Mishing and mashing to its heart’s content, Kakazine is a sterile but sassy little publication that will put some filling in your tummy. Ultimately, there is nothing overly remarkable about this litzine but by the same token, there aren’t any embarrassingly cringe-worthy parts to it either (except one; see below). We begin with a Letters to the Editor section, which is weird and confusing. It seems similar to this thing called “jokes,” less the guffaws. However, it reads weird enough to be at least somewhat engaging. Editor C. Shoup contributes stream-of-consciousness pieces with names like “Notes on my Process” and “Celebrity”. Cryptic but far from meaningless, they demand reading and re-reading and re-re-reading, and they still tend to vex. Shoup also contributes some very cool original artwork-looks like thumbnails of full-sized paintings. There are some other contributors that help out, but one cringe-worthy standout is Karl Eltwater and his terrible poem “America’s Prisoner.” Eight lines long, and two of those lines are “On your knees bitch / Tell me who do you love.” This isn’t the wordspeak of a Ronnie Hawkins revivalist, it’s the talk of a piss-poor poem. Otherwise, Kankazine is sufficiently deep. (Cameron Gordon)
Literature, $?, 18 pages, C. Shoup, 448.5 North Prairie Avenue, Bradly, IL, 60915, [email protected]