Third Coast Interview
Peter’s Magic Formula
by Kim Bradley
An Interview with Peter Geye of “Third Coast”
Peter Geye is the Editor of Third Coast, the student-run literary journal of Western Michigan University. He is currently pursuing his PhD in English, with an emphasis on fiction writing at WMU. He has an MFA from the low-residency program at the University of New Orleans and a BA in English from the University of Minnesota. He currently lives in Kalamazoo, Michigan with his wife and six-month-old son. He is working on a novel set in northern Minnesota and has new work forthcoming in Lake Effect.
KB: Peter, you’re a brand new father to five-month-old Finnian, as well as a stay-at-home dad for the next few months, so I want to thank you for taking the time away from the little guy to answer questions about Third Coast. You recently took over as editor, replacing Glenn Deutsch. Could you tell us about your background with the journal?
PG: I got involved with Third Coast immediately upon arriving in Kalamazoo to work on my PhD. One of my main criteria for a PhD program, in fact, was a student-run journal. I began as an associate fiction editor, then became fiction co-editor, then managing editor and was just officially handed the reigns as editor earlier this summer. I’ve long been an ardent fan of lit mags, of course, and the opportunity to work at—and now run—one of the really fine university journals is a tremendous bonus to my time here at Western Michigan University.
You mentioned my son, who’s now almost five months old, hard to believe. Every time I have to hurry off to a production meeting or let grandma baby sit for a couple hours to proof the galley, I’m reminded of exactly how much work it is. The journal, I mean. But it’s such a rewarding experience all the way around. Not just for me, of course, but for the writers we publish.
KB: NewPages, the online Guide to Literary Magazines, recently said this of Third Coast: “Consistently one of the best, cleanest-looking, most affordable and most interesting literary magazines, Third Coast seems incapable of ever making a bad move.” Peter, what is the magic formula? How does the staff manage to rise to this level year after year?
PG: The answer to this question is really un-sexy: we work our butts off, that’s the magic formula. We have a staff of more than twenty graduate students and a handful of interns, we read more than twelve hundred stories during the last calendar year, we work in an office not fit for gnome, and somehow we get everything done. Believe me, it’s not easy.
But it’s a labor of love for all of us. For starters, the integrity of our associate and assistant editors is phenomenal. They read very carefully, tirelessly, and with a really keen sense of what makes a poem, story, essay or play wonderful. Next, our genre editors are hand picked by the creative writing faculty. These people are all tremendous writers in their own right, and their ability to discern what’s a match and what isn’t is frankly confounding. You know, so much of how one judges a story or poem is taste. In spite of this, we seem to have great luck—or skill?—in transcending taste and selecting the finest work that’s sent our way. We also do a fair amount of work soliciting material from writers we admire. Believe me, the aesthetic of the editorial staff from one year to the next could hardly be more extreme. But still the quality and flavor of the magazine remains constant.
As far as production goes, we’re very fortunate to have a long standing working relationship with the school of art here at Western. They’ve produced the physical magazine since its inception and they do a terrific job. We’re pretty regularly complimented on the great look of the issues, from the fabulous covers to the layout of the pages inside, I think it’s as good as it gets. And it makes sense, really, to be so conscientious about the way each issue looks. Doesn’t it make sense to say: why publish these wonderful pieces of literature in a format not equally gorgeous?
And you know, we’re thorough—very—in our attention to detail at every level.
KB: Explain the reading process for submissions. What advice do you have for writers who plan to submit to the journal?
PG: First, the reading process. As I said, we read more than twelve hundred stories during the last year. In that same time we published, I think, thirteen stories. I’m an English major, so you’ll have to forgive my math here, but those are pretty slim odds, something like one percent. For poetry, it’s essentially the same thing. Our associate and assistant editors do about ninety percent of the initial reading of unsolicited manuscripts. What they find marvelous they pass along. Once a piece has made the cut, as it were, it’s given to the genre editors. I can tell you, as the former fiction editor, the hardest part of the job was deciding which stories stayed and which stories we had to kindly decline. How do you say no to a story that’s essentially perfect and breathtaking? It’s not easy. And every writer out there who has ever sent a piece to be considered knows the terrible feeling that accompanies the rejection. But I can say this with a completely straight face, I’d rather have a story rejected than have to reject a really terrific story.
