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exactingclam.bsky.social
The Discerning Mollusk's Guide to Arts and Ideas. From @saggingmeniscus. Quarterly, in print and online, since 2021.
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"As a young English poet teaching at the University of Genoa in the I980s I was keen to find a way into Italian poetry. It wasn’t easy." Part of the Not in Translation series. Julian Stannard on Giorgio Caproni's Litany.

RW Spryszak likens reading Clam to visiting the old neighborhood. (You're welcome back any time!) rwspryszak.substack.com/p/exacting-c...

Always a good day when my copy of @exactingclam.bsky.social arrives.

My new short story, The Man in the U-Bend, is in the summer issue of Exacting Clam @exactingclam.bsky.social. Looking forward to reading what looks like another splendid gathering of pieces. Clam on exactingclam.com/issues/no-17...

Poetry time! My translations of two poems, “Contact Lenses” by Irene Moccia and “Love Poem” by Stefano De Vecchi, are featured in @exactingclam.bsky.social’s latest issue. Such a beautiful issue. My thanks to the editors and to Irene and Stefano for trusting me with their work. It’s been a delight!

"This book is a scrapbook of a life, an I, which is split by circumstance. " Jesi Bender on Disquiet Drive by Hesse K. From Pilot Press. Subscribe today. https://exactingclam.com/issues/no-17-summer-2025/hesse-ks-emdisquiet-driveem/

New work in Exacting Clam. Thanks so much to the editors @exactingclam.bsky.social www.exactingclam.com/issues/no-17...

Big thanks to the Exacting Clam for publishing this poem of mine. @exactingclam.bsky.social

"One day long ago I preened and pouted and sat in a bucket. One day later I wondered why." The unmistakable Mike Silverton. Exacting Clam No.17 Subscribe today. https://exactingclam.com/issues/no-17-summer-2025/helpful-useful-and-informative-couplets/

Issue 17 of @exactingclam.bsky.social . I am inside, with my short essay 'Remembering Gracián'. Out now

"The pickled eyes in Smokey’s much pleated and furrowed face glared at us over his thick horn-rimmed frames." 'Smokey' by Roy Lisker. Exacting Clam No.17 Subscribe today. https://exactingclam.com/issues/no-17-summer-2025/smokey/

"In Denslow’s short story collection, cryptids and mythological creatures invade everyday life . . ." Jesi Bender on Magic Can't Save us by @joshdenslow.bsky.social    Exacting Clam No.17 Subscribe today. https://www.exactingclam.com/issues/no-17-summer-2025/josh-denslows-emmagic-cant-save-usem/

" . . . Your shapes and lines, the signs that greet your sight, Because you’re free, with nowhere left to go." Poetry by Ernest Hilbert in Exacting Clam No.17. https://www.exactingclam.com/issues/no-17-summer-2025/nineteen-locks/

"Sometimes only brief words can produce superfluous thought. I’m sure Gracián was not considering the modern context of my intemperate peers, or my own folly." Jake Goldsmith on Baltasar Gracián. Exacting Clam No.17. https://www.exactingclam.com/issues/no-17-summer-2025/remembering-gracián/

David Rose's @exactingclam.bsky.social review of Albertine Sarrazin's The Crib and Other Stories, translated by Sonya Moor, published by @confingopublishing.bsky.social www.exactingclam.com/issues/no-17...

Exacting Clam No.17 is here. Gina DeMartino's A Clam at the Bellagio adorns the cover. Stunning fiction, poetry, criticism and essay adorns the rest of it. Subscribe today https://www.exactingclam.com/subscribe/

In @wordgathering.bsky.social, Kate Champlin on @jgoldsmith.bsky.social's IN HOSPITAL ENVIRONMENTS: "another epic ... a unique take on global events". wordgathering.com/vol18/issue2...

"an engaging, stridently witty voice brought back to life" David Rose reviews The Crib and Other Stories by Albertine Sarrazin (translated by Sonya Moor) @exactingclam.bsky.social www.exactingclam.com/issues/no-17-summer-2025/albertine-sarrazins-emthe-crib-and-other-storiesem/

New fiction coming soon in the @exactingclam.bsky.social summer issue.

Excellent clam-on-clam action here in @augstone.bsky.social interview of Dan Tremaglio.

My article on re-reading Baltasar Gracián in Issue 17 of @exactingclam.bsky.social www.exactingclam.com/issues/no-17...

Read my review of "You, From Below", a novella by @emjparsley.bsky.social published by @splitlippress.com in the summer issue of @exactingclam.bsky.social ! www.exactingclam.com/issues/no-17...

Wrote a review of @emjparsley.bsky.social novella “You, From Below" (published by @splitlippress.com ) for the summer edition of @exactingclam.bsky.social ! Read my review and the other offerings here: www.exactingclam.com/issues/no-17...

Sometimes a book's physique, more than its contents, dictates the format of a review. For @exactingclam.bsky.social I wrote about Mike Corrao's Surface Studies. www.exactingclam.com/issues/no-17...

