Hard copy is the goal and then, in the land of dreams, to actually sell a few of these mythical hard copies to those who contribute and to those who are tired of having their printed material governed by a set of money-minded publishing houses or, on the other bloody hand, those too specific for your quirky little offering. This is not a magazine for bankers, unless they hate their job and have a
screaming partner who forces them to seek solace in pain pills and gin. It is not a magazine for bullies nor for those who get their jollies by making others feel lousy. It is, however, a magazine for the natural misfit. You don’t have to be a tattoo artist’s favourite canvas to be one, nor do have to listen to your old bootlegs from the glory days of punk. All you have to do is feel like one. You know who you are, you’re the one who has always felt a little on the outside, sees the things that the happy banker hasn’t the time to notice or inclination to care about. You might be a lonely housewife whose husband is fu***ng your sister, you might the one who falls in love with love itself and then wakes up in an empty bed yet again. You might be the one who drinks too much and doesn’t see any reason to stop. You might feel uncomfortable with being labelled either a conservative or, more to the point, a liberal. You can see the beautiful in the mundane, have begun to grow accustomed to your own company and now you want to make something of this out-of-step perspective. Ink makes a difference. If this, or a variation of this, is you then Misfits’ Miscellany is for you. We don’t care what colour your hair, how wrinkly your skin nor how big your bottom. We don’t care what others think of you, we care what you think of your very own, and our, world. The idea is create a free place where those who aren’t necessarily trying to keep step with traditions of poetry, prose, art and just about anything which will use ink, can contribute, maybe get published and find one or two misfits who enjoy the work with a knowing nod. For the most voted piece each month, the contributor will receive TWENTY PERCENT of that month’s net profit. This is just a minor attempt to address the uncomfortable way in which artists, the non-populists, mostly make enough for cheap bread and tinned jam when even the printers are making a living. But that’s all far away. There is no profit to be handed over until the treasured hard copy hits the shelves or, as is more likely, the one shelf. Until then this website (http://misfitsmiscellany.wordpress.com/) is sort of an exploratory space, to see if people like the idea and appreciate some of the work. Any and all contributions are welcome. The only requirement for publication, aside from a limit of a thousand words (a few more if it’s worth it), is that there is something individual and, possibly, clever about your work. Though it doesn’t have to scream clever, it must just be a worthwhile work, small or medium-sized, in its own way. This is about, as they say, keeping it real and, sometimes, raw. Which is, of course, a matter of taste most of the time. A medium-rare fillet may be one person’s raw meal and another’s burnt dinner. Read a bit and if you don’t feel poisoned, then you’re probably already a little poisoned and that might make you one of us. Welcome, Misfits. The Curator
Philip Vermaas
If Misfits’ Miscellany ain’t for you, or you just want to find some good poetry and mags open for no-fee online submissions, this is perhaps the best list I’ve found; “compiled continually” by friend to man, Louie Crew:
http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~lcrew/pbonline.html
