A University of Oregon literary magazine that first published in 1957 and went out of print in 2011 was relaunched in June as a digital publication. The Northwest Review features fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and art.
Brian Trapp is the editor-in-chief of the Northwest Review and he spoke with KLCC’s Rachael McDonald.
Rachael McDonald: Would you tell us about the Northwest Review and its history?
Brian Trapp: Yeah, it's one of the great literary magazines, university literary magazines of the 20th century. I mean, if you look at the authors that it's published, there's just a huge list of esteemed 20th century writers, especially Northwest writers: Ursula Le Guin, Louis Erdrich, Raymond Carver, Barry Lopez, William Stafford.
The coolest thing too is that it has a legacy of publishing or finding emerging writers who became major voices. So, Ken Kesey's first short story was published in 1957. George Saunders' first short story was published in 1986, and Lidia Yuknavitch's first story or essay was published, which was made into the “Chronology of Water,” which became a major film last year. And so, it has that history, but it's also a sort of a collective endeavor of the Eugene community, and so, it's really a great thing and I'm happy to bring it back.
McDonald: Why did it go away?
Trapp: I think every time, and this is not just at the University of Oregon, but at every university, if they have budget problems– it's something that costs a lot to run and might not be instrumental in maybe the educational mission of the university.
So, that was really a thing that we're doing a little bit differently. It’s actually run as an undergraduate class. So, student editors get to really discover what it's like to curate something, to be on an editorial team, to really read literature as a living thing. And so, it's really hands-on, and also getting career preparation skills. So, we're bringing the magazine back so that it's also an integral part of the educational mission of the university.
McDonald: Why make it a digital magazine as opposed to paper?
Trapp: Yeah, I think, you know, I love paper. I think it's almost like vinyl now. You can read it, but I actually think there's a lot of ways to get digital media out now like Substack and social media. We have over 5,000 Instagram followers. And so it’s to keep the overhead low and keep it going. We want to do a print artifact like an anthology, that's a part of our goal. We actually really want to do a small press and publish essay collections, short story collections, poetry collections. But, the digital magazine is sort of the base of the endeavor, and it's a way to keep the Northwest Review going, while also keeping the bills a little low.
"I think it's actually more important than ever to have a literary magazine like this, even though it seems impractical."
- Brian Trapp, editor of the Northwest Review
McDonald: For many of us, magazines don't occupy the same role that they used to in our culture. And in some ways, literature is not as talked about or revered, but it seems like bringing back this publication, you're kind of bucking the trend and saying there is value to a literary magazine. Can you talk about what that value is?
Trapp: Yeah, I think literary magazines are kind of an expression of the community. There are people reading and thinking about what deserves to be out there. And I think we have a lot of AI slop right now. A lot of people are thinking, what does it really mean to be human? A literary magazine is a way to figure that out. What stories are important to us? What's speaking to us now? I think we need literary magazines more than ever. And, I think, there's so many forces dividing communities right now. I think, literary magazines are kind of a counterbalance to that, to say, let's all come together and make something. It's a way to have conversations. It's a way to form relationships. And so I think it's actually more important than ever to have a literary magazine like this, even though it seems impractical.
McDonald: Tell us about the first edition.
Trapp: I was really happy with the way it turned out. I had a great group of students who worked through the slush pile with me and then also the MFA students and alumni helped read after that. We worked through 1,500 submissions, for this issue and we have a really diverse group of writers from all backgrounds and all kinds of stages in careers. We have Nathan Harris, who's an Ashland writer, “The Bird” is a short story. He's an Oprah Book Club pick, probably our most illustrious contributor. We have Jess Cornelius's first short story. I did not know, but she's also sort of a rock star, and based in LA. You can look her music up. We just have a wonderful collection of writers that I'm really proud to share with Eugene and the world.
Brian Trapp is editor-in-chief of the Northwest Review. He’s also the Director of Disability Studies at the University of Oregon. He’s also the author of the novel, “Range of Motion.” The Northwest Review is available online at nwreview.org
Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
