NewPages Blog

Although Iconoclast may not appear to be your typical magazine, it contains a plethora of magical writing just waiting to be discovered. The magazine itself is stapled-stitched on non-glossy paper, and some works share pages based on size (which to me seems like the ecologically friendly route to go). Something that also intrigued me is that they have a lifetime subscription to any country for a base rate. If you like what you read, this seems like a great investment. The magazine is mostly poetry and prose; however, they normally include reviews which were excluded from this issue (their next issue will be even bigger and include the reviews). Continue reading “Iconoclast – 2012”

In its two-plus decades of existence, Image has garnered a reputation as “a unique forum for the best writing and artwork that is informed by—or grapples with—religious faith.” This is no small calling. Not content to provide rote answers, convinced that beauty transcends trite aphorisms, the editors of the journal focus on verbal and visual art that “embody a spiritual struggle, that seek to strike a balance between tradition and a profound openness to the world.” In this issue, the fiction is compelling, and the nonfiction and poetry illuminate with heartbreaking effectiveness the tension between contemporary socialized intelligence and the fierce desire for God. Its theme seems to be fervent searching. I found it very moving. Continue reading “Image – Winter 2011/2012”

Juked’s website says, “We don’t adhere to any particular themes or tastes, but some people tell us they see one, so who knows.” I’m not going to make any broad declarations of a theme connecting the stories, poetry, and interviews in this issue; I’m just going to highlight a few of the better selections. Continue reading “Juked – Spring 2012”

Near the end of the latest issue of Light—which is twenty years old and probably the most important venue for humorous verse in the country—there is a note saying that unless financial support or volunteer editors come forward, the upcoming issue will be its last. Continue reading “Light Quarterly – Autumn 2011/Winter 2012”

I am not a native Californian. I was raised in the great state of Missouri, thank you very much, and it is a state that I sorely miss sometimes. This is why it was an immense pleasure to find in my mailbox The Lindenwood Review, a literary journal from Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri. It was like receiving a love letter from a friend I haven’t heard from in years. Cultural biases aside, the inaugural issue of this university press features a strong line-up of fiction, poetry, and essays from various talents across the country and abroad. Continue reading “The Lindenwood Review – 2011”

There’s something faintly whimsical about this issue of The Massachusetts Review. Maybe it’s in the tone of “Bad Meditator,” a poem by Doug Anderson whose list of distractions isn’t a complaint but rather a love letter to all the occupants of Monkey Mind: Continue reading “The Massachusetts Review – Spring 2012”

Before reading The Mom Egg, one might question why, if thousands of successful contemporary writers are also mothers, do we need an annual literary publication which “publishes work by mothers about everything, and by everyone about mothers and motherhood.” Continue reading “The Mom Egg – 2012”

Poet Lore was established in 1889 as a brilliant exploration of literature. It expanded through inspired conversation and has grown over a century into a repertoire of well-known and new authors, each issue a beautiful collection of work that deserves the reputation. The spring/summer issue is no exception. Continue reading “Poet Lore – Spring/Summer 2012”

A young magazine, only on its second volume, Raleigh Review pulls off an understated maturity in its choice of fiction and poetry pieces, while the artwork is playful and quirky. It is a magazine that takes itself seriously, but not to a fault, with an impressive list of heavy hitters. The interior and exterior artwork are the creations of Geri Digiorno, a set of themed mixed-media collages, intricate paper mosaics that are jolting, haunting, and yet strangely sweet and light all mixed in together, a lovely invitation to read what’s inside. Continue reading “Raleigh Review – 2011-2012”

Sententia opens with a kind-of abridged editor’s note on the inside of the front cover. The title name is “Latin for sentence, but also means thought, meaning, and purpose.” The magazine couldn’t be more appropriately named, and, in fact, I would’ve described the works in the journal with these three adjectives prior to reading this note. The editors of Sententia had a goal in mind, and they achieved it. Continue reading “Sententia – 2012”

