One strange feature is that though drink is notionally celebrated in this issue, with the editor commenting that "liquor has been a major muse for centuries, and will continue to be a creative catalyst until the sun explodes and engulfs us all," every single contribution related to the subject presents alcohol as either the direct cause of, or closely related to, disaster.
There's a story about fishing in the Netherlands by Jordan Reeves, a devil-fable by Sean Reilly and a nicely skeptical tale about southern baptism by Kirsty Thornton, none of them masterpieces but all of interest.
There's a lot of poetry, too, in addition to the love rat masterpiece quoted above. But the rhythms, strongly grim tone and astute knowingness of that poem were so powerful I found myself unable to adjust afterwards to the other poets' smaller canvases and more limited ambitions.
What the magazine appears to be waiting for is some really masterful talent to come along and dominate it. The crucial issue is confidence. Mader, Tomassini, Paas and the anonymous Love Rat are all major contenders. But the magazine's maximum length for stories, 3,000 words, isn't approached in this issue (though the love rat piece, at exactly 100 long lines, is neatly calculated to reach the absolute maximum size allowed for poems). The result, nonetheless, is that promise remains the dominant impression. What would be wonderful would be for a really strong talent to seize the publication and shake it by the scruff of the neck.
The great virtue of Pressed remains that it's an open forum. It doesn't pay its contributors, but it does give them a stylish shop-window for their creations. Forty copies have been sent to English-language literary academics working in Taiwan and some library subscriptions should result from that initiative. A Web site containing all back issues is also promised within the year. All in all, there's plenty of reason for writers to consider sending in their work. Contact should be made to pressed@asia.com.
On a final note, the first issue of a much smaller English-language literary magazine from China has come our way. Called dongxi, it can be checked out at www.xanga.com/dongximagazine.
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