NewPages Blog :: Magazine Reviews

Regular readers of the Alaska Quarterly Review should already know that this journal rarely disappoints. This issue of the review meets the highest of expectations as it has set the bar in so many issues at an altitude that allows the inclusion of veteran writers as well as those writers only just setting out on their professional journeys. This issue contains works that may set the standards for contemporary literature even higher still.

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The Spring 2017 issue of the Raleigh Review provides its own summary in the editorial preface: it “captures the harmful attempts of the erasure of lineage, erasures of peoples, of civilizations, of families, of languages, of dialects as it relates the self to history and to place.” The poetry, the fiction, and the art direct us to a thoughtful reflection on our times and to an enriching artistic experience.

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If you appreciate finely-crafted stories that draw you into their worlds so that you become unaware of yourself as a physical being, then you will want to read this issue of CutBank. The poetry, nonfiction, and fiction pieces blend language and form in such ways that permit them to exist somewhere in a writerless universe where they come into being, yet seeming to have always been there. The writing is done with such skill and attention that makes it possible for readers to be unaware of the writing in a metaphysical sense. For me, this is the best type of writing: work that does not draw attention to itself as writing but rises above its own existence to breathe the air of higher altitudes; readers enter this oxygenated space for the duration.

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As a person who has left the hustle of city life to seek out the quieter world of a rural town myself, I loved every page of Ecotone’s Country and City Issue. Each piece highlights the beauty of country life or the flurried activity of city life, celebrating how we live in both worlds.

Continue reading “Ecotone – Fall/Winter 2016”

If readers aren’t hungry before reading the Spring 2017 issue of Poetry East, they will be by the time they are done. The Food themed issue, dedicated to James Reiss who passed away in December 2016, is organized in seven sections for the seven courses of “the perfect meal.” Images throughout the issue, taken by the journal’s editors, feature Mary Jo McMillin’s “perfect meal,” and every other aspect fits the theme: the table of contents is a menu, recipes end each section, and paintings of food and meals adorn glossy pages. Like introducing a friend to your favorite dishes at your regular restaurant, let me tell you my favorites in the Spring 2017 menu.

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Every month, it’s a struggle not to pick up True Story and immediately begin reading as soon as the new issue arrives at the office. As a fan of both the little, single-author nonfiction magazine and true crime, Issue 7 reeled me in and refused to let go. I had to read the first few pages at my desk. While not for the faint of heart, Andrew Maynard deftly balances fact and feeling in this issue’s timely story “Take Your Son to Work Day.”

Continue reading “True Story – May 2017”

I’m admittedly a bit of a homebody, but the idea of travel always sounds exciting, and Cargo Literary offers up that exciting feeling of going somewhere new, all from the comfort of your computer chair, or, if you’re less of a homebody than I am, your airplane seat on the way to your next destination.

Continue reading “Cargo Literary – Spring 2017”

Having read the Fall 2016 issue of Nano Fiction, I am sorry to see that this will be their last issue. After ten years, the editors of this publication have chosen to end their journey in the world of underappreciated forms. This issue is a beautiful, final foray into the world of flash fiction, sharing works from both published and unpublished authors, as well as several articles on the “State of Flash.”

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Published out of Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA), this issue of Hunger Mountain is themed Masked/Unmasked: the perfect umbrella to explore the uncomfortable and jarring side of literature. The poetry, creative nonfiction, and fiction pieces unmask us, forcing readers to tackle our culpability and shame in order to approach art with greater humanity, vulnerability, and an open mind.

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The annual literary magazine Cherry Tree was founded three years ago by Maryland’s Washington College. Several longer stories dominate their plump 2017 issue, one of which is R.M. Fradkin’s stand-out “Out-of-Office.” If you have ever been frustrated by your email system, you will identify with her story-in-reverse about a librarian named Shavani and a gentleman, Valentine Izzo, who has an overdue library book.

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Looking back through old family snapshots, a majority include a four-legged family member: Sadie our German Shorthaired Pointer. It has been almost ten years since she passed away, but every time I see the same breed of dog as Sadie, I can’t help thinking of my childhood companion. Upon seeing the German Shorthaired painting by Katie Erickson on the cover of the Winter 2017 issue of the Jabberwock Review, I was flooded with nostalgia, a bittersweetness that followed me throughout the issue.

Continue reading “Jabberwock Review – Winter 2017”

In the 2016 Open Issue, Iron Horse Literary Review opens its doors to two new types of writing: translation and graphic literature. It’s the graphic piece that opens this issue which ultimately grabbed my eye and ushered me in to the rest of the work.

