I learned everything I know about writing from the back pages of CREEM magazine. Though Lester Bangs was already dead by the time I got my subscription, legions of his admirers packed their reviews section with snarkalicious commentary that placed the reviewer smack in the middle of the story. When I first tested the approach in the pages of my high school newspaper, the irritating advisor Mrs. Skibbe informed me that "proper" journalists never used the first person (what's "proper" about a fucking high school newspaper, you ask? Getting all the dippy little nerds into the colleges of their dreams? I don't know). The moral of this story? Mrs. Skibbe is probably dead by now, and I'm gonna write the way I want.
Examples of my approach can be found in my writing for Elevate Difference and Femomist.com, where reviews of items ranging from dish towels to coloring books provide a platform for musings on Michelle Duggar, stripper chic, why old people dig jazz, and the like. I welcome the opportunity to review YOUR product, provided you understand that the review will be subject to my Bangs-inspired flights of whimsy and may end up telling my readers more about ME than about you.
If I haven't discouraged you, get in touch! Be sure to put "review request" in the subject line: theradicalhousewife (at) gmail (dot) com.
