Pat King: Lit Up Magazine just seemed to come out of nowhere. Did you plan on starting a webzine for a while or was it a sudden decision?

Mikael Covey:  There were a couple of things that went into that - one, so many great writers around today, and so many great zines... Yet the zine editors saying they only accept maybe five percent of all submissions. So I wanted a forum that was maybe more open.

Secondly, I wanted to reach a younger audience because really, there are great literary ezines out there, but I don't think kids, teenagers, are aware of that. So I wanted to reach out to them, bring them into the fold of avid readers; like an alternative to playing video games or just killing time.

And, there're a bunch of other reasons, I suppose, but those two make me sound altruistic and noble, so let's go with that.

PK:  In what ways do you try to gear your site toward a younger audience?

MC: I think it's an attitude thing. Many literary sites are all about words, which is fine because that's their niche and they're good at it. But I'm hoping that music videos, spoken word videos, pictures, artwork, etc., will provide a more colorful setting which might be more attractive to kids and/or everybody else. And I welcome young people to submit whatever they'd like, as a way to maybe get them involved and interested in on-line literature.

Another interest of mine is to bring peoples from all over the world together, so we can meet and share ideas. So I look for writers from all corners of the planet and ask them to share what life is like in their part of the world.

Maybe the biggest attitude difference is that Lit Up Magazine seeks to be inclusive instead of exclusive.

PK: Which brings up an interesting point in that you're willing to repost things that have previously been published, even recently. Is this because you haven't gotten many cold submissions since you're a start up or is it part of a larger philosophy?

MC: No. We get enough submissions to post something new every few days, with a bit of a backlog, not counting the submissions we turn down. The reposts were basically some special things - a story about a little rock n roll band in New York, by Levi Asher, who's a great writer but hasn't written any fiction in years and years; stories by Joseph Ridgwell, who got mad at the world and asked the world to delete all his published work; a great story by Pat King that was published some time ago, but is so powerful and moving that it needs to be made available to a new audience who might not have seen it before.

In a sense, these reposts are like brand new. It's possible a reader could find the originals - if they really knew where to look for them. But if something great was published years ago...why should it be lost in some seldom-accessed archive? I guess my philosophy is to provide the reader with the best writing I can find, new or old, first-take or re-post, as long as the author is willing to share it.

PK: That's a good point. There's good writing on the web but often, the audiences don't overlap. There's just too much stuff. Do you have any help with the submissions? Or are you the only editor at this point?

MC: Just me. Which of course has its advantages and disadvantages. It's a lot of fun to interact with writers, artists, and musicians...well, most of the time. From an artistic standpoint, it can really pump you up...most of the time. But the nuts and bolts are a bit time-consuming. I mean, wordpress is a really good forum for a zine, but it'd be nice to have something more grandiose and more user-friendly.

I actually spent quite a bit of time trying to develop a self-made web site, but that was a total disaster. The functionality of paid-for web sites is dinosaur-age compared to wordpress.

Of course another problem with no staff is that editing is pretty much out of the question. I just don't have time. And while I want to be receptive to writers who are new to on-line publishing...yah still gotta write good, or it aint gonna work.

PK: Well, I think it's very user friendly. I mean you've got a comments section and the blog. How important do you think interactivity is in the online lit world?

MC: To me, interactivity is very important. With the internet, it's as if we - all six billion of us - were sitting around in a large room sharing ideas, opinions, jokes, whatever...sharing our selves. Reaching each other, like we never could before. (Takes another toke) that's what it's all about man...

Seriously though, I'd like to have a dynamic discussion board where anybody could let loose about anything they want. And while a person can chat almost anywhere on the internet; it's always so...distant, like people are afraid to say the wrong thing. And then everybody jumps down your throat. Either that, or it's like insider stuff, where you can't feel like you're a part of the conversation, if you're not a regular.

Maybe I need a life, but hell...maybe we all do.

PK: What did you mean when you said that we were living, right now, in the "Golden Age of Literature?"

MC: The writing that is happening now is as good or better than all writing before. This because the internet has given everyone the keys, access to the editor's desk and the publisher's office. And much of it is available to the reader at the click of a button. No longer do we need to gulp down volumes to see what writers have done. Now we can search the web to see what writers are doing. This is the information age, and information derives from literature. We are what we read.

PK: What do you think of the Offbeat/Brutalist movements that are taking place in England? You've met a couple of them before, haven't you?

MC: The Offbeats and Brutalists are among the most interesting and fun people you’d ever wanna know. I was very lucky to meet Andrew Gallix of 3AM Magazine, who’s pretty much the central figure in this movement. He invited me to an Offbeat get-together when I was in London, and I got to hang out with all these great people like Matthew Coleman, Joe Ridgwell, Vim Cortez, Heidi James, and a number of others. All very serious artists, but also a lot of fun to drink and joke with. Coleman and Ridgwell can keep you in stitches just by being themselves, though the Guiness probably helps - “hey, the Yank’s drinking my beer!” Sorry, lotta glasses on the table, I just grabbed the closest one.



I did a write-up about meeting those folks, if anyone would want to read it - here.

More recently, when I was out east, I got to meet Tony O’Neill and Lee Rourke, plus some great American writers - Don Eminizer, Levi Asher, Jackie Corley, and Kathy Polenberg. And it’s the same thing, not only amazed at the great talent of these people, but also a lot fun to carouse around with them. As for what I think of the Brutalist and Offbeat movement…likely some or all of them are gonna be as well-known and influential as the Beats were. That’s my opinion, anyway.

PK: You are, of course, a writer yourself. What kind of projects are you working on now?

MC: The books, always the books. I’ve written four or five of ‘em and really would like to find an agent and/or publisher someday (soon). But the unpublished novelist pain is alleviated a bit by the zine, being able to publish other writers. And surprisingly I still find time to write even though the zine is pretty time consuming. It’s like the old adage - the more you have to do, the more you’re able to get done.

It all depends on moods. If I’m feeling down, there doesn’t seem to be any point to anything. But if I’m feeling good, everything’s like a rush, a non-stop adrenaline high. I learned something recently, by reading someone else’s book - the only thing that matters is what you’re doing right now. That’s something I’ve always known, but you lose track of things, like the meaning of life. The thing is, to do what you wanna do. Like Aleathia’s poem or Camus’ line - to live and create in the midst of the desert. That’s when I feel most alive, ‘cause that’s what I wanna do.

So it's always a huge rush for me, a great feeling of joy, when an editor says they're gonna publish something I wrote. Besides being with my little girl (who's five), that means everything to me. Not to see my name in lights, but because I wanna reach people, to speak to them, want my words to mean something, to make a difference in the world.

PK: Thanks Mikael.

Last update : 15-06-2008 23:34

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