As for advice, I’ll offer a couple suggestions. First, and this is very important, familiarize yourself with the tone of our magazine. Nearly every literary magazine recommends a writer have a look at a recent back issue before sending their work. Not enough people take this seriously. Our aesthetic sensibilities, as I said, have remained pretty constant over the life of the magazine. That means if you have a story about aliens abducting a herd of cattle, maybe our magazine isn’t the best venue for it. Even if the discrepancy between a poem or story you have written and what we generally like isn’t that extreme, take care to decide if Third Coast is, really, the best place to send it.
The second piece of advice is much cheaper: do your level best, whether you’re sending a poem or story, essay or play, to grab our attention right away. This doesn’t mean that we’re not going to consider a piece that gets off to a sluggish start, but so much energy comes from the first page or the first stanza, that to neglect the opening is a terrible misstep. This is not new advice, by any stretch of the imagination, but I’m still struck by how often people let their work creep out of the starting gate.
KB: Third Coast, as we have discussed, has been praised for its impressive print editions. You also have a website with archived listings of contents, but no more than one story or poem per issue is accessible to the online reader. Obviously, like some journals have chosen to do, the site’s function is to inform future submitters of guidelines and upcoming contests. Does the journal have any plans at the time to change this? Is it your priority to continue as a print magazine, first and foremost?
PG: Boy, I hem and haw about this all the time. I’m an old fashioned guy. I want to hold the magazine in my hand, spill coffee on the pages, dog ear them. I want to have to go to my bookcase to remind myself of what I’ve read. I mean, I still insist on buying my books in a bookstore, even if it means special ordering them. So in that respect my inclination is to make the website more informational than content driven. At the same time, I absolutely understand the trend towards electronic media. People love immediate, unfettered access to the things they want. Even if it’s a sonnet by Marvin Bell.
So the short answer is we don’t have plans to redirect our energies. Which is not, of course, to say that we don’t take the website seriously. We take it as seriously as we can, given our technological limitations. Will it change in the future? Who’s to say? Listen, lots of people get their literature from the web, it’s a wonderful thing, but there are still plenty of people who want the same thing I do: to hold the journal in their hand, to read it hunkered down in front of the fireplace.
KB: There are online journals starting left and right out there on the web. We tend to notice them because of their easy access, easier say, than writing a check for a subscription to a journal and waiting for it to arrive through the postal service. Have you seen any negative impact on the print journal because of the growth of ezines?
On another note, everytime I walk into the bookfair at the annual AWP (Association of Writing Programs) conference, the rows and rows of tables holding print journals are overwhelming. Do you believe that a print journal is still something most writers and readers admire? What do you think makes Third Coast stand out?
PG: I want to say that the proliferation of online journals hasn’t hurt us in any way, but I can’t say that with certainty. I mean, during the last two or three years our subscription base has gone from fewer than a hundred to in excess of 900. Our print runs have gone from about 600 to in excess of 3,500. That’s unprecedented growth and it suggests we’re doing okay running our little book next to the internet. But everything is precarious. The fate of a journal like Third Coast, one that has never generated a profit, depends so much on the financial stability of the university department that oversees it. It depends on the continued faith and support of our faculty. It depends on trends such as the one you’ve addressed in this question.
And you’re right about the tables at AWP being overwhelming. But I think serious differences exist between one journal and the next, almost without exception. That’s why so many of them are able to coexist. You ask if writers admire a print journal and though I would be loathe to suggest I speak for all writers, I think the answer is yes. It’s physical, it smells like a book, looks like one, is one. Whereas online zines seem so ephemeral, so ethereal. I know, for example, that when my son is old enough to read, I want to show him the stories I’ve written and I wonder if the website that publishes the story will still be around in ten years, if the archive of their publications will still spit me out.
On this same subject, but moved into the book world, I think there’s evidence of the good-old-fashioned keeping its heels dug in. Whatever you think about the fate of book publishing, it’s still evident that people love to pick up their favorite author’s new book and head to the beach, or take it with them on the plane, or just plain old park it on the sofa to read away an afternoon.
KB: Currently what is the relationship between WMU faculty and the staff at Third Coast?
PG: As I indicated earlier, we rely almost constantly on the wisdom and experience of our faculty for guidance. Though they allow us all the freedom we need and want, they’re never inaccessible. We have a faculty advisor, the playwright Steve Feffer, who we meet with regularly to discuss all manner of things. And we’re in close contact with the chairman of the English department who keeps us honest where the financial shape of the magazine is concerned. But editorially, where the genre content is concerned, they give us complete license.
KB: In a review of the Spring 2005 issue of Third Coast, NewPages points out that one of the journal’s unique aspects is its intriguing reviews of books that are often ignored or overlooked by other magazines. Instead, Third Coast’s reviews are brief, useful and “great discoveries.” Tell us how these books are selected.
PG: Our Recommended Book section is one of my very favorite aspects of the magazine. We generally publish reviews of books that are otherwise overlooked. Sometimes these books are suggested by one of our staff saying hey, I read this book and loved it… and sometimes we select them on the basis of some connection, say a former contributor, as with the review of Scott Kaukonen’s new book Ordination, the title story of which we originally published. Sometimes it’s an alumnus of the creative writing program who’s made good. But usually and most commonly the books are selected at a little powwow wherein we all bring our suggestions and hash out ideas.
I do have to add here that Jaimy Gordon, one of the faculty members who works closely with us, is often instrumental in helping us not only select the books, but in the editing of the reviews. It’s a passion of hers, one that we benefit from enormously.
KB: Does the journal solicit work from established authors?
PG: The short answer is yes, like most magazines, we do. The longer answer is that the solicitation of work by established authors, though a vital part of our process, is not always our bread and butter. What I mean is we would never push aside a poem by someone publishing for the first time for the sake of a lesser poem by someone who has published six books. In the same breath I’ll say that if we solicit work from an established author, and they send us second rate work, we won’t take it, or we’ll edit it to our satisfaction. It’s amazing how often the established author respects this about a magazine. And though it sounds like common sense, the lure of putting that famous author’s name on the back cover is very tempting if we think it will sell fifty extra copies of the magazine. But finally the artistic integrity is more important than the dollars.
And you know, as an editor, I would much rather publish a story by a complete unknown and have the work generate some buzz than have a famous writer generate the same buzz. I’d rather be responsible for helping discover someone.
KB: Can you give us a sneak peek at the upcoming Fall 2005 issue?
PG: Oh my, is it a fine issue. Our first ever Third Coast Poetry Contest winner, Justin Vicari, starts the issue off. We’re also publishing drama for the first time, a one-act play by OyamO. Tim Seibles has a poem in the fall issue that’s sure to generate some noise, a great, great poem. My favorite story in the issue is by a woman named Melanie Westerberg. It’s along story, a coming of age story, set in the middle of America and just as wonderful as anything I’ve read in a long time. There’s also an interview with Howard Norman who was very generous with his time and it shows. He was also kind enough to share an excerpt from a novella-in-progress. It’s a short gem. All together it’s just a superb issue, really. Whenever I get to the end of an issue I think, man, this might be our best issue yet. And you know, I feel the same with this one.
About the Interviewer
Kim Bradley in an Interview Editor at Portal Del Sol. She is the recipient of an MFA from UNO, as well as the 2005 Page Edwards Short Fiction award of the Florida First Coast Writers Festival. She lives in St. Augustine, Fla, where she is a part-time writing instructor at Flagler College. She can be reached at sodade@bellsouth.net
