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Twenty years of outlaw literature!
Vancouver - Vancouver's literary magazine subTerrain turns 20 this summer-and will publish its 50th issue! Since 1988, subTerrain magazine has showcased fiction, non-fiction, poetry, social commentary, photography, and visual art from outside the literary and cultural status quo. subTerrain has featured some of Canada's hottest new writers such as Nadia Bozak and Craig Davidson whose subTerrain stories were finalists for the coveted Journey Prize. subTerrain has featured visual art from such diverse artists as Maurice Spira, and Lucas Soi, photographers Michael Levin, Esther Rausenberg, and Mike Grill. Twenty years in and subTerrain magazine continues to bring provocative writing and visual art from outside the margins to readers coast to coast and beyond.
Founder and editor Brian Kaufman launched subTerrain back in 1988 as an antidote to a lacklustre local literary scene. Says Kaufman, "It was still dragging itself out of its post-colonial roots and the gate-keepers of what was considered to be 'good literature' were exhausting their tenured positions and gasping around the halls of academia (where, by the way, the majority of literary journals sprung forth) heavily influencing what would be allowed to enter the Canadian canon." Kaufman published the first issue from his apartment. "I wanted something that had an edge, a bit of grit, a magazine that incorporated visuals as an integral part of its being ... something that had a feel of being 'underground'-thus the play on that with the title.";
The first issue of subTerrain had eight contributors to fill 12 pages! "To set the tone,"; says Kaufman, "we slapped a detail from Pieter Brueghel's 'Triumph of the Dead' on the cover. A horrific, apocalyptic image of sword-wielding skeletons decapitating the living, herding them into large, boxcar containers, the dead and dying have been impaled on pinwheels and await their fate from scavenger birds, fires smouldering on the horizon ... wow. A revolution in literature? That would be nice. ...";
Over the years, subTerrain has received the Graphic Designers of Canada Merit award for photography design, has received several other awards and nominations, e.g. the Journey Prize, the Western Magazine Awards, The National Magazine Awards, Utne Reader Independent Press Awards, etc., and has seen many of the emerging authors it has published go on to major publishing contracts.
On Canada's current literary scene Kaufman states, "What has happened over the last two decades is attrition of the old guard and the arrival of a new generation of writers and editors who have been willing to take chances and support somewhat more experimental writers, and the incorporation of more graphic elements has definitely been seen.";
subTerrain magazine's 50th issue comes out this summer and, in celebration of the magazine's birthday, features works inspired by BC's motto: "The Best Place on Earth.";
subTerrain is published by the subTerrain Literary Collective Society, a volunteer collective of writers and editors.
Founder and editor Brian Kaufman launched subTerrain back in 1988 as an antidote to a lacklustre local literary scene. Says Kaufman, "It was still dragging itself out of its post-colonial roots and the gate-keepers of what was considered to be 'good literature' were exhausting their tenured positions and gasping around the halls of academia (where, by the way, the majority of literary journals sprung forth) heavily influencing what would be allowed to enter the Canadian canon." Kaufman published the first issue from his apartment. "I wanted something that had an edge, a bit of grit, a magazine that incorporated visuals as an integral part of its being ... something that had a feel of being 'underground'-thus the play on that with the title.";
The first issue of subTerrain had eight contributors to fill 12 pages! "To set the tone,"; says Kaufman, "we slapped a detail from Pieter Brueghel's 'Triumph of the Dead' on the cover. A horrific, apocalyptic image of sword-wielding skeletons decapitating the living, herding them into large, boxcar containers, the dead and dying have been impaled on pinwheels and await their fate from scavenger birds, fires smouldering on the horizon ... wow. A revolution in literature? That would be nice. ...";
Over the years, subTerrain has received the Graphic Designers of Canada Merit award for photography design, has received several other awards and nominations, e.g. the Journey Prize, the Western Magazine Awards, The National Magazine Awards, Utne Reader Independent Press Awards, etc., and has seen many of the emerging authors it has published go on to major publishing contracts.
On Canada's current literary scene Kaufman states, "What has happened over the last two decades is attrition of the old guard and the arrival of a new generation of writers and editors who have been willing to take chances and support somewhat more experimental writers, and the incorporation of more graphic elements has definitely been seen.";
subTerrain magazine's 50th issue comes out this summer and, in celebration of the magazine's birthday, features works inspired by BC's motto: "The Best Place on Earth.";
subTerrain is published by the subTerrain Literary Collective Society, a volunteer collective of writers and editors.
Submitted on August 13, 2008 in By David.
