Hello to our favorite scavengers and bone collectors! In lieu of an Editor's Note, we are going to use this space to introduce and celebrate our new associate editors: Emory Russo and Randi Clemens.
Before we start in on their welcome interviews, we want to thank everyone who applied for the positions. It was incredibly hard to even narrow down the field. As always, we're honored for your continued support and enthusiasm for this weird literary project.
Welcome Interview with Emory Russo
What drew you to read for Lammergeier?
You’ve published several of my friends (shoutout to Kelcee Sykes and Ben Kinney) as well as work that I’ve just been really into (shoutout to “Flat Stanley binge re-watches Dexter” and “The Broken Toaster”). I love your aesthetic and the grittiness of a lot of the stuff you publish.
What do you love to read?
I like and read all three of the major genres, but I’m especially into horror, satire, graphic memoirs and historical fiction. I like work that’s explicitly political and/or tries to grapple with identity re: sexuality, mental illness, and gender.
What are you looking for in a piece of writing that wows you?
Unexpectedness, and an ending that feels deliberate. I don’t mean that an ending needs to neatly resolve everything that came before it, but I like it to feel like an emotional beat, a break or stop in the piece, rather than the author trailing off.
What’s one cool thing our readers should know about you as a person?
I’m exactly five feet tall, which means on one hand that I can be used as a unit of measurement and on the other that Danny Devito can be used to judge what I’d look like standing next to celebrities.
What’s your favorite bone?
The acromion, which isn’t technically a bone but a part of a bone, at the very tip of your scapula. It connects to your collarbone and overhangs the joint where your arm meets your shoulder. I like it partly for the name (it’s obviously Greek, with “akros” meaning “highest”) and partly because it’s the part of the scapula that looks the most like a wing.
Welcome Interview with Randi Clemens
What drew you to read for Lammergeier?
Literature at the intersection of the beautiful and grotesque? Incredibly on brand for me.
What do you love to read?
I love to read anything dark and weird. Sylvia Plath always and forever. I'm also a fan of pop culture and love writing that can incorporate a good music reference.
What are you looking for in a piece of writing that wows you?
For poetry, I am looking for a piece that has great sound quality. Words that roll off the tongue and surprise me. And in general, anything that is so original and unique it can’t be ignored.
What’s one cool thing our readers should know about you as a person?
I’m an “aspiring” entomologist. I’m fascinated by insects and I love learning about them.
What’s your favorite bone?
The chest bone, also called the sternum, because it is one of two flat bones in the body. It is also the thickest and takes the longest to burn in cremation.