In a newly published interview, Robert Hunter, the poet and lyricist for The Grateful Dead, spoke about his varying approaches to lyrics and poetry, which he described as two different crafts entirely.
But Hunter died in 2019. The interview was done in 1992, for a Eugene-based newsprint magazine of art, poetry and features named Emergency Horse. Hunter changed his mind after he was interviewed and said he didn’t want it to be published until after he died. The magazine stopped printing shortly after that, winding down after two years and seven issues.
Now, 33 years later, Emergency Horse is back. The Hunter interview was featured in Issue No. 8. Eagle-eyed newsstand watchers of Eugene and Portland may have seen the horses riding in, popping up in coffee shops and bookstores around town.
Some job titles, responsibilities and aesthetics have changed, as the magazine’s original staff have had entire careers since the ’90s. However, the sensibilities remain consistent, especially its irreverent, Dada taste in poetry and art. But the return comes amid an extended punishing time for magazine publishing, as print products experience a steady, much-discussed decline and online publications jockey for diminishing search traffic and frenetic social media views…