From Our Staff | August 03, 2009

After struggling all summer to come up with a catchy slogan for TMR’s new T-shirt, I decided to make it a contest among our staff. Two standouts were Jess Camp and Dan Stahl.
Jess Camp submitted fourteen entries, ranging from the cute and clever to the weird. For several she was in rhyming mode: “TMR: We Raise the Bar” and “The Missouri Review: Read It in the Loo.” A few of her strange ideas were the following: “1978: TMR is Born, Ted Bundy is Caught” and “1978: TMR is Born, Pope John Paul I Dies.” Since I don’t text, someone had to explain to me “Do TMR, Not TMI.” For the depth and breadth of her slogans she came in second place.
Our winner, Dan Stahl, has a future in writing T-shirt copy. All six of his entries were laugh-out loud funny. My second place choice from his selection was “Discovering the Best in Fiction, Essays and Casual Apparel.” I also loved his idea of designing a tuxedo-style shirt with “The Missouri Revue” on the back.
A few of them were, as he warned, just plain evil: “Where Your Best Hasn’t Been Good Enough Since 1978” and “Our T-shirt Fits, Even If Your Work Doesn’t.” Perhaps one was a little too familiar: “I Submitted to The Missouri Review and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt.” And then there was the slogan we all agreed was just right: “Take Us to Your Reader.”
Look for TMR’s new T-shirt on our website this fall.