Literary Mag Spittoon Slates Slew of Events, Bold New Third Issue

Beijing literary platform Spittoon has come a long way since its first publication came off the presses in late 2016, putting out a second issue, and hosting regular poetry and fiction reading and workshops throughout 2017. Now they’re upping the ante for 2018.

The literary crew kicked the New Year off with their first ever book talk, hosted by award-winning The Perfect Crime author A Yi, and plan to put on more such author talks in the coming months. Then there was the latest installment of their regular Spit-Tunes poetry and music collaboration nights on Jan 5, which will be followed up by another installment soon. Perhaps most importantly, though, is the Jan 13 launch of their third issue. A launch party for that new issue will be held on Jan 13 at The Great Outdoors.

Ahead of the third issue, founder and director Matt Byrne, editor in chief Simon Shieh, and co-director Steve Chen tell us about all those changes and what else they have planned for Spittoon.

Tell us about how things have changed at Spittoon.
Matt Byrne: Spittoon has grown exponentially over the last year! Fans of literature and art can now enjoy and take part in four very different monthly events that take place each Thursday of every month: Spittoon Bookclub, Spittoon Fiction, Spittoon Slam, and Spittoon Poetry, respectively. Our other events include Spit-Tunes – poetry and music collaboration – and certain special projects in the pipeline that will be announced very soon.

The work that we are doing now feels like it has transcended 'hobby' and entered a realm of importance and necessity. The spectrum that we provide, from our magazine to our events, feels like a genuine service to a community. The challenges we face now lie with consolidating all our growth to bring longevity to what we've built together.

As Spittoon grows, what does it aim to achieve? And how do you plan to get there?
Steve Chen: Spittoon tries to create a platform for artists and people who love arts. Our major focus lies in making the arts accessible to more people. We’re also looking to promote cross-cultural exchange in its countless forms. We need to have talents with us and be able to operate efficiently, so we are trying to stabilize our team and improve our organization.

In a promo for the upcoming issue you mentioned “a compelling new edge on the ethos of the magazine and its direction.” What did you mean by that?
Simon Shieh: The Spittoon Literary Magazine has always been focused on translating contemporary Chinese writing into English and thereby saying something new about China and its inhabitants on an international stage. We are trying to reflect and engage more with Chinese society.

For this issue, we find writing and art that brings nuance and freshness to some of the political, social, and personal problems that resonate nationally, and sometimes globally. The illustration featured on the cover is a wonderful example of how we hope the arts can contribute to the changes that China is undergoing.

What have you learned from putting out prior issues that made this third edition easier? On the flip side, were there any new challenges this time compared to prior publishing?
SC: We try to listen to and understand our readers so as to improve their reading experience. We have decided to include more art and design elements while striving to offer the best quality content we can find. As a print literary magazine, we have to confront financial challenges and other practical issues, and we are also exploring online publishing to reach a wider, international audience.

What do Spittoon fans have to look forward to in 2018?
MB: This month of January will be the first month where we have a Spittoon event every Thursday of every week. We're really excited to see how each part of our collective develops and evolves over the coming year! In 2017 we had our first literary tour and enjoyed considerable growth, now we want to continue that momentum. We have our Chengdu reading night expertly run by Annie Leonard that is continuing to flourish as proof of Spittoon's potential to spread successfully beyond Beijing. Roll on 2018!

Follow Spittoon on WeChat at gh_445feb28f8b4 to keep up with the literary platform's events, publications, and other endeavors. And be sure not to miss the Jan 13 launch party at The Great Outdoors, which will feature a special musical performance, readings from the magazine and a DJ (for more info, click here).

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Photo courtesy of Spittoon