From the Editor

We live in a sensationalistically sick society...

By this I mean if you either pick up your average book, go to your local movie theater, or plop yourself in front of that big screen TV, chances are you will witness some amazing adventure, filled with dramatic intrigue, exotic locale, and endless action. The characters may appear to be normal -- the cop, the teacher, even a garbage man -- but by the end of the entertainment, a part of you will actually think, "Hey, I wish I was a garbage man! Who knew those guys lead such incredible lives?" So called "reality" TV has only contributed to this fallacy. Very few people can portray reality without sensationalizing it, and in turn, trivializing it. One of the few authors who can, a writer who is a master at entertaining a reader with average characters in average places, is Charles Baxter. Much like his writing, Baxter is an unassuming man, but what sets him apart from the average scribe is that he is not only a brilliant observer of the human character, but a truly gifted storyteller as well. In that spirit, this issue of failbetter strives to do just that. Whether it is the fiction of Brock Clarke or Josip Novakovich, or the poetic observations of John Rybicki and Monica de la Torre, what we have here are entertaining and thought provoking observations of people and places. The reader should come away with an appreciation of either, and not an idolization of any.

We offer the works here as a refresher course on reality ...And the continuing reminder of the role of art to reflect there upon.

TD

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PS - Give that girl a raise!

Special thanks to Meghan Cleary, former consultant, now the new poetry editor here at failbetter. Her duties as such greatly contributed to the latest issue. Rest assured, if we actually made any money around here, she would surely demand a raise.