Is Pushcart Pushing Out Online Publications?

Graphic courtesy of Perpetual Folly

With every new year comes a new edition of the Pushcart Prize and with it, the names of publications and pieces lucky enough to grace its pages. Known for compiling submissions from small presses all over the world, Pushcart has created a high standard of quality that authors and literary magazines alike hope to achieve. Perpetual Folly has released a ranking of Fiction, Non-Fiction, and Poetry submissions published in the Pushcart by each literary publication for 2012.

While some notable names like Tin House, Poetry, and Ploughshares grace the top spots, some new faces have also joined the ranks. The rankings are a great way to discover new publications and revisit some familiar magazines. You can also see rankings from 2010, 2009, and 2008.

The Pushcart Prize, known for its prestigious spot on the small press altar, has come under recent criticism for its narrowed scope. Pushcart editor Bill Henderson wrote in his introduction: “I have long railed against the e-book and instant Internet publication as damaging to writers. Instant anything is dangerous – great writing takes time. You should long to be as good as John Milton and Reynolds Price, not just barf into the electronic void.” There’s an excellent article about this comment in Luna Park, but we’d like to add our thoughts as well..

Publishing has come a long way since the days of stone tablets. Digital media has become a rapidly evolving field that is changing the way we consume literature. While some literary magazines have already converted to online platforms, other notable publications stand by their steadfast printers and traditional paper mediums.

The Pushcart’s bias against online publishing is apparent: only one submission from an online publication was printed in the 2012 Pushcart anthology. Pushcart had long been known for incorporating the best of the best small presses, but if it continues to disregard online publications, it will no longer be representative of small press publishing.

While not all online magazines uphold the same rigorous editing procedures of their print counterparts, many maintain traditional practices of print journals, with the only change being that they are free and immediately accessible.

We can understand Henderson’s argument to some degree. Online publishing, after all, is a double-edged sword. Often, editing is sacrificed in the name of immediate publication. An author can write a sentence and hit submit without a second thought. It can lack the craft and artistic value that many unplugged authors have spent years honing. However, online publication also opens doors to high-quality work. Connecting in a digital environment increases accessibility,  eliminates physical printing constraints, and fosters collaboration and community. We have to ask ourselves, how long will Pushcart continue to ignore the growing field of online lit mags?

Communications and Ruminations

First off, I want to thank our new cast of commenters for coming. I hope you keep reading, and feel impressed or intrigued enough with the goings on of our magazine to get this link our to your friends and loved ones. Feel free to keep leaving us comments here at the Superstition Review Blog, and help us build both a digital and geographical literary community.

(If you have any insight, suggestions, concerns or questions, please leave a message!) 842078_greek_helmet_1

It is the natural means of humanity to connect to the masses in the method of words–the written and spoken words have both served as the gatekeepers to society. It seems as if the rubric of culture is that civilization truly exists once a verbal history has developed. The translation back and forth between spoken and script tradition is how humanity has obtained much of its heritage and history. For example, this is observed in the philosophies of Plato as transcribed by Socrates, and the epic origin poetry of Homer as spread through oral storytelling.

Therefore, it is with great honor and contemplation that we here at Superstition Review invite you to share on this tradition at our side. We have an upcoming reading on Monday, November 17th. This reading circles back to our local Arizona State University community by featuring undergraduate ASU Creative Writing students. If you are a student at ASU and interested in reading, please contact us to see if spots are available. As always, we hope to see you there, and more information is forthcoming.

Finally, keeping in mind the important of written-to-oral-and-back again communication in this culture, consider it an act of service and reverence to the English language to attend and participate in readings. Based on the desires of its participants, all languages will change, flourish, or go extinct over time.

Based upon your emotional and intellectual reactions to the following image, please, Readers, tell us what direction you would like your verbal culture to go next:

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