Headlight Anthology

Saved from imminent demise, the Headlight Anthology is back for issue three. Formerly under the editorship of creator Joshua Knelman, who retired/graduated in 1999, the journal is now in the hands of Alexandra Pasian. With this issue, Pasian continues the publication’s mandate to provide a venue for writers from Concordia University in Montreal. The journal is composed of fiction and some poetry. The works in both genres run the gamut from boring to pretty darn good, giving the whole collection a rating of “alright.” The worst pieces seem like they were taken right out of a creative writing class. The works may have been fun exercises, but they do not stand on their own. Some poetry screams “oh look, I’ve just learned about post-structuralism!” Please. This isn’t the 80’s, can we move on? The notable exception is Jon Paul Fiorentino’s “Prairie Long Poem,” in which the speaker tries to resist the “academification” of the poem and also come to terms with traditional Canadian poetry of geography and nature. The short stories are generally stronger than the verse. The most notable tales are by Yvette Porter, Corey Frost and l.e. Vollick. I’d tell you more about the contributors, but unfortunately there are no bios in the journal. Maybe in issue four? (MP)

literary journal, #3, 84 pgs, $?, Alexandra Pasian (ed.), Concordia University c/o English Department “Headlight,” 1455 de Maisonneuve boulevard West, Montreal, Quebec, H3G 1M8

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