CELEBRATE ALASKA QUARTERLY REVIEW

Let’s say you’re here in Anchorage and it’s Sunday and you’re trying to be a true-blue All-American by cuddling up to your new TV and dialing in on the football event of the year. Thirty minutes into the game, you’ve had enough.

Don’t despair. You’ll still have time to head to the Loussac Library between 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. on Feb. 3 to grab a hunk of cake in honor of the 25th birthday of one of the nation’s premier literary magazines, the Alaska Quarterly Review. While you’re at it, check out the ARQ 25th Anniversary Photographic Exhibition. A host of photographers will be featured, my favorite being James Barker. If you haven’t read his 1993 book Always Getting Ready, you should. Barker’s black and white images are stunning in their portrayal of the Yup’ik way of living.

If you can’t pull away from the game, don’t worry. The exhibit lasts all month. And if you don’t live in Anchorage (or even if you do), make a point to pick up a copy of the Alaska Quarterly Review. If you don’t believe me, these kudos should be enough to convince you:

“That one of the nation’s best literary magazines comes out of Alaska may seem surprising, but so it is.”
— The Washington Post Book World

“When all is said and done, Ronald Spatz and his crack team of editors put together one hell of a magazine. Read it cover to cover; put it on your coffee table; impress your friends. This magazine’s so hot, it makes any number of editors in the lower-48 look like they’re living in the ice age.”
—John McNally Literary Magazine Review

“…Among the top literary journals in America… Alaska Quarterly Review is holding its creative course and staying true to its original vision of promoting new writers and giving a home to fresh voices on the writing scene. …This is storytelling at its finest.”
—Phoebe Kate FosterPopMatters Associate Books Editor