Debuts


Bloghopping is becoming the new television, at least for me. Changing channels in the blogosphere is so much more rewarding than channel surfing the idiot box, despite the proliferation of PBS channels on my cable provider.

Take for example the new zine I found, Ourobouros. Its mission and first issue are arresting, especially the reason editors Jo Hemmant and Christine Swint give for the choice of name:

"The snake swallowing its tail symbolises infinity; to the alchemist, this represented the circular nature of his work, the union of opposites, the conscious and unconscious mind. And like the ouroboros, language is infinite, meaning endlessly deferred. We’ve adopted the symbol to acknowledge this. We also want to acknowledge that poets and artists are like the alchemist, striving to spin ideas and images into gold."

But what really knocked me out was the visual presentation. Not only is this a zine aiming at art-lit collaboration, but they are onto cutting-edge ways of presenting a magazine online. When you select Issue 1 and go to the open publication link, you are taken to a window with a virtual magazine with turnable pages, enlargement capabilities (select full screen for a real page-turning read and best resolution of the artwork). You can view in Magazine View, Presentation View or Paper View.

For a total hoot, read featured poet Ingrid Steblea's "The Poets Online." Imagine Byron on Facebook. Clever. (By the way, Steblea is on Facebook.)