The Happy Hypocrite review
The Happy Hypocrite
This is no place for conventional writing. Pages quiver with stories and poems that seem designed to make you implode and momentum builds up line by line until you feel you may, at the very least, be derailed. More than anything the selected writings resemble works of abstract art. There is no obvious narrative thread, no clear middle or end, yet each is complete - simply wide open to interpretation.
Some are written as essays, other as outpourings with no recognisable format, and each hints at philosophical explorations, grand musings, with evidence of intense research rife among the creativity.
These are not pages to flick through, but to read at leisure, slowly and contemplatively. Yes, as editor Maria Fusco says, you can take it anywhere, but to dip in and out of it may mean you miss the core of the pieces entirely - you need to take time to devote your attention to these works to appreciate their full power.
In the second issue, focused on the theme of Hunting and Gathering, outstanding works include Deep in the Uncanny Valley by Andrew Dodds, a disjointed monologue apparently spoken by a budgerigar and hinting at a very unhappy ending we never quite know the truth about.
This kind of writing, with its unusual voice and uncertain conclusion, seems to be the kind of thing that makes Maria sit up and want to read more, and we enjoyed the fluidity of the magazine’s contents, though at times we felt a longing for a nice, solid full-stop at the end of a tale just for a change of pace.
One of the most wonderful regulars is the interview, for which the magazine “brings people together to discuss the issue’s theme”. The result is a fabulously informal and chatty piece of dialogue that makes you feel deliciously as though you are eavesdropping. It’s an excellent way of setting the tone of the magazine.
The Happy Hypocrite is published bi-annually by Book Works and describes itself as “a journal for and about experimental art writing.” If you have a writing style that stands far apart from the norm, your submissions will be welcomed, but bear in mind that each issue has a different theme and that you should visit their website to check when the deadlines are.
For details on how to submit or subscribe, please visit www.thehappyhypocrite.org
To submit a review of a book, course, magazine or website, please email judy@EssentialWriters.com
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