Richard Rosenbaum
Author of Raise Some Shell: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Pop Classics)
About the Author
Works by Richard Rosenbaum
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Gender
- male
Members
Reviews
"Can'tLit: Fearless Fiction from Broken Pencil Magazine" is an anthology featuring the fiction that Broken Pencil Magazine, dedicated to the zine scene, has published since its inception in 1995. The title, Can'tLit, aptly sets the stage for the short stories contained within its covers: These stories are described in the forward as outcasts that do not fit the traditional Canadian Lit - they are by in large raw, ragged pieces of unabridged, unadulterated 'anti-literature'. Think peripheral show more indie talent. Think offbeat, weird alternative writing. Think.... well, you probably have the general idea about this collection of stories.
Edited by Richard Rosenbaum, associate fiction editor for Broken Pencil, the collection was put together to promote the work of writers that toil in obscurity and to show emerging writers that there is a place and a need for sharp, offensive urban fiction within the Canadian literary scene. And what a diverse collection this is, with stories that range in style, topics and degrees of literary expertise from the microfiction that reads more like a dangling sound bite to the well-rounded short story.
As someone that enjoys quirky, offbeat stories, I figured this collection would be an interesting read. Interesting it was. Of the 47 independent works contained here, some of the pieces were just too weird for my tastes, some left me thinking "Huh?" with my head tilted slightly sideways, some were alright but not something to write home about, and some were truly remarkable pieces of literary talent. The collection has no bounds, no constraints, no formula of style that the reader can ground themselves to for consistency as they move from story to story. It really is a random compilation! Given the diversity of the material, it was difficult to provide an overall rating for this collection but in all, this was a unique reading experience for me and if a "Can'tLit vol. 2" is published in the future, I will most likely gravitate to it as I did to this first collection. show less
Edited by Richard Rosenbaum, associate fiction editor for Broken Pencil, the collection was put together to promote the work of writers that toil in obscurity and to show emerging writers that there is a place and a need for sharp, offensive urban fiction within the Canadian literary scene. And what a diverse collection this is, with stories that range in style, topics and degrees of literary expertise from the microfiction that reads more like a dangling sound bite to the well-rounded short story.
As someone that enjoys quirky, offbeat stories, I figured this collection would be an interesting read. Interesting it was. Of the 47 independent works contained here, some of the pieces were just too weird for my tastes, some left me thinking "Huh?" with my head tilted slightly sideways, some were alright but not something to write home about, and some were truly remarkable pieces of literary talent. The collection has no bounds, no constraints, no formula of style that the reader can ground themselves to for consistency as they move from story to story. It really is a random compilation! Given the diversity of the material, it was difficult to provide an overall rating for this collection but in all, this was a unique reading experience for me and if a "Can'tLit vol. 2" is published in the future, I will most likely gravitate to it as I did to this first collection. show less
Statistics
- Works
- 5
- Members
- 25
- Popularity
- #508,560
- Rating
- 2.8
- Reviews
- 1
- ISBNs
- 9