Philosophy

Founded in late 2008, as book review sections around the United States floundered and the literary world searched for new models, new paradigms, and a new raison d'etre, the mission of The Critical Flame was simple: to keep the conversation alive. A literary publication ought to be a public expression of the national discourse on literature and, more broadly, on the state and values of the culture. We go forward with the great hope that open and articulate discussion is as easily spread as wildfire, that CF will be a spark in arid kindling. When considering a title for review, we ask only, "Why is this worth reviewing?" Or perhaps a better way to put it would be, "What good is there to be had from a review of this book?"

Read Daniel E. Pritchard's "Welcome to the Critical Flame" here.

Advertise and support

The Critical Flame needs your support! For publishers and literary organiztions trying to reach engaged readers of literary fiction, poetry, criticism, and other up-market titles, few sites are able to offer similar exposure at such extremely reasonable rates. Email info {at} criticalflame {dot} org for our complete adcard. The Critical Flame also welcomes free ad exchanges with other not-for-profit literary and book-review websites and organizations, in good faith and mutual support.

As an out-of-pocket, not for profit organization on its slow crawl towards non-profit status, we also welcome donations from readers. All funds will go toward overhead, and any amount more than that will be distributed equally among the writers of our most current issue. As a small organization, even a few dollars is an enormous help. Thank you again for your generous support.

The staff

Daniel Evans Pritchard :: is the marketing director for Boston Review by day, and is a poet, critic, and blogger by night. Daniel is the founder and editor of The Critical Flame, as well as its managing editor, publisher, and web designer. In his criticism, he specializes in poetry, fiction, cultural and literary criticism, and philosophy. He writes a regular blog, The Wooden Spoon and tweets at @pritchard33.

Nora Delaney :: poet, translator, editor, and critic, Nora Delaney is enrolled in the doctoral program of the Editorial Institute at Boston University. Her interests are verse, literary history, and criticism.

Jonathan Wooding :: currently employed by a mathematics textbook publisher, Jonathan's background is in Modern British, Irish, and French literature; mythology, ephemera, and animation round out his lifelong fascinations. He specializes in literary fiction, history, and graphic novels.

Katherine Evans Pritchard :: a native of Liverpool, UK (via Cincinnati, Ohio) and now full-fledged foodie, Katherine specializes in contemporary literature, post-colonialism, feminist studies, Modernism, and architectual criticism. She is a PhD candidate in American Studies at Boston University.

Library of Congress

The Library of Congress number for The Critical Flame is ISSN 2155-2347