GORE VIDAL: DEAD. TAR 17: RELEASED

[Prole !!V4LwvRNiaYz No.2862861]

Coincidence? Good people of /lit/, TAR 17

>http://theaprilreader.wordpress.com/

"Shaken but still stirring, TAR releases Issue 17. Our batch this month is quite diverse, and should
tingle at least a few different taste-buds. Dive right into some speculative cyberpunk to discover what the hell
Gobblefunk is. Then, take in the nostalgia of a greasy roller-rink arcade with Hustle. After the simstim and incest,
finish off your prose binge with a downer, courtesy of The Other Boat. For people who love traveling but hate the
world, August's poetry section is an express ticket from Contessa Feline's Italy to the Chicago of Jesse's Homeless
Face, with lodgings at the broken down and boarded up haunts at Simon and post-Garfunkal. All credit for the
lovely artwork we've butchered belongs to the talented Rallé, who has gracefully made portions of his artwork
open to the public."

If anyone should desire to submit content or assist us in the release of our next issue, they need only email us at [e-mail]

Our thanks

[Anonymous No.2862893]

FYI, as a hard, unbreakable rule I never read anything that opens with dialogue.

It is disgusting and irredeemable.

[Anonymous No.2862906]

i'll read it later, once there's a good enough shitstorm in this thread

[Prole !!V4LwvRNiaYz No.2862910]

>>2862893
>>2862906

Give it time gents.

I for one, am going to bed

[Anonymous No.2862919]

>that cover

[Anonymous No.2862953]

>>2862919
>is wonderful

[Anonymous No.2862998]

Gobblefunk 6/10, ending was bad. Rest was okay. Doesn't know what subtlety means.

[Anonymous No.2863008]

that cover is fucking awesome

[Anonymous No.2863045]

Hustle 4/10. Hammy. No purpose, nothing interesting. Overwriting. Terrible dialogue.

[Anonymous No.2863050]

It Sucks wincestcaption/10

[Anonymous No.2863051]

hey, I got in. Wrote "Simon and post-Garfunkel".

That was one of the first things I tried to write, and have since submitting I've rewritten it a little. As tryhard as it is, feel free the bash.

[Anonymous No.2863057]

I never know how much of this thread is Prole samefagging and how much is actual reaction. I've tried reading it myself and it always seems like the same bullshit over and over.

[Anonymous No.2863084]

The Other Boat 8/10. Decent voice. Was almost interested in the sub-narrative. 2deep4me but at least it wasn't beating me over the head.

[Anonymous No.2863090]

>>2863057
I'm not sure if I'd call them all the same bullshit, there's a general tone sure. Although I can only seem to read one prose and a poem or two each time around. It Sucks was a nice twist on the typical incest story ;_; Cotessa Feline was pretty clever with all of the wordplay, Don't Know was pretty emotive.

[MrThrills !aAnvD.FqpM No.2863098]

>>2862893

We're thinking of adding in awesome or otherwise amusing posts into subsequent issues of TAR. I like yours.

"As a rule... [TAR is] disgusting and irredeemable."

>>2862906
I hear you. I used to live in Russia (the Turkish parts), and sometimes we had to power our meat freezers with shitstorms.

>>2862998
>>2863045
I like you. I wish these threads had more of this type of speed-critiquing. It's honest and clearly points out faults.

>>2863057
Back when we had Sweedish Guy around, every thread ever was just prole and him bouncing through different proxies and posting whatever their random-phrase generators spat out. They got the idea from MGS2. But that's all in the past, I assure you.

[Anonymous No.2863106]

>>2863098
>Back when we had Sweedish Guy around, every thread ever was just prole and him bouncing through different proxies and posting whatever their random-phrase generators spat out.
>hey got the idea from MGS2.

oh god I can't stop laughing

[Anonymous No.2863115]

The Other Day 7/10 Was good until I was being lectured by some faggot who was raped by a little girl. Message kind of falls when he didn't even do anything, was disconnected as well. But not bad.

Art is 10/10 so far. Really pretty shit.

[Anonymous No.2863119]

>>2863115
Forgot my pic. Important aspect.