COMING JUNE 1st: the first issue of our fifth season! Painting on cover is "A Clam at the Bellagio" by Gina DeMartino.

Happy publication day to Lee Upton's literary mystery, WRONGFUL! John Baum in Necessary Fiction: "On the surface, this is a playful novel, but its heft comes from questions about art, reading, writing, and the darker side of human nature.”  https://www.saggingmeniscus.com/catalog/wrongful/

Please join us at CLMP/PEN's Indie Lit Fair on Saturday afternoon on Lafayette Street in NYC's East Village! https://worldvoices.pen.org/event/25-indie-lit-fair/

Pound for pound, the brainiest weirdos in lit. Really deserving of your support.

In NYC? Join me Tues for a talk on covid literature @nysoclib.bsky.social: www.nysoclib.org/events/writi...

Thanks to fiscal sponsor Fractured Atlas, it is now possible to make tax-deductible contributions to Sagging Meniscus. Please help us continue to nurture and promulgate a vital literature of reinvention. We're grateful for your support! https://fundraising.fracturedatlas.org/sagging-meniscus-press

On June 30th comes Jacob M. Appel's story collection, THE SCHOOL OF ANECDOTAL MEDICINE: https://www.saggingmeniscus.com/catalog/the_school_of_anecdotal_medicine/. Preorder at https://asterismbooks.com/product/the-school-of-anecdotal-medicine-jacob-m-appel

Coming June 16th: a reissue of Jacob M. Appel's celebrated 2013 novel THE BIOLOGY OF LUCK, set in NYC on June 16, 2004 — the 100th Bloomsday.  https://www.saggingmeniscus.com/catalog/the_biology_of_luck/ Preorder at Asterism Books: https://asterismbooks.com/product/the-biology-of-luck-jacob-m-appel

Kirkus Reviews on Lee Upton's WRONGFUL: "Upton’s novel operates quite effectively as an Agatha Christie–like whodunit, complete with a lineup of colorful suspects and a twisty conclusion .... A captivating depiction of an elusive quest."

We try to put all reviews online for the use of publishers, critics and readers. See our review archive: www.exactingclam.com/reviews/

It was a pleasure to review Lee Sumyeong’s Just Like, translated by Colin Leemarshall published by @blackoceanbooks.bsky.social in @exactingclam.bsky.social recently. When I posted about this originally, I didn’t realise the review’s online too! You can read here: exactingclam.com/issues/no-16...!

"You toss hot into cold, true to our needs." A poem by Amber Isaac in the Spring issue. Subscribe today for full access. https://www.exactingclam.com/subscribe/

"Someone shampooed the neighborhood pets in the night." Poetry by Nate Logan in the Spring issue. Exclusive to print—subscribe for full access. https://www.exactingclam.com/subscribe/

"With a talent for indifference, chickens ignore me . . . " Poetry by Richard Dinges in the Spring issue. Subscribe for full access. https://www.exactingclam.com/subscribe/

"Her long eyes fare forth from the smallness of of swiftly shifting samenesses." Poetry by Lucian Staiano-Daniels in the Spring issue. Subscribe today for full access. https://www.exactingclam.com/subscribe/

As a publicist, I've had the privilege of repping some amazing small press titles lately. Here's a quick list: bookshop.org/lists/favori... @cjspataro.bsky.social @tylergore.bsky.social @whiskeytit.com @saggingmeniscus.bsky.social @clayvermulm.bsky.social

"Some poems require torque, others, punctures." The inimitable Mike Silverton. Spring '25, exclusive to print. Subscribe for full access. https://www.exactingclam.com/subscribe/

"That's the way the world operates. It's patient. It can easily out-wait you." Fiction by Scott Edwards in the Spring issue. Subscribe today for full access and your discounted rate. https://www.exactingclam.com/subscribe/

"The Lost Chord" Fiction by Stephen Baily in the Spring issue. Exclusive to print. Subscribe today for full access and your discounted rate. https://www.exactingclam.com/subscribe/

"He became most rabid when speaking about the Grays." Fiction by @alextretbar.bsky.social . Spring '25, exclusive to print. Subscribe today for full access and your discounted rate. https://www.exactingclam.com/subscribe/

"They were self-aware enough to not assume the hunter's art was readily comparable to the sniper's . . . " Fiction by Kyle Coma-Thompson. Spring '25, exclusive to print. Subscribe today. https://www.exactingclam.com/subscribe/

"The astonished human tucked away his penis and then accepted the gift." Fiction by @hank-kirton.bsky.social . Spring '25, exclusive to print. Subscribe today for full access and your discounted rate. https://www.exactingclam.com/subscribe/

"She Lived in a Tree." Fiction by Andrew McKeown. Spring '25, exclusive to print. Subscribe today for full access and your discounted rate. https://www.exactingclam.com/subscribe/

My story "Dredging" in Exacting Clam!