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The Winter/Spring Issue of The Write Place at the Write Time reminds us of the power of words in the Editor’s Note: they can comfort and create, and they can dismantle and harm. This issue achieves the former, providing readers with a place to chill out, unload, and just read. The editors go above and beyond as they create an issue filled with timely poetry, prose, interviews, and more.

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Since 1948, The Hudson Review has served as a platform for emerging authors and poets in a wide variety of genres, appealing to many aspects of American literature and culture. The Autumn 2016 issue shares poetry, fiction, essays, review, chronicles, and comments, each one truly unique and showcasing a wide variety of talents.

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Unlike so many other literary magazines, Thrice Fiction is, in itself, a work of art. It captures the spirit of each piece of fiction within its pages through original artwork and bends the concept of “short fiction” to encompass truly creative works that defy traditional short story formats. Self-identified as an alternative zine, each page tells a unique story from a unique voice, illustrated with unique art.

Continue reading “Thrice Fiction – December 2016”

One of my favorite David Bowie songs and music videos is “Loving the Alien” from his sixteenth studio album Tonight. The silver, almost robot-like characters in the video and haunting lyrics (“And your prayers they break the sky in two / Believing the strangest things, loving the alien”) invoke feelings of awe and discomfort about those who are different or “other” from ourselves. The Fall 2016 issue from Conjunctions literary magazine mirrors the powerful emotions of Bowie’s work in “Other Aliens.”

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American Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman once said, “War is Hell,” but Consequence magazine takes the hellish landscape of war and transforms it into inspiring works of art, fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. Consequence is “an international literary magazine published annually, focusing on the culture and consequences of war.” The cover art of the current volume of Consequence exhibits this goal in a powerful illustration of life and beauty rising up from a mouth of suffering alluding to Picasso’s Guernica.

Continue reading “Consequence – Spring 2016”

The Fall 2016 issue of Tar River Poetry is filled with the work of experienced poets; each piece reveals an attention to form and function in a linguistic mélange of technique containing a bounty of literary treasures. The issue is one to keep by the bedside for easy access to multiple reads.

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The pieces in Issue 8.1 of Gigantic Sequins have an otherworldly quality to them and feel linguistically linked. In her introduction, Editor-in-Chief Kimberly Ann Southwick tells readers that “the fiction in this issue roars and then gives birth,” and I am inclined to extend this metaphor to encompass the poetry and creative nonfiction in the issue as well. The works seem to have a common source with connections to surrealism and themes of nature, violence, blood, and the moon. From p.e. garcia’s opening poem “animal considers animal,” to Craig Chisholm’s review of Anthony Michael Morena’s The Voyager Record: A Transmission (Rose Metal Press, 2016), the issue exemplifies careful editing and consideration in creating a cohesive collection of creative work that stimulates the imagination and lingers long after reading.

Continue reading “Gigantic Sequins – January 2017”

World Literature Today certainly lives up to its name, containing amazing pieces of literature from all over the world. This particular issue focuses on Dystopian Visions and the country of Montenegro, but also contains fiction, essays, nonfiction, reviews, and poetry from other countries, with many of the pieces translated from their original language to English.

Continue reading “World Literature Today – March/April 2017”

There’s something unassuming about The 2River View. They reject the flashy for a simple, quiet website. This doesn’t work against them, though. Instead, the simplicity is welcoming and calming, the homepage pointing readers in the direction of whatever they seek: an issue archive, information about their “2River Favorite Poem Project,” and, of course, the current issue. The current Winter 2017 issue is paired with three images of winter, the scenes whited-out with snow. Many of the pieces found in this issue coincidentally left me with the chills, fitting choices for inclusion in a winter issue. In addition, each poet provides a voice recording of their poetry, resulting in a complete, cohesive collection as it intimately connects reader to writer.

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PANK publishes work that plays with form and expectations to confound readers with possibility.

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Issue 62 of Creative Nonfiction (CNF) is dedicated to Joy. The published essays can be divided into two segments: essays about the craft of writing and essays following a more literary and narrative vein. Both segments best utilize the theme of joy when the authors bring the reader into the moment so we experience joy by their side.

Continue reading “Creative Nonfiction – Winter 2017”

Chaos is the theme of this year’s issue of Witness, and there is plenty of it going on. Start with cover photos by Alexandre Nodopaka, who interprets the chaos of the cosmos. Artists use all sorts of unexpected media, but Nodopaka looks no further than a parking lot surface underfoot to discover “cosmic inspiration in seagull guano.” He states, “The guano, in their ethereal impacts on the macadam, up close, portray the likeliness of astronomical photographs of the heavens.” A series of his “highly light-contrasted” photos, some resembling Rorschach tests, are featured within.

