"We Believe in the Power of Art." A Chat With Paula Whyman, Editor of Scoundrel Time
Editor of online magazine founded in the wake of Trump's election takes us behind the scenes
Another editor interview is in the books, friends!
Today I had the pleasure of chatting with Paula Whyman, co-Founder and Editor of Scoundrel Time. This online magazine was created in 2016, on the heels of Trump’s election. They publish fiction, nonfiction, poetry, author interviews, visual art, humor and music! They also have an additional section titled “Scenes From a Pandemic.”
They say, “We seek work that responds to and resists global and local threats to people, cultures, and landscapes…Despots and demagogues are a global threat, and our goal is to present a global set of voices.”
Since the journal has an explicit political focus, I was curious if Paula had advice for writers who have strong political opinions yet want to write something more artful than a rant. We talked about the role of ambiguity and nuance in stories, and she shared helpful insights from her own experience, as well as from Fiction Editor Karen Bender and Poetry Editor Daisy Fried. Daisy described an interest in poetry that, among other things, has “political weather.”
I was also curious how the journal approached perspectives that might not be shared by the editors. Could a story whose protagonist was in favor of more pipelines or arctic drilling, for instance, make it into the magazine? Paula said yes. She wants to hear all perspectives on issues, and hear from a range of writers with strong voices and stories to tell.
As the Nonfiction Editor, Paula is at present particularly interested in essays related to the environment. She also wants to read more about the struggles children, parents and immunocompromised people have had throughout the pandemic. There is also a general need for more humor submissions, so if you’ve got something funny, this just could be the place for it!
The magazine has just celebrated its fifth anniversary, and has already published nearly five hundred writers.
Scoundrel Time publishes new work on a rolling basis. Submissions are free. They also always welcome people who would like to get involved behind the scenes, as readers or web developers.
To all who came out to watch today, thank you for tuning in! Your presence is a warm blast of sun on this cold winter day!
And to Paula, thank you so much for taking the time to share this glimpse into another nifty little magazine.
Happy viewing!
ALL literature is political. Every poem, every story, every articulation of a sentence is political, not in the sense of Democrat vs. Republican, Socialist vs. Capitalist, but in the sense that words create meanings and meanings are politically determined. Loved this discussion. Ver interesting. RT
A follow-up note from Paula, regarding some of what we discussed in the video:
"I was thinking some more about the question, how do you write about politics without writing a diatribe/rant? And I wish I’d added, when you write about an emotional response or experience, start by describing what happened that led to that feeling. I find that if the writer slows down and describes the specifics of a scene or situation, the emotion of it will be conveyed without the emotions themselves being literally described or “over-verbalized” in a way that distances the reader.
That’s what I was getting at when I talked about “feeling language” being distancing, b/c telling the reader how to feel never works very well. But I would have liked to add that piece of advice, that i forgot in the moment…
I appreciate the opportunity to talk about ST; I hope that helps writers and artists to get a better sense of the journal and what we’re looking for. Thank you again!"