Sonny Paine: Issue One

The first issue of a literary journal created by and for writers who happen to be in high school. As the editors say in the introduction:

"Sonny Paine is an attempt to create a high quality collection of writing. The only quirk of the magazine is that it's completely written by high school students. We know your cringe upon reading the words "written by high school students." We agree with most people that it's probably good that we teenagers are writing, even if we are writing nothing but drug monologues about drugs we've never seen. On the other hand, does that make it palatable for the general public to read? Not at all. Sonny Paine, though, is an attempt at being palatable."

Also, where does a teenager try to publish anything good? Where? Where? A place where people will read it, not just their English teachers? Actual people, fellow writers. Where's a magazine with a decent reach? I'm not even talking nationwide. I'm talking out of your school. In fact, this point is less about where to publish and more about where we write. As career-building as it may be, tireless analyzing of Ethan Frome doesn't make anyone excited about writing. When curriculum allows escape from the cycle of cut-and-dry, four-paragraph essays it does so half-assed; creative writing assignments are nearly never creative themselves. The forced period pieces, the overly simplistic diary entries that are eked out, are crushed out, by English class are gestures that may as well not exist. "Creative writing" almost always means "easy grade" to the high scool student. And the low standards many high school journals seem to follow don't foster any spark of motivation either.

If we can raise the benchmark of high school writing by a little, then we'll be happy.