Continue reading “Witness – Spring 2017”

In a tribute to the major changes the United States has undergone since the election last November, the editors of Camas chose to make this issue one that commemorates the many beautiful aspects of our country. Through poetry, art, photography, fiction, and nonfiction, each piece celebrates the beauty of nature, diversity, and the true American spirit.

Continue reading “Camas – Winter 2016-17”

In Volume 82 of New Letters, The University of Missouri-Kansas has provided us with one of those always delightful choices of literary direction and entertainment, and for some of us there also memories of past enjoyment. Those of “a certain generation” will recall (some thirty or forty years ago) the popularity of Caribbean novels, a series of enjoyable and enlightening stories which included a history and a heritage totally different if not totally new to the average reader of novels and short stories. The art critics would/could call them “primitive” if they were paintings, but the content told of experiences that we had not even thought about.

Continue reading “New Letters – Spring/Summer 2016”

Published out of Virginia Commonwealth University, Broad Street: A Magazine of True Stories, bridges personal and researched knowledge in creative nonfiction. The journal furthers what it means to tell true stories. This issue, themed Maps & Legends, goes where no map can lead to find truth: exploring what it means to be a foreigner.

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The Fall 2016 issue of Copper Nickel from the University of Colorado Denver features poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and folios of works in translation. All the contributions are worth noting for the broad range of talent and skill, beginning with the variety of poetry, which is definitely of the quality we expect from this selection of experienced poets.

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After reading the Fall 2016 issue, I can certainly see why the Western American Literature magazine is a “leading peer-reviewed journal in the literary and cultural study of the North American West.” This magazine provides a wealth of information, such as studies on emerging authors, a collection of book reviews, and essays that analyze literature or new theoretical approaches in literature about the American West.

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Glimmer Train Stories is an amazing publication filled with wonderful, unique, and powerful short stories about love, life, death, loss, and the power of family. Two sisters have produced this literary magazine since 1990 and they delight in publishing emerging writers’ first stories, while also sharing interesting details about the authors’ lives (including photos). Continue reading “Glimmer Train Stories – Winter 2017”

The Autumn/Winter 2016 issue of Structo offers readers a fun read while bringing global voices together in one publication.

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With a plethora of online magazines at our fingertips, it’s hard to know where to begin reading. Sometimes it’s best to go with something small and easy to digest, something like the quarterly Spartan magazine. Publishing works only 1500 words or less, and only three pieces per issue, Spartan offers readers engaging writing without requiring tons of commitment.

Continue reading “Spartan – Fall 2016”

Travel. I can’t think of a lovelier thought as, here in the northeastern US, I look out the window to see snow blasting by with below-zero wind chills and FEMA storm warnings chirping through my phone. I can hunker down indoors, curl up with my iPod and a cup of hot tea, and travel the globe and the deepest inner reaches of emotion by reading Editor Sally Long’s selections in the December issue of Allegro. 

Continue reading “Allegro Poetry Magazine – December 2016”

After reading this issue of Epoch produced by Cornell University, it is clear why many stories published here will later be accepted for compilations like The O. Henry Prize Stories or The Best American Short Stories. This issue of Epoch contained many interesting short stories, several poems, and a beautifully written essay.

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As someone who truly enjoys reading short stories, American Short Fiction literary magazine provides a real treat. I could not put it down, too eager to read each new short story. This Fall 2016 issue celebrates 25 years and, as a commemoration, the front and back covers are covered with the names of every author that has been included in its 63 issues.

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The Spring 2016 issue of Mid-American Review from Bowling Green State University is a serious jackpot for readers. Not only does this issue include the regular quality content, but it also features a translation chapbook with poems from Slovenian poet Meta Kusar. And this issue includes the winners of the 2015-2016 James Wright Poetry and Sherwood Anderson Fiction Awards. Looking back through notes, I’m aware that the main phrase for such a collection is “and then . . .”

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“autumn  / taking a dirt road  / to the end of it ” —from A Dictionary of Haiku (1992), Jane Reichhold, 1937-2016. The fall issue of Modern Haiku contains a tribute in memory of Jane Reichhold, “a prolific author, editor, and translator” who made her mark as a writer and scholar of the haiku form.

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shufPoetry’s logo represents the work the magazine brings to its audience: colorful graffiti splashed across a computer screen. The Fall 2016 issue brings together a collection of visual and audio work that draws the reader’s eye (and ear) and keeps interest through flashes of color and creative formats.

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In this issue of Southern Humanities Review, the editors include a selection of poetry from the 2015 Auburn Witness Poetry contest, held in honor of Jake Adam York. In addition to other poems and short stories, this issue features poems from the winner, the first and second runners-up, and the nine finalists. Each of these poems shares a witness’s perspective on issues like race relations, poverty, and humanity in honor of Jake Adam York, an award-winning poet that focused on the triumphs and tragedies of the Civil Rights movement.

