i declare that "electric literature no. 3" is greater than, or equal to, an entire container of fudge tracks ice cream. if you know me at all, you know this is not a small gesture.

so we’ve had a bit of chatter here about electric literature.  but really, that was more about the organization, or the concept, than the stuff they’re putting out—via print, and e-book, and iPhone, and animation, and possibly invisible microwaves sent straight to your brain.  seems only fair to follow up with a look at the actual work—especially since after all the hype they’ve received, i could only find one other review of this latest issue. (full disclosure: i’m currently on staff at willow springs—though i like to think of electric lit as more of a colleague than a competitor.  we all just want people to read more, right?)

i read electric literature no. 3 over the course of a sunday afternoon.  of the first things i noted, a few aesthetic points:  it looks nice.  and feels nice.  it’s got some crazy painting wrapping both front & back covers, with simple, minimalist text, printed on a glossy stock.  the pages inside were a soft, creamy white, occasionally punctuated with whimsical line drawings (not unlike something from mcsweeney’s), and carefully laid out.  i know it’s a small thing, but it seems like *way* too many journals ignore these easy touches and print on a glaring white page loaded with text—not to mention the intimidating size of some of them.  because, you know, i & the rest of america were so anxious to read their magazines in the first place.  but electric lit is a travel-friendly 6″x9″ size, with only five stories; it’s a slim 120 page book, but only about 65 pages of fiction after accounting for blanks and illustrations and whatnot.  totally manageable.  inviting, even.

as a partial rebuttal to those concerned about electric literature focusing too heavily on already established authors: the thing is, sometimes you publish a big name because there’s a reason they’re a big name—they got game.  this issue starts off with a story from aimee bender, who’s got three books out, with a fourth on the way, and publishing credits at pretty much all the places a writer wants to be published at.  and you know what?  her piece kicks ass.

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