I've added a new title to our virtual newsstand's "nonfictions" department: The Seneca Review. It is, in some ways, a traditional literary journal, but it has also been at the forefront of development of the "lyric essay," which John D'Agata and Deborah Tall define here. I'm a little leery of the formalism implicit in setting the lyric essay apart from other forms of nonfiction that pursue similar ends or rely on similar means. There are journalists who are lyric essayists and lyric essayists who veer toward journalism. The cross-pollination matters more to me than the demarcation. That said, I'm glad that The Seneca Review has made space for those essays that more conventional journals would puzzle over and reject as "in between." It's worth reading on a regular basis; and I recommend especially the Fall 2007 lyric essay special.
--Jeff Sharlet
--Jeff Sharlet