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At the NewPages Blog readers and writers can catch up with their favorite literary and alternative magazines, independent and university presses, creative writing programs, and writing and literary events. Find new books, new issue announcements, contest winners, and so much more!

Spoon River Poetry Review Contest Winners

The Summer/Fall 2011 issue of Spoon River Poetry Review features the 2011 Editors’ Prize Winners selected by final judge Cecil S. Giscombe:

First Place ($1,000): Jennie Ray
First Runner Up ($100): Craig Blais
Second Runner Up ($100): Ben Purkert

Honorable Mentions: Miles Waggener, Molly Tustison, Neal Shipley, Suzume, Laura Sherwood Rudish.

One winning poem will be awarded $1000 and two runners-up awarded $100 each in this annual contest. Winning poem, runners-up, and honorable mentions are published in the fall issue.

New Lit on the Block :: Kudzu Review

Kudzu Review is a biannual online ecojournal. Editor-in-Chief M.P. Jones IV writes that the title is from his grandfather’s, Madison Jones, house “which we lovingly called ‘Kudzu’ for the plant which proliferated along the property line. He was a farmer, writer, literary critic, and professor in Auburn, Alabama.”

The biannual publication is available in PDF and on Issuu, and looks to publish “savvy, sharp, well polished literature that captures life in a post-natural world” and works that “cast new light on rapid species extinction, climate change, food production, technology, sustainability and community.”

The first issue of Kudzu Review features fiction, poetry, and artwork by
Aaron Poller, André Babyn, Ann Cavlovic, Anthony Rintala, Ashleigh Rajala, Becky Garrison, Cassie Premo Steele, Dominic James, Donal Mahoney, Donna Emerson, Drew Jennings, Dwain Wilder, Ed Zahniser, Jack Foster, Jeanpaul Ferro, Joan Colby, John Bohannon, Joseph Rhea, Karla Linn Merrifield, Kenneth Pobo, Lakshmi Eassey, Laurie A Skelton, Maggie Koger, Mercedes Lawry, Sue Blaustein, Susi Lovell, Thomas Fussey, Trent Laubscher, and Tiffany Morris.

Kudzu Review is also offering a “fundraiser” for their publication: woodcut carving t-shirts, each individually hand pressed with a unique front design and back logo. T-shirt buyers have their names listed on a page “forever” in recognition of their support.

Kudzu Review is open on a rolling basis for e-mail submissions of short stories, flash fiction and poetry, and Submishmash submissions of art and photography.

Kudzu Review is staffed by Senior Editors: M.P. Jones IV, Editor-in-Chief; Arthur Wilke, Field Editor; Robin Ward, Web-Design Editor; and Associate Editors: Powell Burke, Fiction & Revisions Editor; Jane Alford, Nonfiction & Revisions Editor; Rivers Langley, 20-Year-Man Assistant Editor; and Ashley Sams, Visual Art Editor.

The Night Before Christmas

Russian writer Nikolai Gogol is famous for his serious satiric novel The Overcoat, but The Night Before Christmas, originally published in a 1926 short story collection, was Gogol’s first work at age 27—an early contribution to Russian literature. Recognized then for its fine writing and humor, now it can also be appreciated as a charming picture of Ukrainian folklore. Instead of Scrooge or the Grinch, the devil and a witch make mischief on a night full of mystical forces, the night before Christmas. Continue reading “The Night Before Christmas”

Betty Superman

Ten stories make up Tiff Holland’s collection, Betty Superman. The stories themselves are short; altogether they fill only thirty-four pages, stapled into a lovely little edition from Rose Metal Press. But the size of Holland’s collection is deceiving. These stories cover the span of a life as only linked shorts can. They invite the reader to fill in the spaces between the wacky and outrageous scenarios our narrator and her mother, Betty, find themselves in. Continue reading “Betty Superman”

The Weary World Rejoices

Steve Fellner’s collection of poems, The Weary World Rejoices, has much more weariness in it than rejoicing, but that is only because, as he writes in the first of three odes to Matthew Shepard, “Explanation never // satisfies. It / always wants // something / like redemption.” Fellner is not trying to explain what it is like to be a gay man in 21st-century America; instead, he is trying to redeem it by showing the varieties of that life as it actually is. Continue reading “The Weary World Rejoices”

Red Plenty

As a kid growing up in a rural community in central Ohio during the 1960s, I heard the word “Communist” bandied about as if it were the lowest form of life to crawl across the American landscape. I thought for a time they had to be like the ogres in Grimm’s fairytales who kidnapped children and ate them. Surely they lurked behind every corner. They were to be feared and exterminated. Commies were bad. Continue reading “Red Plenty”

