NewPages Guide to Alternative Magazines

The Bloomsbury Review^®

Publisher’s description: Since 1980, The Bloomsbury Review has dedicated itself to uncovering the rare, the unique, the unsung, the best in publishing—those books and poets and authors often overlooked by other national review and literary media. Independent, eclectic, national and international in scope, good writers receive their due, great writers receive their praise, and new and neglected talents are brought into the light. The Bloomsbury Review is never stuffy, fluffy, ponderous, or pretentious—simply lively writing about good reading and interviews with the best contemporary authors.

Pat Schroeder, President and CEO of the American Association of Publishers, said “The Bloomsbury Review is cause for celebration by anyone who cares about books and literature. At a time when newspapers and magazines across the country are cutting back on their book review pages, The Bloomsbury Review has become a national treasure.”

Recent issues:

The November/December 2009, The 30th-Anniversary Issue, celebrates its history with reminiscences from James R. Hepworth, Ron Steffens, and Dawn W. Petersen, including a special message from the publisher, Marilyn Auer. Also, reviews of two new books on Kurt Vonnegut; the newest book, Stones Into Schools, from Greg Mortenson (who credits his writing career to the founder of The Bloomsbury Review); and books by or about Goethe, Louise Nevelson, Arshile Gorky, Calvin Litttlejohn, Edward Burtynsky, and Horace Walpole's Cat! We've cooked up a batch of reviews on food, and gone green with reviews of books on plants. Art, Architecture, Fiction, Plays, reviews of new children's books, an original poem by Kelle Groom, and the "Out-of-Bounds" essay by Frederick Smock. Happy Anniversary to us!

The August/September/October 2009 issue features an interview with writer and poet Ellen Bass, "Holding the Human Line"--and a profile of the unconventional poet/photographer Charles Kennedy by Robert Milo Baldwin. Along with a spate of reviews of new books for children and young adults, are reviews of books by and about Lisa Jones, Deborah Ager, Breyten Breytenbach, Joseph Cornell, Mahmoud Darwish, and David Slavitt among many others; on topics ranging from the Arctic and Alcatraz to Monet and Emperor Maximilian. The "Out-of-Bounds" essay is by Kelle Groom--and this issue has three original poems from Michael Burkard, Crystal Williams, and Morton Marcus.

The May/June/July 2009 issue of The Bloomsbury Review features an in-depth interview with poet and renaissance writer Greg Kuzma, and an essay examining Ma Jian’s book Beijing Coma along with a brief author interview. This issue also highlights a survey of new and notable books in celebration of Asian Pacific Heritage Month. The main review focus is “Great Summer Reads” covering books by or about Sherman Alexie, Jean Cocteau, Charles Darwin, Douglas Fairbanks, Florence Nightingale, Edgar Allan Poe, Jackie Ormes, Thomas R. Smith, Woodrow Wilson, and Lynne Sharon Schwartz among the many others.