A Literary Magazine Ventures Into the Surreal

The visual art of Tobin Sprout complements the sometimes surreal written work. The cover has a sea churning with black and white banded eel-like creatures, two of whom stare at the potential reader with round, human, pink-rimmed eyes expressing both interest and anxiety. The interior art introduces us to Elliott, a white bunny with a black nose and the same anxiety-tinged eyes of the eels. According to the contributor note on Sprout, Elliot has been the subject of a children’s book he wrote and illustrated. Yet this art is no more limited to children than that of Edward Gorey. The overall effect of Sprout’s images brought together the words “gothic” and “whimsy” in my mind, somehow both stark and charming. I recommend that any artist interested in submitting work check out the list of back issues on the web for more insight into the variety of art they feature.

Those wishing to submit their writing to The Cincinnati Review should note that 70% of the contributors in this issue have previously published books of their work, a sobering figure. In addition, 62% had some university connection, whether as a graduate degree student, a teacher, or an academic journal editor. Only one bio announced that this was the author’s first publication (a PhD student). This is not the place to go for an easy acceptance. That said, it’s a publication credit to be proud of if your work does get selected to appear on its pages.