America vs South Africa

I am off to America in just a few days - excitement and trepidation fill me. But what i am hoping to write about is the difference in the literary culture in NYC and Boston vs SOuth Africa. What I mean by this and what I hope to ask is why we don't have the scope or market for journals like the New Yorker or the Paris Review, where new and established writers are given leverage. It is something that bothers me - we have Empire and Molotov cocktail (although these have more political content and narrative journalism than short fiction and poetry) - but these publications are falling apart at the scenes due to financial constraints. They are indeed brave and controversial, and much needed. Sometimes though, I would want something lighter and whimsical (although still stimulating and well-crafted) to read.

I shall trudge the libraries and the second hand book stores and see how many people enjoy poetry recitings and who read on the subway.

Bethella Maltabella.