tears in the fence, #69, Spring 2019 is now available.
This issue ranges wide as tears does — and includes Basil King’s new poem, “Pick Up a Stitch — Drop a Stitch,“ work by Laurie Duggan, and this comment by editor David Caddy on Martha King’s memoir, Outside/Inside:
Martha King’s memoir, Outside/Inside…just outside the art world’s inside (BlazeVOX books) is a beautifully written insight into the world of a young woman who studied at Black Mountain College in its last year, arriving with ‘an old hotplate two saucepans, some picnic cutlery’ and eventually fell in with artist and writer, Basil King. She chronicles her subsequent domestic and bohemian life, including a great many significant figures in and around Black Mountain, San Francisco, and New York art scenes. It is an absolute joy to read and leaves the reader uplifted by a deeply felt clarification of the importance of those movements, and with a broad smile. Amongst many highlights is the story of the wedding of the headstrong protagonists, which is both funny and memorable. King’s prose, warmly inviting, succinct and perceptive moves effortlessly from story to story, and is so giving in her generosity of spirit and emotional intelligence. This intimate portrait, dense with detail, of a critical period in American art and writing, is a page-turner, and sure to become a classic.
Lovely issue of an always essential independent international literary magazine.
Order and subscribe at www.tearsinthefence.com. Use the Donate button. Or mail an order with a check. Four issues for $40 (or $60 if airmail delivery is requested).
BTW, “Pick Up a Stitch” is Part Five of a chapbook-length piece called Basil’s Bean Book – not yet published.