Wine and words flowed when Lemon Hound celebrated its one year anniversary last Friday at Drawn & Quarterly Library, marking a year since the journal’s migration from blog format to a fully blooming website.
Founded in 2005 by Concordia creative writing professor Sina Queyras, Lemon Hound initially functioned as Queyras’ personal blog until 2009. She now holds the position of Editor-in-Chief to what has evolved into an online literary journal, where poetry, reviews, interviews and more are published. Its impressive masthead includes Concordia professors Stephanie Bolster and Darren Wershler, and award winning writers such as Christian Bök (Eunoia) and Zoe Whittall (Holding Still for as Long as Possible).
The celebration involved readings from six authors. Amongst them was Concordia creative writing professor Josip Novakovich, who was a finalist for the Man Booker International Prize earlier this year. Novakovich read from a new story entitled “Crossbar”, and proceeded to send the guests into fits of laughter as he told the offbeat tale of soccer and zoos, beginning the story with, “this happened a few years back, in 2016.”
Concordia creative writing graduate student Nicholas Papaxanthos and translation student Clara Aimee Wall were also amongst those reading on Friday. They shared selections from their respective poetry which can be described as gritty and experimental, qualities that are in-line with the kind of aesthetic Lemon Hound promotes.
Other readers included award winning Canadian author Anita Lahey (Out to Dry in Cape Breton), and poets Dani Couture and Robin Richardson.
Though the online magazine gives special attention to women’s writing, Lemon Hound publishes conversations with writers such as Ken Babstock, Jim Smith and Michael Crummey, and explores diverse mediums such as the graphic novel, film and television.
“It is our commitment to staying relevant, to seeing literature as organic and local, mechanistic and ludic, international and in translations, conceptual and classic, staring us straight in the eyes and kicking dirt in our face, as diverse and complicated as the host of hands that helps make Lemon Hound happen over and over again,” writes Queyras and Genevieve Robichaud in the introduction to the journal’s 6th volume.
Lemon Hound keeps its doors open to writers’ creations, critical essays and other ideas, including those that are unsolicited. “We will always, always read what you send us,” said Queyras.
Visit lemonhound.com to read the latest issue and to learn more about Lemon Hound’s submission criteria.