“Foreign countries exist.” – Geraldine Brooks, The Best American Short Stories of 2011 Continue reading “The Southern Review – Spring 2012”

The Spinning Jenny team at Black Dress Press has put forth no lack of effort. The magazine’s cover design, as well as the first few pages, index, and footers, speaks of a literary sense of humor. The editors manage not to take themselves too seriously while also producing a line of beautifully fashioned issues, and issue number twelve is no exception. An equally as well-designed website for the magazine sports past issues and reviews, all of which are positive and a good introduction to a first reading of Spinning Jenny. Continue reading “Spinning Jenny – 2011”

“A conversation,” says Editor-in-Chief Jessica Jacobs of The Sycamore Review, “involves two people who know each other sitting down in a familiar room. But as anyone who’s ever picked up a book and had it speak to her knows, conversations can also occur in which not even a single word is said aloud, in which two minds engage each other outside the immediacy of same time, same place.” Jacobs’s words provide an appropriate introduction that mirrors the fantastical cover art by Kathleen Lolley. The latest issue of this journal from the Purdue University English Department wants to have a conversation with you, dear reader, and to share its poetry, fiction, essays, interviews, art, and book reviews. Continue reading “Sycamore Review – Winter/Spring 2012”

Vallum has been encouraging an international literary collaboration of established and forthcoming writers for a little over a decade. The publication is dedicated to fostering communication in and around its home in Canada as well as with countries that range from Australia to India. This issue features a special focus on Pakistani poets. Pakistan is “often portrayed as one of the world’s most dangerous countries,” and so it is no surprise that a collection from its poets is astonishingly beautiful and powerful. Continue reading “Vallum – 2012”

This issue of Jersey Devil Press magazine, as the editors indicate, is “chock full of stories about people betrayed by self, undermined by their own best efforts, and ultimately destined to fail because of their inherent, incurable flaws.” Inside the issue, each character and story is definitely unique, pulling the reader through the issue to figure out what the next surprise is. Continue reading “Jersey Devil Press – June 2012”

This issue of The Summerset Review marks a ten year anniversary. Although I had not read this magazine before this issue, if this issue is any indication, I can see why they have made it this far. While small and simple, this publication has a lot to offer. The poetry that started the issue, two poems by Ha Kiet Chau, was especially inviting. The words in “Dizzy Distraction,” easily glide over the tongue in a summer haze that is perfect for the June issue: Continue reading “The Summerset Review – Summer 2012”

Anti- is, as the editors explain, “contrarian, a devil’s advocate that primarily stands against the confinement of poetry in too-small boxes. Anti- wants to provide a single arena for a wide range of styles and ideas, so these different kinds of poets and poems can either fight it out or learn to coexist.” What I found most interesting with this issue of Anti- is the vast breadth of styles that it packs; each poet seemed to bring something different. With some of the poems, I was just captured by the titles alone: “Dictator, By Which I Mean the Mother Brandishing a Pistol with a Piñata over Her Head” and “When they squeeze us the wind splinters where we used to be, which is also where we are now.” Continue reading “Anti – June 2012”

This issue of inter|rupture certainly had me lost in the words. With each author’s work, I anticipated something fresh, and I wasn’t disappointed. The imagery in this issue is what has lingered with me, long after I finished reading. I was haunted (in a fantastic and exhilarating way) by the imagery in Peter Jay Shippy’s “Last Requests” in which the narrator doles out a list of strange requests for the body the narrator will leave behind: Continue reading “inter|rupture – June 2012”

Stirred is exactly how I felt after reading the fiction piece in this issue of Stirring; Lisa Locascio’s “Friend Request” made this issue well worth the read. The story is narrated by the father of a teenage girl whose username on “YourPage” is Susiecide. Throughout the story, the father monitors the young girl’s posts and photos, taking a peak into her personal world that she limits him access to. As I was reading it, I had to constantly remind myself that it was a piece of fiction: the characters and narration her felt so real and authentic that it seemed like it could be nonfiction. Locascio certainly did a great job taking on the voice of the father. She is careful and crafty in making all of these characters seem like real people. Continue reading “Stirring – June 2012”

