Watch out for da BOMB

By Tamara Lee

A good 12 years ago, I had a favourite magazine—BOMB—that thrilled me so much I actually managed to collect over 30 of the oversized quarterlies before finally gifting them to a local café. Holding onto them seemed selfish when they’d given me so much pleasure, and eventually they started taking up too much valuable space in my small apartment.

A little background may be necessary for those who aren’t hip to this New York-based mag. From the site: ‘BOMB began as a late night conversation among a group of friends—writers, directors, and artists—when someone said, "Wouldn't it be great if we started a magazine where we could speak about our work the way we speak about it amongst ourselves?"’

I spent hours poring over the odd-shaped mag chock-full of artist interviews, photography and fiction: belle hooks sitting down with Wayne Wang; Willem Dafoe interviewing Frances McDormand; new fiction by Lynn Tillman, Francine Prose and Kathy Acker. These are just the best of what I remember off the top of my head. There were so many photo spreads by some of the best new and established artists whose names I don’t recall, I’ve found myself sort of regretting my decision to give the mags away.

Came a time when I couldn’t justify spending the near-$15 bucks while I was underemployed and putting myself through school. The mag wasn’t available online, and then when I did finally look for it in my local bookstore, it was nowhere to be found. I assumed the mag had folded, as it was a not-for-profit venture.

Around that same time it was difficult to find the Village Voice, too. It just became too expensive for Vancouver bookstores to carry even the best New York magazines and newspapers. Even the Sunday NYTimes, which didn’t tend to arrive until the following Thursday or Friday anyway, became scarce.

Then this Internet thing…

I am pleased to report that BOMB, after what seems to have been a brief hiatus, is not only still going strong, it's celebrating its 26th anniversary this summer. Plus, it will soon be available online, including… Oh, the joy… Including the back issues.

It seems that only the interviews, and perhaps select fiction or art features, will be available for free online when the new site is launched. But don’t let that stop you from seeking out the magazine. It was always worth the money spent.

In the meantime, Salon.com has archived some of the interview tapes, for example a great oldie-but-goodie with Willem Dafoe interviewing Michael Ondaatje.

Looks like I’ve another new favourite way to procrastinate.



(Image credit: the cover of BOMB's 100th issue)