The Journal of
Ordinary Thought
Spring 2012
$25 / 3 issues
Neighborhood Writing Alliance
This journal is obviously well funded and not the type of
publication that I generally review.
The Journal of Ordinary Thought publishes reflections
people make on their personal histories and everyday experiences. It is founded
on the concept that that every person is a philosopher, expressing one's
thoughts fosters creativity and change, and taking control of life requires
people to think about the world and communicate their thoughts to others.
This is a perfect-bound, Chicago-centric literary journal of
poetry and prose organized loosely around the themes of “freedom” and “liberation”.
The Journal of Ordinary Thought includes exquisite black and white
illustrations from the L is for Liberation Collective. The writing within feels
accessible and genuine, none of it forced or pretentious. The most powerful
piece that stood out is “The Don’t Die Code” by Claire Bartlett, who writes
“I’m just trying to keep you from getting killed.” Helena Marie Carnes-Jeffries also hits deep
pockets of childhood realities with her poem “I Was a Packaged Child”. It’s
refreshing to read literature / philosophy by everyday folk instead of the
workshopped writing by the pantheon of ivory tower academians who believe it is
their role to carry the torch of proper literary merit for the rest of us
earthlings.
I hope you understood that sentence.
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