Editor John Freeman has been making his mark in the publishing world with his relatively recent creation of the “Freeman’s” Journal. In this, the fourth, edition, Freeman has brought together twenty-nine writers to produce a compendium of essays, poems, and short stories from across the globe, writers whom he has selected because they represent the “future of new writing.”
An anthology this broad and diverse – including writers from Somalia, Iran, Mexico, China, Argentina, Japan, France, Brazil, Jamaica, Vietnam, Canada, Norway, U.K., and the U.S. – is a difficult work to summarize or even to critique. Freeman’s curatorial eye and his vision for anthologizing is impressive. There is no (obvious) common thread tying these works nor these writers together. Some pieces are lush, some are dark, some are full of wit and wonder. All are fresh and, as a collection, have an international feel and representation that fuels excitement about “The Future of New Writing.” Absolutely a great volume to treat as a sampler of great things to come.
chronic bibliophilia 