"art as the one hex we have against the predigested pulp of public discourse"

says sven birkerts in his characteristically insightful way as he argues we need the "little magazines," that publish the bulk of short fiction, now more than ever...

excerpt:

"Existing somewhere between the ephemerality of the newspaper and magazine (and online zine -- another subject altogether) and the four-square permanence of the book, little magazines are well positioned to broker between topical and long-range perspectives. They are fluid and open in their relation to trends, even as the best of them can achieve a certain memorable -- perhaps even striking -- capture of energies. And because they are not essentially playing the for-profit game, they can hew just a bit closer to their own self-originated standards. They represent literature and opinion in repertory, talents en route, freeze-framed; they are a staking of bets on artists and artistic tendencies by editors who dream of eventual vindication."

READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE