Oddball Magazine was one of the most stable things in 2024. Even more than Stone Soup Poetry.
That might not be saying much given how much of my life delved into both chaos and drudgery.
Still, if 2020 was Oddball's greatest year, 2024 turned out to be much the opposite.
After three years of offering little in the way of hope, many of the political artists and writers fell by the wayside from a combination of apathy, frustration and outright exhaustion.
No matter how much I tried, I could only rally a strong few to come forward with political work.
That changed a bit by year's end (Thanks, Richard Spisak, Rich Boucher, Steven David Justin Sills and others), but I couldn't follow through.
I wish Oddball Magazine had been a greater force during this election year.
Just goes to show how a pandemic and shutdown can help jumpstart creative people.
I guess the downfall is the time to recover. Many creatives are still recovering.
Pride spotlights suffered. I balked at any new election themed calls for submissions. I never followed through with my desire to nominate contributors for the Pushcart or Best of Net.
With publisher Jason Wright not being around for much of the election year (and that's a whole other post I might never write), Oddball Magazine ended this year with more of a whimper than 2020's bang of our very best.
I put the blame on me. Not on anybody else who sent me their best.
I never let lack of resources or manpower stop me before. This year, I did.
I'm getting ready to call some of Oddball Magazine's former contributors back. I want many friends to return to the fold.
I have a lot to do in the final days of 2024 and everything to do better in 2025.
No comments:
Post a Comment