R.I.P. Carol Novack (1948-2011)

I'm saddened to have learned Lineup #2 alum Carol Novack passed away from lung cancer on December 29, 2011. Carol, a former criminal defense and constitutional lawyer in NYC, was the founder of the multimedia e-journal Mad Hatters' Review, and was instrumental in getting The Lineup its first live reading, at KGB Bar in October 2009. She moved from New York to North Carolina in May 2010.

A collection of inventions, "Giraffes in Hiding: The Mythical Memoirs of Carol Novack," was published by Crossing Chaos: Enigmatic Ink in 2010. Works may be found in more than 75 journals, including: 5_trope; Action, Yes; American Letters & Commentary; Diagram; Drunken Boat; Exquisite Corpse; First Intensity; Gargoyle; Journal of Experimental Fiction; Lamination Colony; La Petite Zine; LIT; MILK; Notre Dame Review; Otoliths, and Wheelhouse, and in anthologies, including: "The Penguin Book of Australian Women Poets;" "Heide Hatry: Heads and Tales" "Online Writings: The Best of the First Ten Years;" and an Italian collection. Writings have been translated into French, Italian, Romanian, and Spanish.

Sample Poems

Links to some poems that first appeared or were reprinted in The Lineup (Issue number in parentheses):

Patrick Shawn Bagley, "110 M.P.H. in a Stolen Pickup" (1)
David Corbett, "Bargain" (4)
Sarah Cortez, "Serial Killer" (3)
Anne Frasier, "Home" (3)
H. Palmer Hall, "The Collector" (4)
Peter Meinke, "What Wild-Eyed Murderer" (4)
Carol Novack, "Willie" (2)
Gerald So, "Witness Protection" (1)
Gerald So, "Mickey Spillane" (1)
John Stickney, "Creation" (4)
Wallace Stroby, "Independence Day, 1976" (3)
Charles Harper Webb, "Prayer for The Man Who Mugged My Father, 72" (4)

Visit our Books section to find or purchase The Lineup.

From John Berbrich

The man behind BoneWorld Publishing, MuscleHead Press, and Barbaric Yawp journal writes up The Lineup #2 in the January 2011 issue of his From The Marrow newsletter:

I have a back issue here from 2009, but The Lineup is still going strong. What a nice little magazine, 36 pages, glossy cover, filled w/ poems on crime. Includes poetry by Patrick Carrington, Jennifer Knox, Deshant Paul, Carol Novack, & my favorite, Janis Butler Holm. Google poemsoncrime & you'll find the website for info on purchasing and submissions. Edited by Gerald So w/ help from a few others. Fights, thievery, gunshots, beatings. No ethereal wisps of airy nothingness here.

The Lineup 2 Reviewed in Mystery Scene

Mystery Scene Magazine's small press columnist Betty Webb reviews The Lineup 2 on page 58 of the Holiday 2009 Issue (No. 112). She highlights poems by Jennifer L. Knox, Christopher Watkins, Patrick Carrington, and Carol Novack, and goes on to write, "a collection like this matters tremendously, especially to those learning the writer's craft."

Thank you, Betty.

Our First Reading

It was great to meet Jennifer L. Knox, Carol Novack, and Karen Petersen along with a slew of Lineup fans and learn they're all as enthused about crime poetry as Patrick, Sarah, Richie, Anthony, and I.

I began last night with these remarks:

Welcome to the first reading from The Lineup: Poems on Crime. I'm Gerald So, founding editor, and with me are two of my co-editors—Richie Narvaez and Anthony Rainone—and three contributors—Jennifer L. Knox, Carol Novack, and Karen Petersen. I'd like to thank Carol, Richie, and KGB for tonight's event. Feel free to order refreshments throughout the night and support this great venue for writers.

A lot of people who hear about The Lineup think crime poetry is new or gimmicky, but the same emotions that inspire crime have long inspired poetry. Crime poetry is akin to crime fiction. Both have a sense of purpose. Every word, every sentence plants clues, reveals character, tries for resolution, but crime poetry forces us to face the same fear, jealousy, anger, indignation—without fiction's buffer of make-believe.

Karen read first, followed by Anthony, who read poems by Patrick Shawn Bagley, Ken Bruen, Reed Farrel Coleman, and Stephen D. Rogers. Anthony introduced Jen Knox who read several crime-related poems including "Why We Came and Why We Stayed" from The Lineup 2.

After a twelve-minute break to sell books and mingle, I introduced Richie, who read his poems "Metro", "Papi Was a Numbers Runner", and "Judgment Day" from The Lineup 1, as well as "Latest Victim" by Graham Everett and "Prayer of an Arson Investigator" by Sarah Cortez, also from Issue 1.

Richie introduced Carol Novack, who read her Lineup 2 poems "Willie" and "Color Symphony: Bronx Summer", Janis Butler Holm's Lineup 2 prose poem "Shopping with Winona", and finally a short play.

I capped the night with my Lineup 1 poems, "Witness Protection," "Four Minutes," and "Mickey Spillane".

We'd sold four copies of Issues 1 and 2 before I had to catch a train home. Thanks to everyone who attended, and once again to KGB for having us. A picture or two to come.

The prospect of audio and video recording the event fell through. If you attended, feel free to leave a comment. If not, you can experience a virtual reading by listening to The Lineup episode of Seth Harwood's CrimeWAV.

Carol Novack

Carol Novack, a former criminal defense and constitutional lawyer in NYC, is the publisher of the multi-media e-journal Mad Hatters' Review. A collection of inventions, "Giraffes in Hiding: The Mythical Memoirs of Carol Novack," will be published by Crossing Chaos: Enigmatic Ink in 2010. Works may or will be found in more than 75 journals, including: 5_trope; Action, Yes; American Letters & Commentary; Diagram; Drunken Boat; Exquisite Corpse; First Intensity; Gargoyle; Journal of Experimental Fiction; Lamination Colony; La Petite Zine; LIT; MILK; Notre Dame Review; Otoliths, and Wheelhouse, and in anthologies, including: "The Penguin Book of Australian Women Poets;" "Heide Hatry: Heads and Tales" "Online Writings: The Best of the First Ten Years;" and an Italian collection. Writings have been translated into French, Italian, Romanian, and Spanish. Please see Carol's blog for additional too much information: http://carolnovack.blogspot.com.