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Before rummaging through this issue's "crazy attic"

In an interview for this issue of nidus, writer Michelle Cliff likens online publishing to the experience of being "in someone's attic when they're crazy." If I'm reading Cliff correctly, she's talking about the "power" and "chaos" simultaneously contained in publication on the web.
            Personally, I like that comparison, and take it as a compliment. Cliff's description of online publishing serves loosely as a description of  this issue of nidus in that this issue captures the eclecticism one might expect rummaging through an attic.
            Let me digress for a moment. When I have trouble writing these letters, I'm told I should think about what other established print journals are doing. I should work from a theme that unifies the work in our journal; I should make myself sound professional, typical, like someone who has her act together.
            But the fact is, like it or not, I'm not a "professional," definitely not "together".
            To illustrate -- as I write this, I'm sitting in my apartment, in a storage closet gone office. I'm sitting amidst: at least 10 pairs of mismatched shoes, seven cast off winter coats, two broken shelving units, three spent prayer candles, two half-empty glasses with crust forming inside them, several used lightbulbs, and literally hundreds of papers that litter my floor.
            It's like I'm in my attic and I'm crazy.
            Having said that, it's no wonder that I (someone admittedly "off") would be interested in publishing a literary journal exclusively on the crazy, cluttered, chaotic web. It's no wonder that the genre editors of this journal would select board members who would pick the most diverse work -- the work most incapable of being categorized.
            For those of you who like to put your keepsakes in clearly labeled boxes, I'll offer my best attempt at organizing the contents. Of the hundreds of submissions we received, our fiction board selected one seemingly traditional plot-driven narrative, and, in contrast, a shorter piece that seems more focused on creating  mood and tone. Similarly, the creative nonfiction board selected one revealing narrative piece with recognizable characters, and another highly lyric, almost dreamlike essay. Then, there are the poems.
            The poems in this issue embrace the poetry of ideas, the poetry of things, the poetry of observation, the poetry of reflection, the poetry of juxtaposition, the poetry of transition, the poetry of  translation. Some are lyric, others are narrative, some are prose pieces, others have linebreaks -- some simultaneously contain more than one form.
            In short, we've been rummaging through writing over the past months with good reason -- to give you, dear readers, some options.
            But why?  Why not find one writing style characteristic of nidus and go with it? For us, the answer is simple. There's lots of writing in this world to be liked. We're using a medium that gives us something wonderfully powerful and chaotic -- access to all kinds of writers and readers all over said world. Furthermore, we think literary journals, much like people, are boring without eccentricities, empty without quirks. So, if you must label us -- call us inconsistent, or call us ingenious. Hell, you can even call us insane. Just don't assume that any one label will be sufficient.
           Until next time, I'll leave you to your reading. If I can clear a path to the door....
                                                         -- Erin Teegarden
                                                           Managing Editor, nidus

nidus awaits your e-mail responses!

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