[Anonymous No.2863126]

>>2863119
kshitter detected

[Anonymous No.2863135]

>>2863098
I like you too.

Contessa Feline 7/10 Knew where you were going with it and it's not edgy or contrived.

Don't Know 3/10 Mom's a bitch and this isn't really poetry. Nice try, though.

>>2863126
I don't even know what that is but thank you.

[MrThrills !aAnvD.FqpM No.2863136]

>>2863115

Daiym, nigga! You read fast as hell!

[Anonymous No.2863137]

>>2863126
you actually memorize filenames?

[Anonymous No.2863138]

The samefag is strong in this one.

[Anonymous No.2863159]

Gnosis I'll read it when I fucking feel like it/10
Infinite Drive 6/10 Cliché, teenagey. Should have run with the light idea and skipped out on the explaining it.
Jesse's Homeless Face 6/10 still not really poetry. Not completely terrible though.
Post-Incorrectly-Spelled-Garfunkel just learned about ee/10. Edgy as fuck. Poetry is not for ranting. Could write good poems if you got over yourself and focused on things other than wurstgenerationevur.

[rangaha !KJKZ7n2h3I No.2863170]

Gnosis seemed like a very ambitious work, and the author managed to pull it off; a very beautiful method of conveying the concepts, great imagery, appropriate vagueness. I'd say it's the one of the best poems I've read in a while, not just in TAR. If the author is here, I'd like to ask: how long did it take to write this? What was your inspiration?

[Anonymous No.2863178]

Sometime 7/10 Not greatful but decent. Would read again. Write more.
Sons daddyissues/10. What free verse should be like, though shouldn't be afraid to go more abstract than silly things like 'my brother will wake up from his coma'.

[Anonymous No.2863189]

>>2863159

nope, mixture of Burroughs and Whitman, to be honest. Still have yet to get around to the notorious Tao. I just wanted to make something vivid and rolled into that, but I still enjoy the rant. (though those bits could be written better)

Thanks.

[Anonymous No.2863213]

>>2863170

Hello I am the author of Gnosis, thank you for the words of encouragement! Means a lot.

I wrote it over the course of April, during the write-a-poem-a-day thing. From there I took what I had made from that and used it as the basis of a longer poem (though I don't think much of the original poetry made it through intact, if any at all). I think from there I had basically finished it by June. I'm not even sure what my inspiration was. In a way it's sort of just pastiche T.S. Eliot. Gnosticism plays a big role in it too I guess. Aside from that, anxiety and relationships with women.

[Anonymous No.2863224]

Typewriter Poem I 9/10 Good imagery and voice. No complaints.
The Young Idealist's Seduction 8/10 Again, good voice, use of language. Why did you guys squish these two in at the end?

[rangaha !KJKZ7n2h3I No.2863264]

>>2863213
I'd urge you to see if you can get published in places more, ah, renowned than TAR.

[Anonymous No.2863304]

>>2863264

I will try! I'm still pretty young though, with a lot of room to grow, so I don't exactly want my work all over the place.

[Anonymous No.2863306]

>>2863224
...I don't understand poetry. Why were these good?

[Anonymous No.2863324]

>>2863306
Take ratings for poetry with a grain of salt, it's a pretty personal thing. Both were unique, had their own voice, are interesting and more than just trying to obscure a description of something with words or confessional prose split into lines.

[Anonymous No.2863461]

Read the poetry. Don't really get it.

Read Some Pervert's story. Not bad not bad.
Read the first story. It was okay. I'll reread the poetry aloud and see what I like and what sucks.

[Anonymous No.2863486]

What the fuck is a blatant /a/ incest story doing in this? God this is funny.

[Anonymous No.2863490]

Okay reread the poetry. Did not Care for much of it. The last two were okay. The long one near the end was just long. The first two were plain shit. The long ass one was okay. Had some nice lines. Everything else is forgettable.

[Anonymous No.2863974]

>>2863486

>incest

[Anonymous No.2863981]

>>2863486
TAR lowered its standards.

[Anonymous No.2863991]

>>2863981

They broadened them.

[Anonymous No.2863997]

>>2863981
You can get lower than they already had?
>tfw tar has never published a single thing you've sent ever.
God, I'm giving up writing.

