Posted on: March 1, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Hobson’s Choice #4 / $2 / :35 / 32M / http://www.hobsonschoicezine.com /

Hobson’s Choice is a very philosophically-oriented magazine. While it runs for about 32 pages, the effective content of the magazine is much more than that. There are pictures and other breaks from the text, but the vast majority of articles in this issue of Hobson’s Choice are without anything more than white backgrounds with black text placed over them. The style of writing (done by a number of different authors) is very complex and dense; where there are a number of pieces where this turns a writer’s words into poetry that must be dissected, there are times at which the writing seems too oblique to fully “get”. Perhaps this is just me, well-removed from any philosophy class that I might have taken in undergrad. The shining light of this issue of Hobson’s Choice is “Pool Room 11:55” by Virginia Rowlands. This piece details a number of individuals at a retirement home (or VA recovery ward, I’m unsure) and the actions that take place in the specific area at the specific time discussed. Where what is attempted in the two versions of “Ode To a Bottle of Pinot Noir” uis novel and interesting in concept, I feel that Slim F. Chance’s reinterpretation of the original poem seems to draw too heavily on the original, without putting enough of a spin in eir “remix” version. In much the same way, I would have liked to read more about the history of Rorschach’s ink blots; I understand it was to take up space, but what was present was very interesting. An interesting zine, even if it is a little hard at points to read.

Rating: 6.5/10

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