Baring the Device: Ethics in Publishing

The Gravity of the Thing’s editors have compiled a brief list of articles that relate to ethical practices in literary publishing. Here are a few ways writers, editors, and publishers are critically analyzing literary craft and publishing processes.

Daylight Savings | Alex Braslavsky

"...I left one hair in the sink, used her comb, forgot / to cover my spaghetti bowl with a paper towel / in the microwave, and sharpened my pencils / with the electric sharpener at two in the morning..."

I Might Be Batman | Mike Wilson

"Disguised as a quiet teen who’s not cool, / I plumb wormholes in prisons you call school. / I disappear through windows you don’t see, / running quicksilver streets with my best friend, / the homeless wind..."

Where Are You Going? | Daniel de Culla

"-Where are you going? you ask the politician. / The politician answers: / -To cheat and steal. / -Where are you going? a sinful woman asks the priest. / The priest answers: / -You haven't given me the meat yet / And you already want absolution?..."

Rent, Gold, and Chicxulub: A Core Sample of Our Deposits | A.T. Yano

"Our dense temperate rainforest convulses from Chicxulub’s impact heard around the globe then lies eerily still. An old Tyrannosaur guards her first successful nest, determined. One peeking snout. Two more. Flustered chirps: a will to live..."

All at Once | Annie Fay Meitchik

"Siobhan and Xander were nineteen years old. It was their first summer home after starting college, and they’d left last fall best friends and virgins. But both of those things had changed..."

Beetles | Emma Campbell

"Beetles litter the carpet this morning, as always. During the cold Vermont nights, the insects crawl through the windows, the cracks in the door frame, the invisible holes all over the house..."

Swirl | Martin Shapiro

"You, softbody whose secret beak / slices shells to inject venom, / jetted to the sea bottom / spurting black ink in your wake, / folded yourself into a fissure, / matched its darkness and texture..."