Four Chambers Press celebrated the release of its third issue Thursday night with a launch party at Changing Hands Bookstore in Phoenix.
The fall 2015 issue of the literary magazine features 55 poems and 18 works of prose from 56 authors, with half of those authors local to the Phoenix area.
At the party, 10 of the “Four Chambers 03” contributors read samples of their short stories and poems to a crowd of about 100 people. Jazz and soul collective PressPlay also performed.
Editor-in-Chief Jake Friedman spoke with fondness about the number of talented literary writers in downtown Phoenix, while also recognizing Four Chambers’ mission to help bring greater attention to the literary scene downtown.
“We have a lot of talented, resourceful, hardworking people here. Downtown Phoenix almost doesn’t have enough of a consumption base,” Friedman said. “We’re intent on speaking to the public and really just representing one sector of the arts and culture here that I feel is still somewhat underrepresented in the larger scene.”
Four Chambers is set apart from other literary publications in its focus to help build local involvement in the city’s cultural and literary scene. Four Chambers publishes work from a variety of authors, ranging from established writers to new faces.
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“Four Chambers is like TNT to the Phoenix literary scene … There are really amazing things happening here and Four Chambers is a huge part of this,” said Melissa Tramuta, an Arizona poet whose work appears in the latest issue. “They’re bringing published and unpublished writers together and it’s great.”
The third issue, as well as the “Welcome Home: Poetry and Prose for Welcome Hospitality” collection and the upcoming “Mizungo: A Lyrical Reading and Photography Installation” show, were successfully funded through a Kickstarter campaign.
“The Kickstarter was a lot of work, but I liked that it was so much work,” said Kelsey Pinckney, Four Chambers’ assistant director. “It almost educated me on why we’re doing what we’re doing. It was a nice reminder that this is who we are and realize why I was so passionate about this. The actual asking for money part is hard, but also really humbling.”
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The fourth production of Four Chambers will shift its focus toward smaller, more diverse projects, including collaborative projects with other art forms to expand its presence in the downtown arts community.
“We don’t really know what were going to see yet. We’re likely going to be placing an emphasis on writing groups and local outreach as we continue to develop people who are writing here, whether they actively seek publication or not,” Friedman said. “I think one of the things we want to continue to do is have a balance of national and international authors without imposing quotas.”
Four Chambers is currently accepting submissions for its 2016 publication.
Contact the reporter at jeanne.gallagher@asu.edu
