In 2011, the editors of Beecher’s were asked by Portal del Sol to write about their experiences working on a magazine during its first year of publication.  Assistant poetry editor Iris Moulton, Managing Editor Caitlin Frances Thornbrugh, and Design Editor Dan Rolf all contributed to the Portal del Sol series.  You can read all of the contributions from Beecher’s editors at this link.

Here are some excerpts from what the editors had to say:

“We hope that to know Beecher’s One is to hold it in your hands, run a fingerprint down the thread in the spine, see the black typeface imprinted into the white sheets, leave a fingerprint on the pages. We hope that our greatest triumph was to create an intimate, unique experience through the combination of writing and design.”

–Caitlin Thornbrugh, Managing Editor

“The book has a naked spine and rigid, toothy, absorbent white paper that is meant to show evidence of the reader by literally absorbing and recording the reading experience: the hands holding the book, the fingers on the page, the bending of turned pages, the weakening of the unprotected spine. This recording of a reader’s interaction happens with every well-used book, but with Beecher’s One we wanted to lay bare this interaction, allow the recording of the interaction to become the adornment.”

–Dan Rolf, Beecher’s Design Editor

“Aside from the care that has gone into crafting a gorgeous physical object, one of the first things I noticed about the issue was the absence of individual story or poem titles from the table of contents page. I would be curious to find out if this was purely a design consideration – although the stepped, descending author names make for an incredibly crisp layout, it also gives the impression of privileging the writer above their work.”

“Reading Beecher’s is [...] a physical experience[.]”

“The content in this issue is fantastic, but I’ll reiterate what’s already been said about the fantastic production quality/value of this first issue. I didn’t even notice the riffle on the the cover until like, a week ago.”

“The tactile feel of the book is the first thing I noticed, and its production is really interesting. This is a refreshingly minimalist and physical object — a wonderful break for those of us who spend our entire days in front of the computer.”

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Follow this link to read all of the various discussions of the first issue of Beecher’s on HTMLGIANT.

POETRY

First Place:

Chris Garrecht-Williams
Dear, and Anxiety of Chances

Runner-Up:

D. Gilson
Gnostic Gospel, Soon We’ll Bury All Our Dead, and Call and Response

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FICTION

First Place:

Josie Sigler
Sharks

Runner-Up:

Andrew Bales
I am the Sea Captain, I am Lance Armstrong, I am Tonya Harding

Please, if you can give even $1, click this link and help us continue our journal.

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Special thanks to Roxane Gay and Beecher’s Asst. Managing Editor Jason Robberson for organizing all of this.

The discussion of Beecher’s debut issue will start on November 1, so you’ll have enough time to read and think about the issue. If you’re interested in writing a guest post or some other feature related to this issue of Beecher’s, get in touch by e-mailing me, again, at roxane at htmlgiant.com. Topics you might consider discussing include the design, content, overall aesthetic, whether the magazine met your expectations, if the debut is promising, what the magazine contributes to the literary scene, etc. You might also do an in-depth analysis of one writer’s work, etc. There are no limits.

There’s also a Google Group with light posting about literary magazines and club announcements. If you want to join the group or want more information about the LMC, where to get your leather jacket and tattoo, etc, send me an e-mail. To summarize: however you want to participate please get in touch or watch this space in November when hopefully, we’ll have a great discussion about an interesting new literary magazine.

via Literary Magazine Club Never Dies | HTMLGIANT.

This first issue of Beecher’s is a limited edition printing inaugurating the new magazine. Rather than adorning the baby magazine in shiny, colorful clothes, Beecher’s One was designed to give the text inside primacy, and as well record the reader’s tactile interaction with the physical magazine. The layout is straight-forward, and the text is presented simply in a black serif font on white paper. The physical object, with a naked spine and rigid, toothy, absorbent paper is meant to show evidence of the reader by literally absorbing and recording the reading experience: the hands holding the book, the fingers on the page, the bending of turned pages, the weakening of the unprotected spine.

Click here to purchase.

See our video introduction here.

Thanks!

Iris Moulton, asst. poetry editor for Beecher’s One, and now co-editor for the forthcoming issue, has written a thoughtful account of our magazine’s inception for Portal del Sol’s series “The First Year.” You can read the essay by clicking the link above, and you can learn more about Iris, her poetry, and her upcoming events at her website.