[Anonymous No.2864031]

>>2863997

Change the type of thing you write.

To pr0n.

[MrThrills !aAnvD.FqpM No.2864249]

>>2863997

This guy has some good advice to give to you:
>>2864031
(excluding the Pr0n bit.)

TAR gets alot of experimental stuff - not only with poetry, but with prose as well. Each month, several pieces of prose are rejected simply because they aren't enjoyable to read. In most of these works, you can tell there was a substantial amount of talent in the author, and that effort went into creating the prose; unfortunately, the writer plunged too far into the cesspool of post-structuralism.

TAR has made the mistake of publishing such pieces before, and the only substantial criticism of the work was usually something like "pretentious bullshit, 2/10."

If your rejected pieces were Poetry, you may be in luck. For the past several issues, we have had a single person in charge of poetry. Some said his tastes were selective - I have no opinion on the matter - and I do feel having just one person looking at all the poetry was a mistake. Right now, both myself and Prole look over the poetry submissions, and our respective tastes are quite broad. In fact, we had a hard time fitting in most of the poetry submissions we approved of, and had to file away quite a bit for future releases.

Basically, just keep trying.

[Anonymous No.2864256]

>>2864249
>cesspool of post-structuralism
Is TAR meant to represent /lit/ or not?

[Anonymous No.2864298]

i sent the first story i ever wrote to TAR and it got published. then i sent it to a better magazine and it got published there, too.

yall jelly?

[Anonymous No.2864413]

What happened with the design, it looks like a sleezy fanzine?

[Anonymous No.2864443]

This crap is honestly not worth reading.

[Anonymous No.2864618]

I actually liked the poetry this time. About as good as last issue's.

[Anonymous No.2864644]

>>2863135
I wrote Don't Know. I'm more upset that you think it's about mom issues than you hating it. If you understood the message a little better and still didn't like it, I wouldn't mind.
>>2863090
thanks!

[Anonymous No.2864680]

It seems /lit/'s monthly mess has arrived in all its gory glory.

go away tar

[theswedisheditor !!LoX0hychG63 No.2864810]

>>2862861
bump because The Other Boat genuinely deserves it with a flow that goes back and forth like the pull and tide of the sea.

[Anonymous No.2864823]

Go to bed Tar

[Anonymous No.2864831]

>>2864810
Every TAR thread is just the faggot editors bumping with and without trips.

Nobody cares, TAR.

[theswedisheditor !!LoX0hychG63 No.2864837]

>>2864831
Im not an editor anymore. Get your facts straight.

[Anonymous No.2864851]

>>2864644
I'm >>2863135
Cool, it's about jumping into real life after college and floundering. Still not poetry.

[Anonymous No.2864859]

>>2864837
I know, you got kicked off. How pathetic do you have to be to get rejected from TAR?

It doesn't matter. Go away.

[Anonymous No.2864871]

>>2864831
>>2864859
Why do you hate TAR? It's not the pinnacle of literature but it's a part of the board and there are certainly worse threads than one actually discussing work. I was the only one to rate shit so far, but that doesn't mean people aren't still reading it.

Filter it if you're too butthurt to actually read something.

[Anonymous No.2864877]

>>2864871
>Why do you hate TAR? It's not the pinnacle of literature but it's a part of the board and there are certainly worse threads than one actually discussing work. I was the only one to rate shit so far, but that doesn't mean people aren't still reading it.

Rejected.

[Anonymous No.2864878]

>>2864249
Wait, do you guys not accept pr0n?

What if I send it to you, just for you editors to jack off to, without expecting you guys to put it in TAR?

[MrThrills !aAnvD.FqpM No.2864954]

>>2864878

Then I would jack off onto it, scan your jizz-soaked contribution, and publish it in various art books. When you confront me about the theft of your work, I will say that I was displaying my semen, not your work.

Anyway, we do accept explicit material, so long as its substantial and enjoyable.

Got any good stuff with sexy chubbies?

[Anonymous No.2864990]

>>2864810
I'm the author. Thank you. I'm glad you got the sense of space I was trying to convey.

