All right crazy nebulous audience that I don’t believe exists. If I did believe you existed, I’d never have the balls to publicize this particular story. It’s titled “The Drive Home,” and is about a man somewhat confused in his spirituality. It’s a weird little piece, the work of a disturbed man, but I love it, and I knew the folks at Retort would love it too, so I sent it their way. To my delight, they accepted it. This is the second story of mine that has been published by Retort, which means that I love the editors over there, and, were they not located on the other side of the world, I would probably figure out a way to hang around outside their office/homes, smoking cigarettes and tapping on their window panes in the middle of the night. What? It’s how I express my love.
Retort Magazine is dedicated to the publication and presentation of new innovative, experimental cutting edge art + text in all disciplines. Retort Magazine publishes both fiction and non fiction. Retort has published some of the worlds best known artists and writers but is also a platform for new and emerging writers and artists. We favor the cutting edge over the blunt of the handle, the avant-garde over backward walking, the delinquent imagination over the hammered economic mind. We publish whenever something interesting arrives in the inbox.
HISTORY
Founded in the laundry of an old queenslander behind a gas station in Brisbane in 2001 by Australian poet/writer Brentley Frazer RETORT was originally conceived as a spinoff to a live poetry/music/art/performance event called The Vision Area. The Vision Area was a monthly ‘culture jam’ started by Brentley and poet Adam Pettet and hosted by Ric’s Bar in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, Australia. The Vision Area ran from 1998 – 2000 and only ended when the co-ordinators felt they had drained the talent pool.
In the beginning Retort was published as a bi-monthly online magazine. In 2003 after receiving a development grant Retort moved to an experimental ‘live’ format with new content being published whenever something cool arrived in the submissions inbox. After the experiment was deemed impossible by the exhausted editor (without the budget of at the very least a mid-sized newspaper in a large city), Retort resumed publishing on a semi-regular basis and has continued, throughout a whole decade, reaching millions of individual readers.
Retort is now based wherever the Editor is – which is usually somewhere on planet Earth.
Retort Magazine is archived on site and since 2003 also by The National Library of Australia as part of the Pandora Project which aims to permanently preserve electronic publications based on their national and cultural significance.
UPDATE: Sadly Retort Magazine has closed down. In the words of the magazine’s Editor, Brentley Frazer:
12.5 years. Enjoyed a huge readership in the 00′s. Broke some ground (and a bunch of rules). Had a good time mostly. Would have loved to grow it into something huge, like an alternative to the old school greats that have become a parody of their former glorious selves. Retort stayed truly independent, never even applied for a government grant. I refuse to read government endorsed literature or view government endorsed art. Rest assured, the only propaganda you were exposed to while reading Retort was my personal agenda to champion the creative spirit of my fellow humans.
Have a nice life.
best
Brentley
benleib 