Announcing Ishka Bibble

What's Ishka Bibble?  In the 1930's, Ish Kabibble was a comedic character and coronet player on a radio show called Kay Kyser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge.  Played by Merwyn Bogue, the name was taken from a popular song of the time called "Isch Ga-bibble (Why Worry?)."  The phrase itself originated in a slang saying that was popular in the 1920's (ish kabibble), which is thought to be a nonsense word meant to sound Yiddish.  The usage was meant to indicate "I should worry?" as in what we think of now when we say, "Whatever."

Flash forward, and ishka is now a street slang word.  It can be used to refer to a woman so sexy she can't be ignored, or ANYTHING that must be paid attention to.  If it grabs you, demands your attention, absolutely refuses to allow you to turn away--it's an ishka. 

Bibble has come a long way as well.  It can mean nonsense, or words in general.

So when you blend these histories together, you get Ishka Bibble--words, worries, and nonsense that simply cannot be ignored.  As the journal for Jane's Boy Press, Ishka Bibble will seek to publish poetry that grabs the reader and leaves them unable to turn away.  Our aim is to be the magazine that lands in your mail box and makes you drop what you're doing to read it.  We want to be the poems that make people talk about poetry again. 

Submissions open in January.  Stay tuned.