By Word of Mouth

After more than fifty years of James Laughlin’s New Directions publishing the work of William Carlos Williams, to have yet another new collection is a splendid surprise. Although many of these translations already appear in Williams’s Collected Poems, when all are gathered together from these separate sources and placed in company with a few other renegade poems not found there, the continuing necessity of considering the influence of Williams’s biracial heritage upon his work is evident. To not recognize this aspect of Williams’s identity is to risk missing a key component of his poetry. This is a danger editor Jonathan Cohen notes with his assertion that “Pound failed to understand that Williams identified himself as American because of his Hispanic background.” The multi-layered cultural identity of Williams celebrates the rich, fertile brewing ground that the Americas remain. Continue reading “By Word of Mouth”

Pulp and Paper

Josh Rolnick writes like a storyteller. He places his characters in the middle of complex situations, but doesn’t leave them stranded. Instead, he inhabits their psyches and builds compelling scenes for them to respond to trouble in the best way they know how, by lunging headlong into it. Meanwhile he creates scenes that rivet you to a sliver of time and the gloom of place, sweeping you up in the first sentences of his eight tales and setting you down at the end of each one with greater faith in the human race. Continue reading “Pulp and Paper”

Thrown into Nature

Novels that focus on contemporary foibles are often flattened in time by the ephemeral. In Thrown into Nature, Bulgarian writer Milen Ruskov sidesteps the obsolescence problem by giving us a picaresque novel set in sixteenth century Spain. Guimarães da Silva, acolyte and student, narrates his adventures with his mentor, Dr. Monardes, a true figure out of history, the “discoverer” and promoter of tobacco as the cure for whatever ails you. Continue reading “Thrown into Nature”

Death-In-A-Box

“We are nothing but characters in a book” surmises the child narrator forever staring into the window of “Mrs. Q.’s Drugstore.” It is left to the reader to determine the exact relationship among the trio of peepers and if they ever work up the courage to see those “things that she must have at the counter.” But by the end of Death-In-A-Box readers will have a very good idea of Alta Ifland’s writing talent. Continue reading “Death-In-A-Box”

Power Ballads

Will Boast’s Power Ballads, winner of the Iowa Award for Short Fiction, can at times feel as layered and as over-produced as its moniker. For one, the book, thematically linking the lives of various musicians, unfolds as a short-story cycle, which by the nature of the form allows a freedom and an unevenness to the storytelling on par with, say, Van Halen post-David Lee Roth. Continue reading “Power Ballads”

The Blood Lie

The Blood Lie is labeled as a Young Adult/Jewish Studies book, but I think the main intention of the writer was to present it as Jewish Studies. The characters, plot, and narration did not seem aimed at appealing to the young adult reader, but at telling a story of Jewish history. A young girl, Daisy, gets lost in the woods and the Jewish people of the town are accused of kidnapping her for a blood sacrifice for Yom Kippur. These people are soon ostracized and forced to band together. Continue reading “The Blood Lie”

Songs My Mother Never Taught Me

Murray Shugars’s collection of poems, Songs My Mother Never Taught Me, is clearly divided into three sections with distinct differences in approaches to the craft. The first section, which gives the book its title, is the strongest of the three, as Shugars creates a distinct world in this section. These poems are much more narrative than the other two sections and draw mostly on his childhood, though the speaker of the poems moves into adulthood in the poems about war. Continue reading “Songs My Mother Never Taught Me”

Broadsided “2011 Haiku Year-in-Review”

Poems by Peter Kline, Steve Brightman and Jennifer Jabaily-Blackburn were selected via reader vote for the 2011 Haiku Year-in-Review Broadside, combined with art by Kara Searcy, Caleb Brown, Jennifer Moses and Kevin Morrow. The Broadsided website features writers’ and artists’ responses to this collaborative, innovative project in which four artists were asked to choose a subject that rang out from a season of 2011 as significant. Then, writers were invited to submit haiku on the same subject. Haiku finalists were chosen by the Broadsided editors, then posted online for readers to view alongside the art and vote for which poem/art combinations should represent each season. The full-color broadside includes all four haiku with art and is available for free download and distribution.

2011 River Styx Poetry Contest Winners

Winners of the 2011 River Styx International Poetry Contest are included in the newest issue of River Styx.

1st Place: Stephen Kampa, “Small Change”
2nd Place: Tara Taylor, “Sea Glass”
3rd Place: Julie Hall, “Octopus”

This annual contest awards $1500 First Prize plus one case of micro-brewed Schlafly Beer as well as publication of top selections. A complete list of winners and honorable mentions are available on the publication’s website.

