Sam Loper
Over the last few years, the annual local literary journal Big Big Wednesday has become for many in the literary arts community one of those much-anticipated Portland summer traditions. In each issue’s 100-plus pages, the multi-genre, multi-medium journal mixes new work from internationally-recognized authors like short fiction icon Lydia Davis and poet Mary Ruefle, local favorites including memoirist/novelist Kevin Sampsell and artist Aidan Koch, and a wealth of writers and artists who are just beginning to publish.
I sat down with editors Molly Schaeffer and Paul Cavanagh (the journal’s third editor, Liza Birnbaum, currently lives in Massachusetts) at P’s & Q’s in Northeast Portland to discuss the journal’s past, present, and future.