Google “strangeland” and you might find yourself reading a synopsis of the 1998 horror film about body mortification. Or, if you’re less lucky, you could be reading about the upcoming album from Keane. Dig a little deeper and you might be reading about TechN9ne. But you definitely won’t be reading or reading about the new literary journal Strangeland. They don’t have a website.
It’s ballsy, sure. In 2012, to make yourself “un-googlable” is perhaps the ballsiest move any single group trying to communicate with people outside of that group can make. As a person who writes for the internet, I think it’s “stupid.” I also think it’s a shame. Strangeland is a pretty good journal. It’s themed around adventure in places outside of America. It’s packaged and bounded well. It’s actually beautiful. The writing, both fiction and nonfiction, is solid and does what it’s supposed to do. Also, the journal came with a fun packet of cards depicting different “Gentleman Adventurers.”
But quality of product aside, I’m curious to know how long a literary journal with no internet presence can last. So I’m going to keep an eye on this one for y’all and let you know when it dies. If it’s still going strong ten years from now, it will officially have “immortal” status and we’ll have to destroy its brains or drive a stake through its heart to kill it.
This might be the only thing about Strangeland to come up when you google it now.
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