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6 Poets in Subtropics

Posted by on 27 08 14 in Poetry | 0 comments

Subtropics is published twice year by Subtropics, Department of English at the University of Florida. It’s the official literary magazine of the University of Florida, and, though only founded in 2006, has published both notable writers and poems  selected for Best American Poetry and the Pushcart Prize Anthology. All the pieces I’ve selected are straightforward, refreshingly original and reasonably successful. The first is Diane Schenker’s Epithalamium, which can be read here: http://www.english.ufl.edu/subtropics/Schenker_poem.html Epithalmium means ‘at the bridal chamber’,  i.e....

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storySouth

Posted by on 21 08 14 in Poetry | 0 comments

storySouth is a quarterly online literary magazine that publishes fiction, poetry, criticism and essays. It was founded in 2001, and today enjoys around a thousand page views per day.

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4 Poets from The Stepaway Magazine

Posted by on 7 08 14 in Poetry | 0 comments

The StepAway Magazine is an online literary journal that publishes work reminiscent of Frank O’Hara’s flâneur poems from writers around the world – i.e. immediate, conversational pieces which, as the website puts it: ‘evokes the sensory experience of walking in specific neighborhoods, districts or zones within a city. This is flânerie for the twenty-first century.’ The aim is to ‘become an online repository of walking narratives . .  . in one thousand words or less.’ I have chosen four...

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7 Poets in the River Styx Literary Magazine

Posted by on 2 08 14 in Poetry | 0 comments

River Styx originated in St. Louis poetry readings, but the journal of what is now a not-for-profit organization came later, in 1975, though the journal stayed much associated with readings and music thereafter. The website offers samples of work published in the print journal, and these make a welcome change from the norm: original, unfashionable and often witty pieces. River Styx has also been rather successful, publishing many names who went on to become household names on the poetry...

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4 Poets in Quarterly West

Posted by on 17 07 14 in Poetry | 0 comments

Quarterly West is a literary journal published by the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. The journal was founded in 1976 but has been exclusively an online publication from 2011. The website is attractively designed, and the online poems are often refreshingly different. I start with Saeed Jones’ Scheherazade Sleeps Through the Executions, which be read at: http://quarterlywest.utah.edu/iss_76/iss_76_scheherazadesleepsthroughtheexecutions.html. Saeed Jones has published widely and was a 2011 Pushcart Prize nominee. The poem is too short to quote much...

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Bilingual Concerns: Poetry Kanto

Posted by on 5 07 14 in Poetry | 0 comments

Poetry Kanto is an English and Japanese bilingual poetry journal (print and webpage) that features translations of classic Japanese poets, modern and contemporary Japanese poetry in English translation, and also English poetry from around the world.

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4 Poets in Prairie Schooner

Posted by on 25 06 14 in Poetry | 0 comments

Prairie Schooner, first published in 1926, is a literary journal issued quarterly at the University of Nebraska Lincoln. It publishes writers from across the States, and indeed the world, which makes it difficult to understand why, in recent years, so much of its poetry has descended to well-meaning amateurism. Readers who disagree may do their own reading, of course, but I review here a few poems that seem a little better. Making Lunch (http://prairieschooner.unl.edu/?q=excerpt/making-lunch) is a simple descriptive piece...

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5 Poets in the Poetry Review

Posted by on 16 06 14 in Poetry | 0 comments

The Poetry Review is the journal of the Poetry Society, the representative of the poetry establishment in England. The Society was founded in 1909 and today has nearly 4,000 members worldwide. Like all such charitable organizations, the Society is much involved in education, readings, competitions, and of course the promotion of poets and poetry in England. The Review is published in paper form quarterly, and the website also provides free pdf downloads of a small number of the featured poems,...

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