THE POINTS SHORT STORY ANTHOLOGY Commentary © James A. Harrod, Copyright Protected; All Rights Reserved Sindbad Vail noted in his introduction to POINTS 20 that he had prepaid a vendor for the paper stock required to produce the short story anthology, and that the paper had not been delivered. In Sindbad’s own words: “By the […]
Continue ReadingSindbad Vail
POINTS 19
POINTS 19 POINTS 19 was published in the spring of 1954. The new cover design that debuted with POINTS 17 once again highlighted the contents that included a long critical essay on George Orwell by Otto Friedrich and the second short story by Alexander Trocchi to be published by Vail. We have included selections from […]
Continue ReadingPOINTS 18
POINTS 18 POINTS 18 was published in the winter of 1953/54. The new cover layout that appeared on POINTS 17 was retained and would continue to be used for the duration of the journal. Sindbad Vail’s introductory comments, usually brief and apologetic, are forth-right and provide a glimpse of the trials Vail endured in bringing […]
Continue ReadingPOINTS 16
POINTS 16 POINTS 16 did not list a season of publication but since issue 15 appeared in autumn of 1952 we can assume that POINTS 16 happened along in the winter or spring of 1953. Sindbad Vail upgraded the paper stock for this issue and the relatively acid free pages have stood up quite well […]
Continue ReadingPOINTS 15
POINTS 15 POINTS 15 appeared in autumn of 1952. In a departure from the familiar yellow covers, this issue was in black with yellow titles, perhaps not a coincidence as the newest small journal to appear on the Paris literary scene, MERLIN, had black covers with white titles. Commentary © James A. Harrod, COPYRIGHT PROTECTED; ALL […]
Continue ReadingPOINTS 13
POINTS 13 POINTS 13 was published in the spring of 1952, the reference to months covered by the publication now discarded in favor of a seasonal designation that would continue throughout the remaining life of the publication. The “Notes on New Contributors” page was also gone as were pages displaying ads for other journals. Commentary © […]
Continue ReadingPOINTS 11-12
POINTS 11-12 The next issue of POINTS, a double issue noted as POINTS Nos. 11 & 12, was published in winter of 1951-1952, no monthly reference was given. The usual page count in the 90s was increased to 144 pages for this double issue. This issue is particularly important as the Brendan Behan short story, […]
Continue ReadingPOINTS 10
POINTS 10 The tenth issue of POINTS was published in late summer-early fall of 1951 and was noted as POINTS 10 – June-September 1951. This slip in the publication schedule would make it difficult to maintain the previous record of publishing four issues per year, and as we shall see, the next issue of POINTS […]
Continue ReadingPOINTS 9
POINTS 9 POINTS 9 was published in late winter-early spring of 1951. Sindbad Vail’s introductory notes make no mention of POINTS 8 or the outcome of the second literary contest. Some of the content of POINTS 8 is discussed in the new “Letters to the Editor” section including a short story by Brendon Behan, possibly […]
Continue ReadingPOINTS 7 – POINTS 8
POINTS 7 – POINTS 8 POINTS 7 was published in July-September 1950. Sindbad Vail’s notes by the editor state that the original goal was to publish six issues a year, and that he and Marcel Bisiaux had reduced this projection to five numbers as they entered their second year of publication. The fact remains that […]
Continue ReadingPOINTS 6
POINTS 6 The sixth issue of POINTS did not meet the customary quarterly publication date of April-May 1950 due to family emergencies for both editors as detailed by Sindbad Vail in his introductory comments. POINTS 6 once again featured some explanatory text on the front cover and bore the publication date of MAY – JUNE […]
Continue ReadingPOINTS – SINDBAD VAIL’S PARIS MILIEU
the spiritof the times SAINT-GERMAIN-DES-PRES 1945-1955 Commentary © James A. Harrod, COPYRIGHT PROTECTED; ALL RIGHTS RESERVED POINTS and other literary journals that emerged in Paris in the late 1940s did not come about as an isolated occurrence, rather they were an integral part of the changing cultural, intellectual, ethical, spiritual, and political climate of Paris. […]
Continue ReadingPOINTS 4
POINTS 4 The fourth issue of POINTS was published in late fall of 1949 and was noted as Nº 4 Octobre-Novembre 1949. The delay in publication as noted in POINTS 3 was due to the staff taking the month of August as vacation and also to extend the time allowed for submissions to the literary […]
Continue ReadingPOINTS 3
POINTS 3 The third issue of POINTS was published in the summer of 1949 and was noted as Nº 3 – Juin-Julliet 1949. Copies on sale at booksellers featured a wrapper around each volume that hinted at the contents inside, a change no doubt hastened by the rather plain front format with title and number, […]
Continue Reading