Craig from Craigslist thinks it’s OK!
Hi everybody. Welcome. Come on in and have a look around.
It took a year, give or take, but 400 Words has changed from a twinkle in the eye to a piece of reality—fifteen cardboard boxes full of reality, to be exact, lining a wall of my living room.
The books look great. They’re chunky, powdery gray on the outside, 134 pages of compulsively readable mini-memoirs on the inside. They are the perfect size to slip into a book or backpack for subway or other occasional reading. Rumor has it they look handsome on coffee tables, too.
But perhaps the highest recommendation I can come up with is that, after all these months, I’m still not sick of the material. There’s so much variety and so much truth in these pieces that a flip through Issue One still offers a thrill that verges on the voyeuristic.
Don’t just take it from me, though. A couple of weeks ago I wrote to the people at Craigslist, to thank them for giving 400 Words a means of finding contributors. The note got forwarded around Craigslist H.Q., apparently, and on August 30th I got an e-mail from the man himself, Craig Newmark, to the effect that 400 Words looks alright to him. Actually, verbatim, the message said: “hey, this really is cool, thanks! Craig.” What more endorsement do you need? Run don’t walk to the 400 Words store and pick up your own copy today.
In other news, it’s fall in Ithaca. The gutters are filling with crispy brown leaves, and the farm stands sport fewer lettuces, more pumpkins. It’s hard to believe that after two years, I’m out of here in just over a week. Not before a few final instances of partying, though—including one that’s specifically zine-related. If you live in the Ithaca area, consider stopping by the Official 400 Words Launch Party. It’s on Friday, September 16, at 326 W. Seneca St., Ithaca, from 5-9pm. The party is a collaborative event, half release for 400 Words, half site-specific art opening of a new installation by Maria Louisa Calandra, kickin’ artist, Cornell MFA candidate, and dear friend. There will be paintings on the walls, snacks and refreshments, readings from the magazine, and music from an eerily detuned piano. It’s not to be missed.
Till next week,
xoxo
Katherine
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