New Lit on the Block :: The Bacon Review

The Bacon Review, edited by the writer/designer Eric Westerlind and philosophy acquisitions editor Jason Barry, was founded in 2011 as a review of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and intellectual life. After only two issues, Westerlind and Barry have just announced that they would like to shift from a bi-monthly to a monthly publication, but will continue to limit content to four pieces per issue.

The Bacon Review also includes a featured called “Hot Seat” where authors whose works are selected for publication will be asked to participate in a half hour online chat regarding their “piece/writing/bovines/whatever else comes up” in the site’s chatroom (open to members who sign in). As Westerlind and Barry write, “We are interested in our authors as people; we want to know what inspires and motivates our contributors to write their stories, poems, and non-fiction.” The chats will be live with discussions archived on the site. Members will receive advance notice of scheduled chats.

The Bacon Review ontributors to date include Parker Finn, Melanie Braverman, William Doreski, Howie Good, Keith Batter, James Collector, Pablo Armando Fern

Salamander 2011 Fiction Contest Winners

The newest issue of Salamander (v17 n1) includes the winning story of the 2011 Salamander Fiction Contest, “The Aerialist” by Hester Kaplan, and honorable mention, “The Blue Demon of Ikumi” by Kelly Luce. This year’s contest was judged by Jim Shepherd. A full list of finalists is available on the publication’s website.

Anderbo Contest Winners

Open City 2011 RRofihe Trophy Short Story Contest
Winning Story “A Pair of Soup” by JL SCHNEIDER

Anderbo 2011 No-Fee Novel Contest / The Mercer Street Books Fiction Prize Winner
DORETTE SNOVER for “THE CITY OF LADIES”
Read the First Chapter here

2011 Anderbo Creative Nonfiction Prize FINALISTS
Judged by Elizabeth Wurtzel (PROZAC NATION)
Winner to be announced soon…

In Memoriam :: Carol Novack

Editor and publisher of Mad Hatter’s Review – and so much more – Carol Novack passed away December 29. Acting Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Marc Vincenz has posted a piece on Mad Hatter’s Blog and has indicated they will be featuring tributes to Carol from many of her contemporaries, collaborators and closest friends in the weeks to come. An e-mail address is provided for those who wish to contribute.

New Lit on the Block :: analogpress.net

analogpress.net is a new online biannual literary journal “focused on featuring the vision of today’s writers, poets and artists dedicated to the idea that literature should make universal themes relevant to the generation that the writer belongs to . . . cutting edge, on the fringe, anchored in classic intuitions: poetry, fiction, non-fiction topics, art & photography.”

Contributors to the first two issues include Laurits Haaning, Robert Lietz, Danielle Altic, Jonathan Steffen, J.T. Andrews, Robert Dicarlo, Peter Fernbach, D H Sutherland, Nicholas Petrone, Dylan T. Price, Lee D. Rorman, Richard Stolorow, Hanny Castano, Kellee Rich, Santiago Dominique, Susanna Douglas, Petra Gabriele Dannehl, Jeremy Mayer, Kate Zaliznock, Edward Harsen, Mark Goad, Ryan Palmer, Hanny Castro, Gretchen Meixner, Tom Rowley-Conwy, Mar Trujillo, M.Y. Lermontov translated by Teimuraz Chanturishvili, and Madeleine Swann.

analogpress.net accepts e-mail submissions of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, art and photography. Submissions for 2011 are currently closed but will open again January 31, 2012.

2011 Kenyon Review Short Fiction Contest Winners

The Winter 2012 issue of The Kenyon Review includes the winners of the 2011 Kenyon Review Short Fiction Contest, previously for writers under the age of thirty. Final judge for the contest was Ron Carlson.

First Prize: Fan Li “Chiasmus”
Runner up: Anna Kovatcheva “September”
Runner up: Nichols Malick “The Boy in the Lake”

In a change from previous years of the contest, submissions will no longer be limited to writers under thirty. Starting in 2012, entries for the Kenyon Review Short Fiction Contest will be limited to writers who have not yet published a book of fiction.

New Lit on the Block :: Tongue

Tongue: A Journal of Writing & Art is a new biannual literary magazine “devoted to all species of translation and border-crossing”: original poetry, essays and images that “aspires to challenge comfortable gestures and distinctions.” Tongue is an autonomous project of the Pirogue Collective — the arts and culture expression of the Gorée Institute. Editors are Adam Wiedewitsch, Colin Cheney, R.A. Villanueva, and Janine Joseph.

