So Many Books, So Few Reviewers

My recent visit to the annual AWP conference (this year in Denver) brought home a couple of things: the first was a box of books so big I had to ship it to myself to avoid the airline baggage charge; the second the reinforcement of the fact that there are far more authors in the literary world whose books are worthy of review than there are journals that review them.

On my first two days I toured the rows and rows of the bookfair, meeting dozens of authors, editors and publishers. Most of them, on learning my role at LAR, suggested (and often presented) volumes for review—most of them seemed, at first glance, interesting enough to consider.

Of course I couldn’t make promises except to consider their work, and as my book bag strap began to bore its way through my shoulder from the weight of the volumes, I began to wonder if even the shard of hope I offered the writers was too much. At LAR we dedicate 10-15 pages per issue to reviews, which is more than most journals. Even one page would be more than most newspapers in the nation.

We are considering expanding LAR’s reach by publishing some of reviews online, which would help accommodate a few more of the many excellent pieces we receive. However, we’ll need more qualified reviewers to handle the titles. I could go on about the benefits of reviewing—of the good odds of acceptance and the expansion of writing horizons—but remember also the concept of literary citizenship, the “pay it forward” aspect of the writing life that asks you to do a turn for a fellow writer, and know that someone will be there, when the time comes, to pen a review for you.

Remember also that if we don’t fulfill this literary obligation, the only criticisms left may someday be those abysmal “reader reviews” on Amazon. If you’re interested in reviewing for LAR, please contact me at lareview.bookreviews@gmail.com.

Joe Ponepinto, Book Reviews Editor