Critique Three: Online Literary Journal Review—Clapboard House

I wanted to examine Clapboard House, found online at www.clapboardhouse.wordpress.com. When this journal was mentioned in class, I thought of Dorothy Allison, author of Bastard Out of Carolina. I may actually have come across this journal once before while researching Allison, because it turns out that she is judging a contest that is to be featured in the journal. I also found the title of this journal inviting; I thought it would be a nice opportunity to examine the genre of fiction which the journal includes. Stories written about Appalachia—or, as the journal puts it, the American South, are predominant here.
I am not sure whether Clapboard House is available in print form. I suspect, though, that those in charge of the publication are most familiar with print writing as their primary means of storytelling. I say this because the website includes little in the way of innovations as far as digital writing or non-linear forms of fiction. The website is little more than an online site through which to store print work. For its purposes, though, the site is effective. I don’t imagine that much fiction dealing with the American South ventures into digital and technological formats.
I was concerned about the impact of the Wordpress blog format on the content, but the site creators have effectively utilized Wordpress’ service in formatting their site. Comments have been disabled, and the links on the sidebar are used for directing readers to different authors’ work. The page has a clean looking design—it is sparse in content and easy to find authors’ work. However, the site only seems to include current work and not back entries.
I would be honored to have my work published in Clapboard House; however, I do not generally write fiction and do not write fiction that deals with the American South. I would consider this a respectable venue for anyone who writes within this genre. This site courteously provides links to other journals which contain work within this sub-genre. I am impressed with the selection of fiction and poetry I have found here, and hope to take advantage of the contents of this site and others which contain fiction related to the American South.