LITnIMAGE fuses flash fiction with edgy visual art to make a quirky online mag. My favorite piece from this issue is Justin Lawrence Daughtery’s “The Lobster Queen” which uses the symbol of the last lobster left in the tank at the grocery store to represent a young woman’s view on life. I loved the subtle hints and details, the interactions between the narrator and her sister and father, and the language that is used throughout. I was eager to read on after the first paragraph: Continue reading “LITnIMAGE – Spring 2012”

Just from the cover, the graphics, and the presentation of the magazine—easy to read online and compatible with phones and tablets—I was impressed with this gem. The first story, Andrew Borkowski’s “Legomaniac,” drew me right in as a great nonfiction piece with a very interesting character, an old woman who is insistent on winning over the love of his daughter. I also really loved Nadia Ragbar’s “The Fair,” in which she denies her attraction to Rusty, a boy who gives her a gift of a small Chief figurine: “I left to buy a Coke, my left hand fiddling with the change in my left jeans pocket, the figurine jammed in the middle of my palm with the plastic headdress making a crown of points in the meat of me. My heart beating around it, in my right jeans pocket.” Continue reading “Dragnet Magazine – June 2012”

Spittoon magazine says, “To us, the form is as important as the content, and both form and content should work together to develop the intended effect,” and I think the pieces in this issue certainly hold true to that. When I was reading, I noticed a lot of different forms—something I always find endearing. Continue reading “Spittoon – Spring 2012”

Straight Forward is a newer mag that includes both poetry and photography. While I wasn’t impressed with most of the photography—but that’s really a matter of opinion because I know nothing about the art—several of the poems stuck with me. Continue reading “Straight Forward – June 2012”

This Spring 2012 issue of Blood Orange Review is all about collections: collections of stories, of locks and keys, of facts, and even of elephants. What some of these stories also have are stellar first lines. Brently Johnson’s nonfiction piece “The Raisin Invasion” starts out with, “When my sister got kicked out of the house for good, my mother filled her bedroom with raisins.” With a line like that, I couldn’t help but click the “more” button to read on—and I’m glad I did. It is compelling and honest throughout. Stephanie Friedman’s “I Want the Copy that Dreams” starts off with, “Jean felt nettled for no reason she could name, a pricking just beneath her skin.” With just a few short stories, this magazine can be read over a lunch break or after work to unwind—it’s just the right size.
[www.bloodorangereview.com] Continue reading “Blood Orange Review – Spring 2012”

In sixteen lines or less, these writers serve up a shot of poetry each. Some of them are sweet and some burn on the way down, but all of them prove the ability to convey meaning and emotion in a small amount of space. Just take a look at Burt Kimmelman’s piece which accomplishes this with only 23 words or Dan Sklar’s three shots of reflection. I certainly can’t get over my sinking gut after reading Neil Banks’s cinquain poem “Lost Words” Continue reading “Shot Glass Journal – January 2012”

The Molotov Cocktail is interested in, as the submissions page indicates, “volatile flash fiction, the kind you cook up in a bathtub and handle with rubber gloves.” Continue reading “The Molotov Cocktail – 2012”

Browsing Short, Fast, and Deadly is like walking into an old house, one where the floors creak and you expect things to pop out of you. Each time you turn the corner into a new room, you discover something new, some treasure. This mag, posted every month on the 19th, is doing a lot of great and interesting things. Every piece in it is short and snappy with all of the prose under 420 characters (no, not words) and the poetry under 140 characters. There are several sections, including a themed section (this issue’s is [Place Marks]), a featured writer, prose, poetry, views, and a nifty section called BlackMarket that includes mash-up pieces of “found” Continue reading “Short, Fast, and Deadly – April 2012”