The latest issue of “Sybil’s Garage,” a small-press literary magazine published in Hoboken, hit the stands this past week. And it’s looking more and more professional each time. The local magazine, which got its start in 2004, was christened “Sybil” by editor-in-chief Matthew Kressel while conversing with a fellow writer about Sybil’s Cave in Hoboken, a landmark that was once referred to in an Edgar Allan Poe story.
The magazine has grown from its modest start of a few dozen pages to the large, perfect-bound colorful collection of the fourth. It is the largest edition thus far, with nine short stories, eight poems, and two interviews.
Betrayal, death, and strangeness
Fans of the magazine might remember the reoccurring themes of loss, the mysteries of the unknown, and the nature of coincidence that were prevalent in the last issue. Although this issue features different themes that focus on betrayal, aging, and communication, both leave the reader feeling as though they have entered a new realm that is not quite what it seems. According to Kressel, he doesn’t seek out work that is necessarily dark. What appeals to him in this issue is the brooding emotional quality of the work and the sharp character descriptions.
“They tend to be a little bit dark,” said Kressel, “There is a brooding sense of darkness. The characters are going through suffering and trying to express it.”
When asked whether he thought it was a sign of the times, Kressel said that although it could be, he doesn’t think it is a conscious thing. Kressel prefers to work intuitively when choosing work for the magazine. Kressel and his team of associates (seven editors), read through 300 short story submissions and about 75 poems for this issue.
“For me, a traditional pulp story often bores me,” said Kressel. “There is another depth to these stories. Each story has an individual voice.”
That individuality often contains something slightly strange in a story that would otherwise seem to be an everyday occurrence.
“I’m always looking for that oddity or strangeness,” said Kressel. “I even picked a story called ‘Strangeness.’ ”
Urban images
Each of the stories conveys images that are current in our consciousness and in our day-to-day reality, yet with a dark understanding of what is yet to come.
In the short story “Strangeness” by Steve Rasnic Tem, a woman tells her husband of 26 years that his best friend has died of heart attack. Martin barely responds to this news, as he is glued to the latest reality television show.
The aging couple no longer does anything but eat together, while the whispers from the television set drone on. The disturbing yet powerful “Jetsam” by Livia Llewellyn recalls images of the devastated World Trade Center and the billowing smoke. The narrator Jay struggles to remember something crucial that was lost. “Only a week since the attack, and smoke still billowed in toxic sheets over the lower part of the island. Chemicals and flesh – the dead settled in their mouth and lungs,” Llewellyn writes.
John Bowker’s story “Pairings” follows Catherine one Saturday afternoon as she struggles to match all of her husband’s black socks, but he doesn’t notice Catherine’s attention to the little details of their household. Other stories in the magazine tell of a strangely obsessed collector, a man struggling to be free of alcoholism, and new kind of behavior control, all of which spiral into odd but uniquely satisfying conclusions.
Other contributors include: Ekaterina Sedia, Leah Bobet, Rowena Southard, Cat Rambo, Richard Bowes, Barbara Krasnoff and others.
More to come
Eventually Kressel plans to release the magazine four times a year.
“In the next year or so I would like [Sybil’s Garage] to be out semi-annually,” said Kressel.
In addition to his editing work, Kressel is busy reworking his first novel and recently had a short story called “Marie and the Mathematicians” published.
For now though he is busy with the latest addition to his publication – the online version. Kressel said that in addition to the blog that is already active, he plans to have content on the website that is different from the print version of the magazine.
One idea is to post a picture online and have the writers submit a story about it. The winner of that contest will have their story published online.
Kressel said that Sybil’s Garage is a “mood magazine.”
“I would like the reader to walk away with a mood,” said Kressel. “I hope to engage them.”
If the positive feedback from the previous editions are any indication – Sybil’s Garage is more than a passing thought – it is a growing publication.
Copies of “Sybil’s Garage” can be found at the Hoboken Historical Museum or ordered online at: www.sensesfive.com.
Comments on this piece can be sent to: current@hudsonreporter.com.