Rattle :: NewPages Guide to Literary Magazines

RATTLE

Poetry for the 21st Century

Publisher’s Description: For over a decade people have been discovering a love of poetry through RATTLE. Each issue is a demonstration that it doesn’t take a scholar to be moved by the written word, that great literature is something everyone can enjoy. The lawyer, the landscaper, the academic and housewife all share our pages. We put the voices of Dunn and Levine and Laux flush against names you’ve never heard, but won’t forget. We’ve been featured in Best American Poetry, but we’re most proud of the readers we touch, the writers unafraid to make noise.

Lost in the literary shuffle is the simple truth that language is moving, that life is compelling, full of burdens and joys we all share. Published twice annually, each perfect-bound issue is 200 pages of poetry, essays, interviews with heart. Poetry should make you laugh or cry; it should enlighten and entertain. Our mission at RATTLE is to cull the 10,000 submissions we receive each year into a collection that will stay with you long after you’ve set it down, a collection you’ll return to again and again. Share in the intimacy of experience only poetry allows. Listen closely: What makes you rattle?

Recent issues:

Rattle #36 highlights 30 Buddhist poets. As Dick Allen writes, Buddhism “is not a glimpse or gaze but an immersion. There’s no glass, no other side.” These poets don’t write about Buddhism, so much as they seek to live it—all of their poems are full of compassion and mindfulness, informed by years of studying the human experience from this unique perspective, which has much to offer Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. The issue also features a large open section, plus finalists for the 2011 Rattle Poetry Prize—with the $5,000 winner to be chosen by subscriber vote—and conversations with M.L. Liebler and Chase Twichell.

RATTLE #35 travels north to explore the vast expanse of Canadian Poetry. Canada is a population smaller than that of California, spread across one of the largest and most geographically diverse countries on earth. The resulting poetry is a symphony of movements, both regional and stylistic, and a group of writers that are as vibrant and varied as the landscape itself. This is easily the most eclectic tribute we’ve ever put together—and with 33 poets spanning 50 pages, it’s also the largest. The open section features the work of 41 poets, plus interviews with B.H. Fairchild and Brian Turner.

RATTLE #34 turns its attention to another intimate vocation, spotlighting the poetry of 26 mental health professionals. These psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists, counselors, and case-workers dive inside the mind daily and come home soggy with the muck of dreams. Many of them write about their careers, but the scope is broad, and all of their poems are informed by years of training and unique insights. The open section features the work of 50 poets, plus the 11 winners of the 2010 Rattle Poetry Prize. Alan Fox interviews former U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser and Pablo Neruda translator William O’Daly.