The Toad Suck Review, published annually by the Department of Writing in the College of Fine Arts and Communication at the University of Central Arkansas, has been named one of “the 10 best literary magazines launched in 2011” by Library Journal.
Steve Black’s “Best Magazines 2011” feature focuseson the recently released second issue from 2012, which is honored for being “asolid choice for collections of contemporary literature.” Black’s reviewof UCA’s literary journal also states, “The Review publishes a mix of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, translations, and reviews, and it leanstoward the experimental without veering into excessively weird . . . [and is]unique enough to distinguish itself from the crowd of literary journals while still being accessible.”
Asked what this award means for the Toad Suck Review, Editorin Chief Mark Spitzer said: “It means that our vision is visionary, and it helps to further establish UCA as an innovative leader in the literary arts — notjust in Central Arkansas, but in the evolvingliterary landscape of the country and beyond. We are blown away.”
The Toad Suck Review was also recognized by the avant-garde&Now Awards. Three award-winning Jack Collom poems from TSR #1 will bereprinted in the upcoming anthology, The &Now Awards: The Best InnovativeWriting, published by Lake Forest College Press in Illinois, distributed by NorthwesternUniversity Press.
A recent NewPages.com review of TSR #2 remarks, “It israre . . . to blatantly praise a literary magazine for all its glory; however,this issue of Toad Suck Review is an incredible read. The stories are diverse,fun, edgy, comical and really push the limits. Toad Suck Review is daring.”
In the letters section of the current issue of TSR, AssociateEditor John Vanderslice notes, “like our former incarnation, the ExquisiteCorpse Annual, we pay in infamy. And contributor copies. For more on oureditorial policy, see our guidelines at toadsuckreview.org.”
TSR #1 (“the transitional issue”) features a one-act play bylegendary poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and also includes work by XavieraHollander, Kevin Brockmeier, Jack Hirschman, Lyn Lifshin and many otherestablished and emerging writers. TSR #2 includes prose by the iconic CharlesBukowski and Amiri Baraka, as well as artwork by Shepard Fairey and a diversearray of famous and notorious names. The next issue, due out in February 2013,will publish a “lost work” by the renowned eco-author Edward Abbey,as well as “critical intel” from the Pulitzer Prize-winning GarySnyder and Beat poet Lew Welch. Spitzer notes that TSR #3 will boast “acutting-edge 3D cover and include 3D glasses.”
Ordering info for the Toad Suck Review can be found at www.toadsuckreview.org. Copies arealso available at bookstores in Conway and Little Rock and throughvarious online booksellers. The Toad Suck Review will have discount copies,back issues, and t-shirts for sale at its Toad Suck Daze booth in Conway, May 4-6. For moreinformation, contact the Toad at (501) 450-3339 or email toadsuckreview@gmail.com.
