Maximus
Hayden Church edits this rare, unique creature. With only two issues out, it radiates quality. I appreciate how the site allows users to download PDFs of the issues. This is a shockingly easy thing to do, yet few bother with the details. Given the number of dead links I have seen scattered about the literary countryside on this great big internet, it is tragic how such a simple thing might keep those words very much alive. I appreciate the cataloging efforts. For those who say “well, just print the site to PDF,” get fucked. Not everybody is going to do that. I find it unlikely that everyone even knows how to do that, especially with my background of having to help those who cannot help themselves, i.e., the old ass heads.
I like the extreme take on minimalism. This is a WordPress-built website. He includes nothing extra. No bells, no whistles, just the blank, empty white space, a nice metaphor for poetry at large. At small though, well, that’s a different matter, and I do not believe there are any word count limitations associated with the project. Even the names within the two issues so far are all new to me, so I appreciate getting new perspectives. I am always trying to find new writers and things that genuinely interest me, so somebody curating this hard and well is doubly appreciated. Kudos, fine Church fellow, well done!
The photo on the main page, I’ll admit, is disturbing. Will I see it in my nightmares? Oh, you know I will, if anything gives me nightmares. Honestly, 2025 has been a waking nightmare for so many, so my subconscious has not really risen to the occasion. I am trying to prime my dreams to become nightmares by reading the news before bed, to help terrify me, but most of my dreams are about esoteric music and Gnostics at this point. I have probably sidestepped the ability of any piece of media, photo or otherwise, that can scare me, though I remain open to the idea. Is this photo taxidermy done poorly? That would explain the eyes, but I am far from an expert in taxidermy, since I have friends and go outside regularly to touch grass.
Maybe the only thing that could disturb me is how much the name Maximus reminds me of Maxima, itself an illusion to the death of one of my cars. That night still haunts me, and I will never be able to unhear that thud, the crack of metal on metal.
The magazine looks fun, and I am thankful to see the proliferation of literary magazines across the online universe.
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Throne