Five things we loved about The Bushwick Review

Last year, we rounded up some of our favourite literary magazines, but this a category that never ceases to produce new and exciting publications. The Bushwick Review is one such magazine we received recently, and happily devoured cover to cover.

Published out of Brooklyn, its seventh issue wants to present art and writing from around the world that “speaks to being alive in 2017”. Amongst all the moving, enthralling and humour-filled pieces, here’s a quick look at some of our favourites…

1. “My dad’s pictures”
When a photographer’s daughter discovers boxes of old images in the basement of her family home, we’re offered a unique glimpse into Detroit’s Black history. Spelling out a narrative through the characters in her father’s photographs, Corliss Elizabeth Williams gives a touching and intimate look at life in the Midwest.

2. Contents list Venn diagram
Love this inventive way of giving an overview of the themes that make up this issue’s content.

3. The son of a self-taught criminal
In a short story about his father, an autodidact with a fondness for thievery, Bud Smith shares his fraught familial ties with readers through words imbued with humour, pain and love.

4. 10 years of self portraits
Starting from when he was 22, Thom Smith took a photo of himself on the first day of every month. Looking back after 10 years, he’s surprised to find that he could recall what was going on and how he was feeling behind every shot.

5. Faceblindness in a comic
Michele Rosenthal’s tongue-in-cheek depiction of faceblindness takes the storyline way beyond the usual anecdote of not remembering somebody’s face…

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