Before Verb productions did anything else, it was a publisher of great fiction, poetry and music. Verb: An Audioquarterly has been anthologized in the Norton anthology of Literature (10th Edition), and has gotten great press over the years. Below is a bit of history, a bit of press, and some audio clips.
Relaunched in 2005, Verb was named one of the top ten magazines of that year by Library Journal.
Reviews from the press
What happens when you take a quality literary journal and send it out on a CD? A great sampling of contemporary poetry, fiction and music, as Verb adeptly proves with its inaugural issue.--Lit Kicks
Verb ably demonstrates that the sound of poetry and fiction being read aloud reaches into territories that simply cannot be mapped by the printed page. --Library Journal
... broadens the traditional definition of a literary journal. --Poets and Writers
For those who think it's OK to read while driving, allow us to introduce you to Verb--a literature-focused audio quarterly, combining prose, poetry and original music on two CDs.--Paste Magazine
The latest literary trend harkens back to ancient oral tradition. This Atlanta-based quarterly audio magazine combines fiction, poetry, and music from many of the country's best writers.--Southern Living
Contemporary scribes like Marjory Wentworth read their own verse on Verb, an audio-literary magazine that launched last month, promising "great writing in a new form."--
Fortunately, not a speck of dust settles on Verb's debut issue, thanks mostly to the choice of nervy, compelling fiction.--Creative Loafing
Sometimes a helping hand comes from the unlikeliest of people. Some are friends. Some are associates. Some are strangers. But as a rule, you should never ever expect an assist from the deceased. That is unless you’re Daren Wang, and it’s your mission to put together something the world has never seen or heard before.--The Charleston City Paper
I see all of these developments as great supplements to my reading regime, but I wonder if one day, hearing literature will be more common than reading it. Could the printed word ever go the way of the eight-track? --The Book Standard
Listen to fiction, music and poetry while you jog. --St. Petersburg Times
The two-CD first volume retails for $19.95 and contains a blend of original fiction, poetry, and music that ... is unlike anything else that's available. --Publishers Weekly
Hundreds of literary magazines crowd the market, but a new one being launched Sept. 10 is bound to be heard loud and clear.--The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Verb is an idea whose time has come, an audioquarterly that features
prizewinning writers like Tom Franklin and Robert Olen Butler reading their own work, musicians as good as Peter Case, and poetry too.
Verb has everything but an aural centerfold.
--William Gay
Author of I HATE TO SEE THAT EVENING SUN GO DOWN and THE LONG HOME
Verb 1991
The very first iteration of Verb came about in 1991 when Daren Wang, Ed Hall, Trey Wood and Nicole Williams launched a literary magazine on cassette. We really had no idea what we were doing, but the issue came together pretty well. I still have a 1" master tape with all this material on it, but haven't seen a machine that would play it in years. Luckily, we moved it to DAT for duplication, and that still survives as well. Now it's available for download--a technological breakthrough. Kodac Harrison and Dave Webb supplied the music.
Inexorable Progress by Mary Hood. She allowed us to reprint this fine, but grim story. Gregory Nichol reads.
My Big Dog by Zac Imboden. PETA would not be pleased. Read by Eileen Kimble.
Scenes from the Cafe de la Luna by Nicole Williams. Nicole narrated this also. Quirky and fun.
There is another issue which requires a DAT transfer. Someday.
Verb 1
Verb 1 features poetry from Thomas Lux, Marjory Wentworth, and James Dickey, Fiction from Robert Olen Butler, Tom Franklin and Ha Jin, and music from Stuart Dybek.
Opening
Hungry Gap Time by Thomas Lux
Hitler's Slippers by Thomas Lux
Man Peddling Next to His Bicycle by Thomas Lux
A Clearing, A Meadow, in Deep Forest by Thomas Lux
My Malaria by Thomas Lux
My Malaria by Stuart Dybek
In Broad Daylight pt. 1 by Ha Jin (read by Jennifer Deer)
In Broad Daylight pt. 2 by Ha Jin (read by Jennifer Deer)
In Broad Daylight pt. 3 by Ha Jin (read by Jennifer Deer)
In Broad Daylight pt. 4 by Ha Jin (read by Jennifer Deer)
In Broad Daylight pt. 5 by Ha Jin (read by Jennifer Deer)