[Anonymous No.2864992]

>>2864954
I have a story about a fat guy who couldn't find his penis. He searches the folds of his fat for days of not weeks. When he has navigated most of his body (that he can reach) without avail he goes to a prostitute and asks her to find his dick. However she is so skinny the fat man has a hard time seeing her. He gives up eventually and then kills himself.

It's about the bloated economy and how we as a society waste resources trying to get off instead of trimming the fat. Might be the deepest thing you'll publish.

[Anonymous No.2865011]

Why would anyone wish to have their creative work associated with a webzine that is involved with this guy >>2864954

Comments like this are the very proof that TAR is garbage. When the curators are this sophomoric how could the publication aspire to be anything more than juvenile?

[MrThrills !aAnvD.FqpM No.2865016]

>>2864992
SEND. IT.

[Anonymous No.2865021]

>>2864851
If you're not going to bother and read/think about my work than please dont bother telling us what is and is not poetry because you obviously dont know what you're talking about

[Anonymous No.2865032]

>>2865021
You don't have to get butthurt because I stated my opinion. There is nothing poetic about your work and it's a good example of thinking an idea is enough to coast through without having anything substantial, any wordplay, any imagery. or anything remotely interesting. I didn't attack you for being a pretentious fuck who thinks splitting up a SOC sentence into lines is poetry, I stated my opinion on your shit. If you're going to publish you need to learn to take criticism.

[Anonymous No.2865058]

>>2865011
Forgetting we are on 4chan.
I think you need to chill mr freeze.

[Anonymous No.2865077]

>>2865058
Hardly. I think you kiddies need to get over your infatuation with this shit.

[Anonymous No.2865082]

>>2865011

Why do you use such archaic words?

Is it because you think people will take what you say with greater interest?

[Anonymous No.2865086]

>>2865082
ESL detected.

[Anonymous No.2865090]

>>2865011
TAR has pretty much always been like this, though. A lot of people badmouth the stories and poems, but TAR's true embarrassment lies in how its editors post/talk on 4chan.

Like you said, I'm sure it drives away good writers. Why anyone would submit here when there are thousands of other magazines listed on duotrope.com is beyond me.

[Anonymous No.2865104]

>>2865090
I always considered TAR as a fun little fuck-about publication. One that doesn't take itself very seriously and is more of a time-sink, for lack of a better term.

[Anonymous No.2865135]

>>2865104
"Operating under the belief that the rise of the internet has allowed the written word to regain parity with mass-media and television, The April Reader hopes to serve as a launching point for the future writers of this generation."

Not exactly a lighthearted mission statement.

[MrThrills !aAnvD.FqpM No.2865177]

>>2865104
>>2865135

Yes, Prole is quite an idealist. I - personally - enjoy working for TAR because it gives the editors quite a bit of variety in work experience (layout, graphic design, proofreading, etc.), as well as exposing me to a vast range of different voices and styles.

TAR certainly is a fun publication to work on. But we do like to believe we help out our contributing authors by exposing them to the feedback of the anonymous masses.

I also like to believe we give anons a set of good reads.

[Anonymous No.2865469]

don't see why people are even complaining that TAR's editors don't act professional or whatever, this is 4chan you know

[Anonymous No.2865477]

>>2865469
>hi gais ive come for sumer and im just going to keep repeating "this is 4chan" over and over
That you don't understand the culture of the board is a sign to lurk moar.

[Anonymous No.2865544]

>>2865477

I've been here since 2010. Pretty sure I understand the culture of this board. Way far from professional.

[Anonymous No.2865575]

>>2865477
Shut the fuck up you newfaggot. You obviously weren't around for ZWG. TAR is an awful lot more professional and polished.

[Anonymous No.2865576]

>>2865544
>claiming to have been here since 2010
>not knowing we take ourselves very seriously here

[Anonymous No.2865657]

>>2865575
You should revise your definition of qualities.

One turd is soft textured and light colored, the other is firm and darkly hued. Those qualities do not make one better than another since they're both still shit.

Also, yes I agree that TAR is awful. Oh I'm sorry did I take that out of context?

