Given
my recent post detailing the bibliography of STANZAS magazine, I thought it might be interesting to go through
another one of my late projects through above/ground press, the lamented Missing Jacket. Throughout the 1990s, I noticed
how far apart the different artistic communities within Ottawa were, but for
occasional individuals such as Dennis Tourbin and Michael Dennis that existed
as a link between artistic groups. There was so much activity that wasn’t interacting,
and artistic practices that somehow kept up barriers between them. There were
stories of the late 1980s at Gallery 101, when Dennis Tourbin ran it, with
literary events beside shows of artwork (back when Rob Manery and Louis Cabri
ran The Transparency Machine events there).
I
had spent a couple of years prior hanging around the Enriched Bread Studios and
Gallery 101, as well as with artists Diane Woodward and David Cation, and wanted
to attempt a magazine of writing and visual art through the City of Ottawa. We held
the first issue launch at Enriched Bread, with artwork from all of the artists
featured in the issue, and readings from a variety of contributors.
Had
I had more resources (and perhaps wasn’t doing the entire journal by myself),
perhaps it might have been able to continue, and the weight of which might not
have simply collapsed. Almost exclusively run by myself, I was fortunate enough
to have various authors and artists contribute enormously, whether their own
work or via interviews, and former Montreal writer and ga press co-editor/publisher Colin Christie even designed the last couple of issues
(before it all fell apart).
If
anyone is interested, I still have mounds of copies sitting around the house. I
would like to think that there is some interesting material within. Perhaps,
even, a little portrait of the late 1990s arts community in Ottawa.
Where
did the title come from? We had a little gathering in the apartment Tamara Fairchild and I once shared, and Brian Hill, co-editor of Ink magazine, had left his jacket behind; I misunderstood the phone
message when Tamara informed: “Brian from missing jacket called.” I thought it
was a magazine that already existed. When I realized it wasn’t, well…
Missing Jacket
magazine, writing & visual art, #1. 500 copies, January 1996. edited by rob mclennan.
poetry by Robin Hannah, David O'Meara, Lorraine Gamble. fiction by Catherine
Jenkins. interviews with David W. McFadden (by David Collins), Daniel Nadezhdin
(by Tamara Fairchild) and Dennis Tourbin (by michael dennis). artistic
statements by Eliza Griffiths, Jonathan Brownz and Angela McFall. Notes from the Bleeding Edge by James
Spyker. Ottawa Boy cartoon by Greg
Kerr. ISSN# 1203-5076. cover price $3. 8 1/2" x 11". 38 pages.
Missing Jacket #2, spring, March 1996.
poetry by Tamara Fairchild, David Collins, John Barton and Sean Johnston.
fiction by David Scrimshaw and Dayv James-French. interviews with Ken Norris
(part I, by rob mclennan), Mary Borsky (by rob mclennan) and Marie-Jeanne
Musiol (by Cindy Stelmackowich). artistic statements by Valerie Roos-Linse, Adrian
Gollner and Anna Kempffer-Paul. Notes from the Bleeding Edge by James Spyker
and Ottawa Boy cartoon by Greg Kerr. blah
blah editorial blah blah blah by
rob mclennan. ISSN# 1203-5076. cover price, $3.50. 40 pages.
Missing Jacket #3, summer, August 9,
1996. poetry by Stephanie Bolster, Joe Blades, Nadine McInnis & Jim
Larwill. fiction by Douglas Ord. interviews with Ken Norris (part II, by rob
mclennan), Joe Blades (by rob mclennan) & Diane Woodward (by David
Collins). artistic statements by Maria Shin, Barbara Gamble and David Cation. Notes from the Bleeding Edge by James
Spyker and Ottawa Boy cartoon by Greg
Kerr. blah blah editorial blah blah blah by rob mclennan.
ISSN#1203-5076. cover price, $3.50. 44 pages.
Missing Jacket #4, fall, October 1996. poetry
by Clare Latremouille, Una McDonnell, Michael Holmes (from 21 Hotels) and Karen Massey. fiction by Douglas Ord and Stan
Rogal. interviews with Eliza Griffiths (by David Collins), Judith Fitzgerald
(by rob mclennan) and Greg Kerr (by rob mclennan). artistic statements by Eric
Walker, Marcia Lea and Doug Van Rosen. project pages by Mark Marsters. Notes from the Bleeding Edge by James
Spyker and Ottawa Boy cartoon by Greg Kerr. blah blah editorial blah blah blah
by rob mclennan. layout by Colin Christie. ISSN# 1203-5076. cover price, $3.50.
42 pages (including inside cover).
Missing Jacket #5, spring, April 1997.
poetry by R.M. Vaughan, Michelle Desberats Fels, Ian Whistle and Rob Manery.
fiction by Death Waits and Elizabeth Hay. interviews with Christian Bok (by Tricia
Postle), John Moffat (by David Collins) and Patrick Kavanagh (by David
Scrimshaw). artistic statements by Lesya Granger, Christopher Lea Dunning and
Bhat Boy (the artist formerly known as Ian Van Lock). project pages by Adrian
Gollner. Notes from the Bleeding Edge
by James Spyker and Ottawa Boy cartoon by Greg Kerr. blah blah editorial blah blah
blah by rob mclennan. layout by Colin Christie. ISSN# 1203-5076. cover
price, $4.00. 48 pages (includes whole cover).
