Photo by nwhitford on Flickr.
I started Is Greater Than in late 2007 with little direction or ambition, as a response to the sadness and frustration I felt after the end of Punk Planet magazine, where I served as an intern and a reviews editor during its last year. Despite my brief tenure at the magazine, I had been a long-time reader, and it had a huge impact on my thinking. I credit Punk Planet with inspiring me to leave the soul-sucking customer service jobs I had held for 13 years, and pursue a writing and editing career. My only real hope with Is Greater Than was that I could in some small way try to carry on the legacy of politically-minded cultural coverage that Punk Planet excelled in.
As a result of that excessively vague mission, Is Greater Than has seen multiple permutations in the past four years, from a overtly political direction in the early days to its recent incarnation, in which politics still inform the coverage but the focus is more squarely on culture, literature, art, life and music.
The Is Greater Than Digital Omnibus is now available for the Kindle and related iOS/Android/desktop apps, for download through Amazon. Fiction, art and essays. The eBook collection of essays, fiction and art includes some of 2010′s best of Is Greater Than as well as work never before published on the web. Buy it for $3.00 at Amazon. A brief overview of what you’ll find on our first eBook collection:
It’s been a year since Is Greater Than relaunched, which means we have an opportunity to reflect on some of the most notable essays, fiction and articles by our contributors over the past year. In the weeks and months ahead, the site is going to continue to evolve and I’m really excited about some of the changes in store. But for now, a look back. After the jump, I present a collection of our most popular posts in 2010.
In 2007 and 2008, we did a year-end roundup using the following format:
X event/news item/cultural artifact/personal experience was > Y event/news item/cultural artifact/personal experience
(short explanation)
Last year we lapsed, but not this one. Anyone with the inclination should submit an equation–it can be something serious or funny, whatever you want to do with it. Keep your explanatory blurb short—three sentences or less. Feel free to submit multiple equations, but if there’s a ton of submissions I may have to pick one per person.
Please participate in this (short) reader survey! It’d be an enormous help to us as we plan the site’s future. RSS and mobile readers can access the survey here.
BY PAUL M. DAVIS: Some notes and thoughts about Is Greater Than’s newest look.
Is Greater Than, in anthology form: a preview of the first eZine for the iPad and another compatible devices?
Our friends at Cellstories will be republishing works of fiction and creative nonfiction from Is Greater Than 2-3 times a month, optimized for reading on your mobile device.
There are a number of ways to keep up on the latest Is Greater Than posts and news. While you may have found your way to the RSS feed, you can also get our newest columns, essays and fiction delivered to your inbox or, if you’re partial to eBooks, the Kindle.
If you prefer to keep up on the latest via social media, you can also be our fan on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
Our contributors are also posting interesting and relevant links to items we find elsewhere on the Is Greater Than Tumblr.
As always, thanks for reading. If you enjoy what we’re doing and would like to support Is Greater Than, donations are greatly appreciated. You can also support us by shopping at Portland-based independent bookseller Powell’s Books or purchasing a stunning WordPress, Posterous or Tumblr theme from the folks at Obox designs, the company that designed the theme Is Greater Than currently uses.
Paul M Davis