U of M literary journal, The Pinch, receives national attention
By: Ryan Poe
Issue date: 10/3/08 Section: News
The U of M literary journal, The Pinch, after publishing its latest issue is receiving national attention.
Gathering awards and acclamations from critics and writers, The Pinch's reputation has grown with each subsequent year, said Jan Coleman, an English instructor and editorial board member. Content featured in the journal has won national awards for fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, art and design.
"We get some high rollers, established writers," she said. "Our program is really growing. We're getting a lot of notoriety and opinion."
The mission of the journal, said Jan Coleman, is to publish a "broad spectrum of established and emerging writers and artists." The journal features original submissions from the authors and comes out twice a year, once in the fall and once in the spring.
The journal takes its name from the portion of Memphis known as the "Pinchgut" district, where poor and underfed Irish railroad workers lived in Memphis' early days.
Graduate students - overseen by faculty members in the creative writing program of the English department - edit The Pinch, which was once called the River City Journal.
The journal is aiming for a sharper, more modern feel, Coleman said. One story in the latest journal involves a man who took pictures of gas-guzzling vehicles. The man took the pictures and then waited for the owners to come to their cars. When they came to their cars, he started questioning why they would own such heavy-duty vehicles.
"We're trying to be open to new work that's edgy," she said. "We're trying to have a wide variety of cultures and styles."
Kristen Iversen, the Editor-in-chief of The Pinch and U of M professor, invited people to come by their office on the fourth floor of Patterson Hall and read the latest journal.
"Our new issue is hot off the press, and we'd love to have students and faculty join us at a release party or stop by the pinch office and take a look at it," Iversen said. "We welcome the interest and participation of students and faculty on campus."
Gathering awards and acclamations from critics and writers, The Pinch's reputation has grown with each subsequent year, said Jan Coleman, an English instructor and editorial board member. Content featured in the journal has won national awards for fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, art and design.
"We get some high rollers, established writers," she said. "Our program is really growing. We're getting a lot of notoriety and opinion."
The mission of the journal, said Jan Coleman, is to publish a "broad spectrum of established and emerging writers and artists." The journal features original submissions from the authors and comes out twice a year, once in the fall and once in the spring.
The journal takes its name from the portion of Memphis known as the "Pinchgut" district, where poor and underfed Irish railroad workers lived in Memphis' early days.
Graduate students - overseen by faculty members in the creative writing program of the English department - edit The Pinch, which was once called the River City Journal.
The journal is aiming for a sharper, more modern feel, Coleman said. One story in the latest journal involves a man who took pictures of gas-guzzling vehicles. The man took the pictures and then waited for the owners to come to their cars. When they came to their cars, he started questioning why they would own such heavy-duty vehicles.
"We're trying to be open to new work that's edgy," she said. "We're trying to have a wide variety of cultures and styles."
Kristen Iversen, the Editor-in-chief of The Pinch and U of M professor, invited people to come by their office on the fourth floor of Patterson Hall and read the latest journal.
"Our new issue is hot off the press, and we'd love to have students and faculty join us at a release party or stop by the pinch office and take a look at it," Iversen said. "We welcome the interest and participation of students and faculty on campus."