to be planted, why the seeds?”

[litmaglunch]

Cubano and Strawberries and Gigantic Sequins 8.1 This Cubano is so easy to make I have been making it a lot. I’m using lots of nice tasty mustard, flat-cut pickles, swiss and black forest ham. I have the most amazing panini press. Just look at those grill marks! I am such a big fan of Gigantic Sequins. For my money they are doing it right. This is an independent mag with a great format that is giving space to innovative and interesting writers. I loved the story by Maria Isabel Alvarez. 

[litmaglunch]

Open-Faced Tacos and Clackamas Literary Review 20th Anniversary Issue Yes, it’s true. You keep seeing tacos for lunch. Am I in a rut? I must argue no. Tacos are perfect. I made these open-faced so that no one accuses me of over-stuffing.  I am so honored to have a poem in the 20th Anniversary Issue of Clackamas Literary Review! They published one of my poems back in 2005, and invited me to submit again. They also were so kind to interview me about my book. So this issue is really wonderful, and what a great accomplishment to go for 20 years! I have done 10 years of Superstition Review and I know how much work goes into it. I love the interview with Tim Schell and Jeff Knorr, as it gives some great insight into how the magazine was formed.

[litmaglunch]

Spags, Tomatoes, Mushrooms and The Greensboro Review Number 101 Do you ever crave a steaming heap of noodles? Okay fine do you ever not crave a steaming heap of noodles? I could pretty much eat them morning noon and night. I did a big hard hike this morning so I earned my spags. I lightened it up with some tomatoes and mushrooms. 

So happy to see another great issue of The Greensboro Review. I really enjoyed "Angelus" by Allison Adair, especially the line, “I was a yellow stamen.”

[litmaglunch]

Taco Bowl and Black Warrior Review 43.2 I’m on a low-inflammation diet due to a knee injury, and so I start this with a base of hearty LI foods--kale, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and cabbage. You can’t see it, I know, but do trust me it’s there. Then I break up a soft taco shell, and on top of that goes onion, tomato, black olives and spicy Hatch chili salsa.  Another great issue of BWR! I really enjoyed all the prose here and there is a lot! We get the prize winners, and more. This issue comes in at over 240 pages! I really enjoyed the innovative forms, as in Alexander Pine’s essay “Monster Glossary” and HR Webster’s “BRCA1/BRCA2.”

[litmaglunch]

Beef and Feta Orzo Salad and Nimrod Fall/Winter 2017 This was delicious and easy to make. The secret to making it so tasty is to add mint. It also has roasted chickpeas for a little extra crunch. Nimrod is well known for its contests, which they do a great job publicizing. It’s nice to see the winners and notables in this issue. Mark Wagenaar seems to be winning every contest there is, and good for him. I also enjoyed reading the work by Rebecca Morgan Frank. In Kara Jackson’s work I loved the line, “Jesus be an undeniable body of carbon.”

[litmaglunch]

Avocado Toast and Sycamore Review 29.1 You’re going to see this one a lot. I should probably google “Avocado Toast” so I can get some more hipster variations on this. Mine is super simple: toast, avocado, 2 eggs, tomato.  I always chuckle when I get subs to Superstition Review that are addressed to Sycamore Review. I get it! I do. Everyone works the list. This issue is really wonderful, and I love the cover so much! And I have been enjoying the square format of the magazine these past years. This is a slim issue at just over 100 pages, but it packs a punch. I really enjoyed reading the Wabash Prize winners. And I love the conversation with Tarfia Faizullah and Jamaal May. 

[litmaglunch]

Shrimp Curry and Copper Nickel 25 Sometimes I order a delicious curry from a local restaurant, and I add so much veg to it that I can eat it for 4 days. But I wanted a solution that saved me a stop, so I found a Red Thai Curry sauce at Trader Joe’s. Here it is with shrimp, onion, mushroom, red pepper, and broccoli. Super delicious and easy.  Copper Nickel is a favorite of mine, and this is a particularly interesting issue. I love the quotes on the back! What a great idea. I might steal something like that, even though we don’t really have a back cover at Superstition Review. Another feature I loved (and I loved this when I was contributor too) is there “Required Reading” feature where each contributor lists 3 things they are reading. I think it’s brilliant to share that information, and helpful!

I was also impressed that they include translations. Not all journals do.

The line-up of poets here is a literal who’s who. I see names of so many friends and SR Alums. I really liked “March 31st and the frogs” by Ellen Dore Watson.