Independent literary magazine Four Chambers Press has officially ceased operations after a nine-month hiatus.
Named for the four chambers of the heart, founder and editor Jake Friedman said the purpose of his organization was to carve out space for writers and lovers of the written word amidst a lonely, sprawling city.
He emphasized that the magazine was careful to never take the spotlight away from writers. It was a group that saw itself not as a creator of literary content, Friedman said, but as a conduit for talented writers to showcase their work to the world.
“I think it really spoke to a need people have,” said Friedman. “I think a lot of people just loved it … the ethos of the organization was really honest and really intentional about building community.”
The independent quarterly magazine was known for its mix of anthology, poetry and prose, accompanied by beautiful cover art sold at local businesses like Song Bird.
Four Chambers was focused not only on the Phoenix literary scene but published a medley of local writers along with submissions from across the country. They once even hosted famous Korean poet Kim Kyung Ju at one of their literary events.
They chose metro Phoenix as its home because organizers wanted it to have an urban core with plenty of venues for workshops and performances.
In its five-year run, Four Chambers Press partnered with community staples like Valley Bar, The Phoenix Art Museum, eye lounge, Welcome Diner and more to bring great literature to the people of downtown Phoenix and facilitate collaboration between artists and writers.
The organization was ultimately not sustainable, according to Friedman, and lack of experience and the absence of infrastructure and funding caused operations to nearly cease at least once before.
“Four Chambers closing is not a sad thing,” said Friedman, who thinks that the closure will free up a lot of his writers to work on their next projects.
Even still, the closure is somber for some.
Elizabeth Pickens worked with the organization several years ago, reading submissions and passing along pieces to her editors. She has loved writing and especially reading since she was a child.
“I think it’s kind of sad,” Pickens said of the closure. “[Four Chambers] showed that literature was alive and well in Phoenix … so it’s kind of sad to see it disappear.”
If the mission of Four Chambers was to bring people together, Friedman believes this goal was accomplished.
Another dream that went unrealized was Four Chamber’s goal to increase recognition beyond metro Phoenix and the surrounding areas.
“Four Chamber was really trying to be a nationally recognized organization in Phoenix,” said Friedman.
Friedman is satisfied that the magazine featured writers who may have otherwise not had the ability to publish their work. He now works as a marketing and outreach specialist at the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing in Tempe.
“Four Chambers is a heart and that love always informed what we did,” said Friedman.
Contact the reporter at Madeline.Ackley@asu.edu.
Madeline is the community editor for Downtown Devil and is a senior studying at the Walter Cronkite School. She is a local freelance journalist who primarily covers politics, policing, immigration and business. In 2019, she won first place in her category in the national SPJ Mark of Excellence Awards for her reporting on deported veterans in Tijuana, Mexico with Cronkite News.
