Magazine Review of The Black Shamrock Magazine

Magazine Review: Pride is a Lost Art

The Black Shamrock Magazine

First Issue, 2020


Black Shamrock Press


 


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For all intents and purposes the print magazine in the digital age is a relic of the past. On the business side it’s an expensive chore fighting to balance quality and quantity while avoiding taking out a second mortgage to cover production costs. And on the creative side it’s a Herculean effort to assemble a staff willing to work harder while soliciting the best work from temperamental writers. John Patrick Robbins, the visionary behind The Black Shamrock Magazine, has pulled off an astounding feat of fine art and structural finesse. And I stand corrected in my previous skepticism of honestly wondering how great art can be delivered in the print medium and maintain its urgency; dare I say, dignity and still reach for an elevated plateau. From the consequences of loss in Julie Valin’s “Ghost Writing” to Jim Bourey’s mournful patriotism in “Memorial Day” — The Black Shamrock Magazine triumphantly succeeds in gathering writing that truly moves mountains. In a publishing industry of fake-title wearers, Robbins demonstrates the highest quality of editorship and single-handedly redeems a dying art form. There is not a single weak note in this solemn symphony of intelligence, insight and emotional investigation.


Mark Antony Rossi

*** full disclosure: a few of my writings are contained in this magazine.