[Anonymous No.2865664]

>>2865657
Point is that you're a fucking faggot who thinks a community zine on 4chan should try and be pretentious instead of fun and serving the community. TAR/ZWG is definitely part of the culture of the board, as is the penis was and blueberry girls. You're trying to call people summerfags while insisting the board you've spent all of a week on is supersrs.

[Anonymous No.2865685]

>>2865664
>mentioning blueberry girls specifically as a thing
Is that you blueberry guy? You're a lot more angry outside of those blueberry threads than I expected.

[Anonymous No.2865695]

>>2865664
>TAR/ZWG is definitely part of the culture of the board, as is the penis was and blueberry girls.
get out

[Anonymous No.2865705]

>>2865685
Sounds more like Prole to me. He's pretty much the only one on /lit/ who wants TAR to fuck around in the muck and grime of 4chan.

[Anonymous No.2865709]

>>2865705
Prole is blueberry guy

[Anonymous No.2865712]

>>2865709

[Anonymous No.2865726]

>fiction section
>fully half of its length is the incest story

[Anonymous No.2865819]

>>2865664
You are clearly under the delusion that there is only one person holds all of the anti-TAR sentiments. Get your shit straight before you begin making blind accusations and assumptions.

This Guy
>>2865657
is not the same one you were addressing before.

I can assure you that it makes little difference to me if someone began coming to /lit/ a week ago or a year ago. My point, which you seem determined to overlook, is that TAR's publishers (and apparently the majority of it's reader base) seems to hold this horrendous web-publication in unqualified high regard.
Honestly, why so angry? TAR has attempted in many ways to present itself as some "pretentious" collection. I'll refer to >>2865135 for the prime example of this effort.

[Anonymous No.2865838]

i don't know guys can we just talk about the writing

[Anonymous No.2865868]

>>2865838
Why the fuck would you do that?

Besides, the writing is all shit

[Anonymous No.2865905]

>>2865819
>>2865868
Ignore mode. Grow up.

[Prole !!V4LwvRNiaYz No.2865915]

Ah, the smell of a newly released TAR thread in the morning (or should I say late afternoon?). It never gets old.

Apologies for being away for so long gents, I usually try to stay away from discussion until later in the release. But I can see that in this case it was a mistake

So far as I can see, the main points of contention are as follows
-Format
-Cover
-Sexual content
-Emphasis of TAR policy
-Me allegedly posting every response in this thread

As far as I am concerned, the prime goal for TAR editors is to act as servants of the community. TAR might ultimately just be a online magazine that releases new issues monthly, but it can only ever be successful if it works in the interests of the majority of readers and authors involved. To this end, our policies are never completely set in stone.

If /lit/ truly wants a different format for TAR, we will change it. You need only indicate what should be altered and give us a model to emulate. The same can be said for the cover and our inclusion of sexual content. If you should feel that our cover designs are bad, either tell us what you think should be changed or offer to send in a new one. We will do our best to represent the interests of the community

It is true that last month I suggested TAR should focus primarily on /lit/ and developing authors. This idea was never set in stone, and seeing that it caused concern we have since done our best to revise it. My foremost goal for TAR is to have it democratic and open to change

[Anonymous No.2865924]

>>2865915
>our inclusion of sexual content

Keep it, it's fun.

[Prole !!V4LwvRNiaYz No.2865926]

>>2865915
As for the allegation that I have posted "every single response in this thread", this is simply false. My approach to thread moderation has always been to let conversation direct itself unless it requires editor response. TAR does not argue about policy anonymously, for the simple reason that it accomplishes nothing and minimizes the relevance of criticism.

Anyways, if anything needs changing or there are any questions about the conduct of TAR, just ask.

>t;ldr:
>>2865177
although actually, Wildweasel was the source of that particular statement.

[Prole !!V4LwvRNiaYz No.2865977]

>>2865924
Yeah, I kind of figured that was the case. We only ever started removing erotic content from TAR after a handful of people kicked up a fuss.

But they don't even seem to read TAR at this point

[Anonymous No.2865980]

>>2865977
>But they don't even seem to read TAR at this point

Neither do the rest of us.

