We started The Worcester Journal with the belief that young writers deserved an attractive and professionally produced magazine to showcase their works, and because of this we found the warm and engaged response by readers to the first issue both pleasing and heartening. We wanted to produce a general-interest magazine that was interesting, entertaining, and instructive, one that didn’t dumb-down its topics and  one that didn’t accept the tiresome and widely-held belief that the younger generations lack attention and discipline. In short, we wanted to give people a good read. We’re delighted that you seem to think we did.

Our second issue also has plenty of good reads. It features an essay on bridging the gap between immigrants and their grandchildren, a discourse on punk and its place in today’s pop culture, a backgrounder on that granddaddy of geeky sci-fi TV shows, Doctor Who, a contemplation on three classic movies of the modern period, an introduction to the weird and wonderful culture of steampunk, an odyssey in search of used books, a memoir on watching a beloved grandparent grow frail and forgetful, reviews of a book on decision-making and musical releases by Knife Party and Weatherbox, poems on (we think) having your school picture taken, sitting in a railway station, and the struggle between ice and fire (with a haunting illustration by Scott Holloway), and finally an article on the modern-day relevance of a short story on postnatal depression published at the turn of the last century. This last piece, by the way, was written by our outgoing intern/contributing editor Sloane Perron, to whom we offer our best wishes as she moves onto another chapter in her career.

We are always interested in talking with young writers who would like to see their work in the magazine. Finished manuscripts are welcome (although we should remember Paul Valery’s dictum that a poem is “never finished, only abandoned” also applies to prose). If you don’t have a subject to write about, we’d still like to talk with you. We have plenty of assignments waiting for the pen (or keyboard) of an eager and creative writer. 

James Dempsey

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Music

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Culture

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Books

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Poetry

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Movies

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Memoir

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