Guess That Genre!

“Vigil,” by Ember L. Johnson, is part of a developing book about maintaining the Minnesota farm she bought with her husband, off on a tour of duty to Iraq. The war itself is hardly mentioned, but Johnson recounts the deaths around the farm—goats, a pet horse, a hawk accidentally killed—that reflect her own confusion and ambivalence.

Standout poetry contributions include two pieces from Seth Abramson and a long piece, “Descent with Modification” by Ravi Shankar, detailing, in couplets, a claustrophobic car ride: “Never has a four-door felt so immured,/nor air so coarse to breathe…”

All in all, if I make a few decisions about genre, I’d say there are 32 poems, nine stories (including flash), and six essays (including a piece I’ve decided is a brief essay) in this issue. It’s almost an embarrassment of riches, ranging in setting (there are several historical pieces), theme, and approach. And the journal itself is only five dollars, so, crassly, that comes down to about 15 cents a poem, or 55 cents a story, or 83 cents an essay. It’s certainly worth the price.

In many ways, this issue of the Georgetown Review feels like an unmarked grab-bag of prizes: rummage randomly inside and who knows what you’ll pull out. Though there are some great treats to be found, I can’t help but wish I’d been given a bit more guidance about what to expect.