Poets, writers, artists, and many people from the Sheboygan and surrounding areas gathered at the Paradigm Café in downtown Sheboygan on Nov. 11 to celebrate the release of a brand new issue of the literary journal Stoneboat in an event that included readings of pieces from the new issue both by the authors themselves and others who were willing to fill in for those who couldn’t attend.
Stoneboat is a literary journal based out of Sheboygan that has a very close relationship with Lakeland College given that its founder, Rob Pockat, is a Lakeland College alum, and Lisa Vihos, Alumni Director, and Signe Jorgensen, Assistant Professor of General Studies, both work on the editorial staff of the publication.
Lakeland College Studio Art Major Jake Belknap was just one of many said readers who filled in for absent authors. About the new issue Belknap said, “It’s nice, I really like the new style.”
The new style Belknap is referring to is the much larger paged and laminated cover that Stoneboat decided to adopt for this issue, as opposed to the smaller, staple-bound publications they used previously.
The larger page format enhances the experience of reading through this journal, providing significant amounts of white space around the poems to let the eyes rest. With only one poem on each of these large pages, it grants each piece a sense of exclusivity and importance.
More spacious pages also allow for Stoneboat to publish more appealing, longer pieces of prose. A photo essay by Stephan Mazurek covering his trip through an African prison quickly comes to mind as one particularly powerful piece that would not have been published effectively in the smaller format.
The laminated and vibrant cover art of the new issue also greatly enhances the experience and overall quality of the magazine. The reader really feels that what he or she owns is something of significance and importance as opposed to a paper-back issue with staples holding it together.
In many ways all the elements that make the larger format so appealing are perfectly complimented by the pieces in this issue. There are some excellent works in this issue and, compared to previous publications of Stoneboat, they seem to have a more important and powerful feel than that of any of the previous issues.
New issues of Stoneboat cost only 5 dollars. For the quality of publication, as well as the excellent work within its pages, this is more than worth it, and it never hurts to support your local literary scene. Stoneboat can be ordered on their online store at www.stoneboatwi.com. It may also be purchased at the Paradigm Café in Sheboygan.