Continue reading “Southern Humanities Review – Winter 2016”

To wrap up 2016, WomenArts Quarterly Journal decided to run an Editors’ Choice issue of the best pieces published in recent years. Among those chosen are two fictions, Midge Raymond’s “Side Effects” and Stephanie Selander’s “The Exchange.” These women couldn’t be more effective in their storytelling.

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No one who regularly reads university journals is going to be surprised that the Michigan Quarterly Review contains quality short work from some of the best authors. The Summer 2016, issue is certainly no disappointment. Twelve authors have provided us with the level of work we have come to expect and respect. It is always difficult to select one author’s work over another, especially in a respected collection, so your pardon if I don’t mention everyone.

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Recently I was fortunate enough to attend a reading by Pulitzer Prize winning author Michael Cunningham (The Hours, The Snow Queen, A Wild Swan and Other Tales). The reading was inspirational not only for the works read but for the Q&A period following. Responding to a question about process and the willingness to pursue writing in spite of setbacks or crises of confidence, Cunningham made clear the importance of writers and their works to the world and how engaging in the pursuit is next door to alchemy. One begins with the same words accessible to everyone and creates something new on a page where there was nothing before. This is what each of the poets represented in this issue of the Columbia Poetry Review have done.

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One of the many joys of my high school creative writing class was anticipating the daily writing prompt. Our teacher would surprise us every day with a unique topic to write about for five to ten minutes. The excitement and challenge of responding to these daily writing prompts showed me how skillful writers can take any theme and craft it into a well-written essay or poem. If you also know and appreciate the joy of exercising creative writing muscles, then you would enjoy reading THEMA, the theme-related journal. Every issue of THEMA has a distinct theme, which, according to their website, serves three goals: “One is to provide a stimulating forum for established and emerging literary and visual artists. The second is to serve as source material and inspiration for teachers of creative writing. The third is to provide readers with a unique and entertaining collection of stories, poems, art and photography.” The theme of the autumn 2016 issue is “The Neat Lady and the Colonel’s Overalls,” which was inspired by the poetry editor’s visit to a shopping mall. Talented writers answered the call to this quirky theme and present an offering of exciting short fiction and poetry. Continue reading “THEMA – Autumn 2016”

If I’m being honest, what drew me in to the first issue of True Story, brought to you by the editors of Creative Nonfiction and In Fact Books, is that the inaugural story, “Fruitland” by Steven Kurutz, sounded intriguing, mysterious, and—well—like a fiction story I’d like to read. Two brothers, Donnie and Joe Emerson, recorded an album together in the late 70s. While a flop at the time, it was rediscovered by chance in 2008, catapulting them into belated fame and inevitably stirring up ghosts. As a true story, “Fruitland” ends up offering more to readers than a fictionalized “inspired by” story ever could.

Continue reading “True Story – October 2016”

It’s been quite some time since I have been able to write a review for Carve—in fact the last issue I did review was Summer 2012, their final issue before moving to and including the new[ish] premium print edition—but I’ve been itching to do so for quite some time as I follow along with the places it is going. Although all stories are still available to read online for free, “because good honest fiction should never disappear into obscurity,” trust me when I say you’ll want to go ahead and purchase the premium edition.

Continue reading “Carve Magazine – Summer 2016”

Humanity has always been fascinated with death and invented stories to explore the possibility of life beyond death. Gilgamesh, distraught over Enkidu’s death in one of the world’s oldest bromance stories, dives into the underworld to unlock the secret to eternal life, but is outsmarted by a clever snake. Orpheus nearly resurrects his dead lover Eurydice after a private concert for Hades and Persephone, but fails because he can’t resist sneaking a peek over his shoulder at the last minute. Our fascination with death and resurrection continues to this day in popular culture, where superheroes are killed and brought back to life more times than that fellow from Nazareth. The summer 2016 issue of Conduit magazine, Digging Lazarus, presents a selection of talented writers who add their voices to the ongoing exploration of death and resurrection.

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Chelsea Hickock, editor of Hayden’s Ferry Review dedicates this issue to ego. As Hickock explains, writers must be gutsy to believe that someone cares enough to “sit down with our words for hours at a time and live inside the worlds we create.” For all the ego these authors must have in their words, the heart of this issue is told through silences. It takes ego to believe what you write matters, but it takes greater ego to believe what you write will be heard in a pause and understood in a lack of words.

Continue reading “Hayden’s Ferry Review – Spring/Summer 2016”