Publisher's Comments
Volume 15: 2013
Latest Entry on Top

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4 November 2013
by Robert Whitsitt

One of the works in this issue—The Rest Was Easy, the last story in the Fiction section of Contents—may be disturbing to some readers. It certainly disturbed me. We published it because it is of literary quality, because that is what we do. I would like to hear if you think publishing it is a good or bad thing. Let me know what you think.

On the other hand, the next to the last story, Reader, I Divorced Him: Famous Literary Couples Untie the Knot, and the second poem, Metaphor Zoo, are very funny.

This issue has a slightly new look. First, the Welcome page is gone. Instead, going to AmarilloBay.org goes directly to the Contents page. The information that was on the Welcome page has been divided between the Contents page and the About page. The Welcome page seemed like a good way to provide information about literary magazines when I designed the Web site in 1999, but it gets in the way of the works, which is what people actually want.

Also, I made the Contents page a little more open to make it easier to find the three literary sections (Fiction, Creative nonfiction, and Poetry) and the Previous Works section.

My wife and I are buying a new house about 60 miles south of our current one. We had forgotten what a nuisance all the paperwork for that is, plus the inspections and other irritating trivia. Other than that, it is a good move to downsize from our current 2,700 square feet to less than 1,700 square feet. And it has a good Internet connection so I can continue to publish Amarillo Bay.

Enjoy the new issue!

5 August 2013
by Robert Whitsitt

This issue is different, I think. While all of the stories are of our usual literary quality, many of the stories are lighter and happier than our usual fare. (The fact is that literary magazines will publish things without happy endings, unlike most mainstream magazines.) But this time does seem to be an exception. I would love to hear if you think that is a good or bad thing. Let me know what you think.

We have in this issue an author that spans the ages. Well, the age of Amarillo Bay. Dennis Must, who has What Are You Doing in my Father's House? in our current issue, had a work in Volume 1 Number 3, published 1 November 1999, just under 14 years ago. I just reread that older story, Mechanic, and am glad to have another story from him.

There are eight poems in this issue, which is more poetry than we're accustomed to publishing. I believe our poetry editor, Laura Kennelly, is fitting in to Amarillo Bay quite well, and is enthusiastic about the poems.

My wife and I made our annual summer trip to Ashland, Oregon, for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Their production of My Fair Lady was up to Broadway standards, and their other work, including The Heart of Robin Hood, King Lear, and Cymbeline, was up to their usual standards. I recommend attending if you can find the time.

Enjoy the new issue!

20 May 2013
by Robert Whitsitt

I've mentioned before that often the fiction in a particular issue of Amarillo Bay often seems to have a theme even though there has been no effort to make them about related subjects. This issue is one of the rare ones where there is no apparent theme. True, two of them are about a mother and a daughter, but except for that they are not obviously related, except for being good writing.

The poetry, on the other hand, is clearly related: all five poems are by the same poet. That gives them the same voice, to some extent, but the subject matter ranges considerably. I think you'll like them.

The piece of creative nonfiction might be difficult to read. It is named The Nature of Pimps and describes a side of life that I suspect most of us have been lucky enough to miss. Still, reading about it is probably a good thing for us.

We now have published over 600 works in our 57 issues. I am agog.

Enjoy the new issue!

4 February 2013
by Robert Whitsitt

If you're a long-time reader of Amarillo Bay, you know we have several writers who have given us more than one work, some many more than one. (Look in works sorted by author name to find them.) One of our more prolific authors is Irving A. Greenfield, with nine works of fiction published between 1999 and 2012 in Amarillo Bay in addition to his many works published elsewhere. This issue contains his tenth work, but it is creative nonfiction rather than fiction. It describes the three nights he and his wife spent in a shelter when their New York apartment was flooded from the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Since they are both 83 years old, you can imagine that this was something of a hardship. As always, his writing is incisive and worth careful reading. The piece is named Three Nights in a Shelter.

As usual we have five works of fiction. By chance, two of them are about religion, with different takes on Buddhism. All of them are about love, one way or another. I suspect nearly every good story is at least somewhat about love.

Our four poems are all powerful. One of them you might or might not call a poem. You'll see why when you get to it. We believe it is poetry in the broadest sense. Let me know what you think.

Enjoy the new issue!