[Prole !!V4LwvRNiaYz No.2865981]

>>2865980
~100 downloads so far

so somebody must

[Anonymous No.2866025]

>>2865905
Lol, nice rebuttal, faggot

[Anonymous No.2866027]

>>2865981
Ive been downloading and deleting each download so you go into the negative.

I'll write some porn for you. I mean like straight up gay shit. It'll be about the chick-fil-a guy masturbating on an alter boy. Please publish it.

[Anonymous No.2866033]

>>2865915
>So far as I can see, the main points of contention are as follows

Just wanted to point out that you omitted the presence of TAR on /lit/ as an area of contention.

[Anonymous No.2866168]

>Gobblefunk - 3/4
Most interesting piece of the whole lot. Writing is smooth and the ending is hilarious

>Hustle - 2.5/4
The tone and idea are nice, the opening is rough as all hell. Some of the dialogue in between is also lacking

>It sucks that you can't - 3/4
Well-written, not much to complain about

>The Other boat - 2/4
Plodding existential mush. The tone of the narrator gets irritating very fast

>The Other day I was just sitting there, and then - 2.5/4
Too short to be totally compelling, but still a pretty decent read nonetheless

I'll get to the poetry sometime later.

[Anonymous No.2867797]

Bump

[Anonymous No.2867803]

Download it and read it and share your opinions, you scoundrels

[Anonymous No.2867844]

>>2867803
Nah.

[Anonymous No.2868516]

Well I liked it. Interesting cover. Nice stories. Not great stories but enjoyable ones.

[Prole !!V4LwvRNiaYz No.2869270]

Well TAR is officially dead. Even the ratings guy won't come back. The poetry must be god awful. Been a good run guys.

[Anonymous No.2869280]

>>2869270

[Anonymous No.2869290]

>>2869280
Says the moron responder. I just got back from masturbating to the x-files. What have you done with your life today?

[Anonymous No.2869291]

>>2869270
>implying it can't be revived if you make that tumblr

[Anonymous No.2869318]

>>2869290

dead lifted three times my weight for 5 hours

[Anonymous No.2869337]

>>2869270
>>2869280
Derp

[Anonymous No.2869608]

>>2869318
I doubt you could lift 900 pound dick lick.

[gasp No.2869646]

Oh dear :( Well it did have to happen sometime I guess, he was pretty old. It's true what Hitchens said about him too--became somewhat of a crackpot and a shell of his former self later in life. But that's probably true of a lot of people! RIP

[Standard Toaster !TOASTXbkRg No.2869766]

About how long would a submission need to be in order to be featured?
Or does it not really matter?

[Prole !!V4LwvRNiaYz No.2869784]

>>2869766
It isn't really a big deal, although we try to decide on what to include before the 23rd. We release on the 1st of each month, basically anything submitted up until that time will be considered. Mind you, sooner rather than later is preferable

our email is [e-mail]

[Standard Toaster !TOASTXbkRg No.2869789]

>>2869784
Alright, thanks. I should have it finished within the next few days.

[Standard Toaster !TOASTXbkRg No.2869896]

>>2869789
>>2869784
Submitted.

[Anonymous No.2870680]

Has TAR ever featured a poem that rhymed?

[Anonymous No.2870703]

>>2870680
You must be new here.

[Anonymous No.2871254]

Banp

[Anonymous No.2873031]

tar is dead

[Anonymous No.2873040]

>>2870680

[Anonymous No.2873159]

>>2873031

You killed it

[Anonymous No.2873834]

Does TAR print any Of these out?
Does TAR have a news letter or email?

[Anonymous No.2873847]

>>2873834
it's an ezine and their email is theaprilreader at gmail

[Prole !!V4LwvRNiaYz No.2873888]

>>2873834
There have been plenty of outlandish schemes to try and print issues of TAR out feasibly, but as of yet it simply isn't possible. Printers and the internet have basically rendered the practical value of printing off issues fairly irrelevant. Perhaps we'll get around to making extremely low-cost mimeograph issues where practically all materials are homemade, but we can't for now

Out email, as >>2873847 suggested is [e-mail]. We've been thinking of making a newsletter for a while now, but have yet to properly conceive of presentation and content.