Content area
Full text
The American dissident. Semiannual. No. 15. Summer/Fall 2007. Published and edited by G. Tod Slone, 1837 Main St., Concord, MA, 01742. todsloneCayahoo.com ISSN 1555-9777 $16 www.theamericandissident.org
This little-known, controversial literary journal, now in its tenth year, survives without any subsidies or advertising. Editor and publisher G. Tod Slone notes that "Subscribers and the editor fund The American Dissident. The Concord Cultural Council, Massachusetts Cultural Council, NEA, and NEH all refuse to help. National Poetry Month (Academy of American Poets), Poets & Writers, Inc., Chronicle of Higher Education, Webdolsol.com, amongst others, refuse to even list the journal on their website, despite periodic requests."
A subtitle on the cover describes The American Dissident as "A Literary Journal of Critical Thinking." Inside on the title page a different subtitle appears: "Truth, Wisdom, and Protest in Poetry and Other Writing in the Spirit of Revolutionary Patriots," followed by this statement of purpose:
The American Dissident, created in 1998 as a result of direct conflict with academic corruption at Fitchburg State College (MA), seeks to publish poetry, essays, and illustrations in English, French, and/or Spanish written ON THE EDGE WITH A DASH OF RISK, and stemming from PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, INVOLVEMENT and/or PERSONAL CONFLICT WITH POWER. The journal opposes the current trend of poetry as SAFE, DIVERSIONARY INTELLECTUAL ENTERTAINMENT [emphasis in the original, -Ed.] and poets as gregarious, comfortable, inbred, backslapping, self-congratulating public court jesters. Unfortunately, most poets, writers, and academics seem to...