Tongue can be read online using the Issuu format or downloaded in several versions of PDF (suitable for mobile viewing – 1.35MB; high-resolution – 33.6MB; suitable for high-quality CMYK printing – 65.5MB).

Issue One launched in December and features new work from Geoffrey Nutter, Darren Morris, Claudia Rankine, Alfonso D’Aquino & Forrest Gander, Kiwao Nomura & Forrest Gander & Kyoko Yoshida, Cecily Parks, Idra Novey, Sally Wen Mao, Adam Small & Mike Dickman, Venús Khoury-Ghata & Marilyn Hacker, Brian Oliu, Birgitta Trotzig & Rika Lesser, Nathalie Handal, Ewa Chrusciel, Rachel Eliza Griffiths, and photographer Zhang Xiao.

Glimmer Train Family Matters Winners :: 2011

Glimmer Train has just chosen the winning stories for their October Family Matters competition. This competition is held twice a year and is open to all writers for stories about family. The next Family Matters competition will take place in April. Glimmer Train’s monthly submission calendar may be viewed here.

First place: Joseph Vastano [pictured], of Austin, TX, wins $1500 for “Twinning.” His story will be published in the Spring 2013 issue of Glimmer Train Stories.

Second place: Aisha Gawad, of Ithaca, NY, wins $500 for “My Cousin Luna Sleeps on Super 8 Motel Beds.”

Third place: Nahal Suzanne Jamir of Tallahassee, FL, wins $300 for “My Mother’s Hands in My Mouth.”

A PDF of the Top 25 winners can be found here.

Deadline soon approaching: Fiction Open, January 2.

Glimmer Train hosts this competition quarterly, and first place is $2000 plus publication in the journal. It’s open to all writers and there are no theme restrictions. The word count generally ranges from 3000 – 8000, though up to 20,000 is fine. Click here for complete guidelines.

New Lit on the Block :: Thrice Fiction

Still in its first year of publication, Thrice Fiction Magazine is published – yes – three times a year and is filled with stories, art, and “a few surprises from a variety of talented contributors.” Readers can download a free PDF or eBook of Thrice Fiction at no charge, or opt to purchase a full-color printed copy from MagCloud.

First-year contributors include Marty Mankins, Jack Foley, Vahid Jimenez, David Simmer II, Michael W. Harkins, John M. Bennett, Ann Bogle, Brandon Rogers, Chris Mansel, Adam Heath Avitable, Matthew Hill, RW Spryszak, Jeff Swanson, Aleathia Drehmer, Robert Kroese, Lisa Vihos, C. Brannon Watts, Echo Chernik, Nathan Garvison, and Kyra Wilson.

Thrice Fiction Editor RW Spryszak accepts e-mail submissions of “standard short stories as well as flash fiction but also various forms that kind-of sort-of look like fiction but may also be poetry. The stated mission of this magazine is to combine standard, more traditional fiction that we like alongside our fearless commitment to the new, unusual and unique.”

Art Director David Simmer II accepts submission queries from artists.

New Lit on the Block :: Ilk

Editor Caroline Crew and Assistant Editor Chris Emslie bring readers Ilk, an online publication of poetry “of any description…hybrid forms…visual forms…concept & concrete.”

The first issue features works by Amanda Earl, Amy Herschleb, Deirdre Knowles, Michael Koh, Madison Langston, Thomas Patrick Levy, Rob MacDonald, Dearman McKay, M.G. Martin, Molly Prentiss, David Raymond, Daniel Romo, Mathias Svalina & Julia Cohen, Parker Tettleton, and Wendy Xu.

Ilk is open for submissions via Submishmash until January 15.

Spalding University MFA Celebrates a Decade

Issue 70 (Fall 2011) of The Louisville Review celebrates the tenth annviverary of the Spalding University brief-residency MFA in Writing Program. MFA Program Director and Editor of TLR, Sena Jeter Naslund, and MFA Administrative Director and managing Editor of TLR, Karen Mann, were instrumental in moving The Louisville Review and Fleur-de-Lis Press to Spalding University and undertook to create the first Master of Fine Arts in Writing Program in Kentucky. Congratulations to their great success, and good wishes for a solid future for all endeavors!

Memoir (and) Prose/Poetry Prize Winners

Chosen from its regular pool of submissions, Memoir (and) has selected the following winners for their biannual prize in prose or poetry:

Grand Prize
Colette Inez for “Mother Country” (prose)

Second Prize
Arthur Bull for “End of the Rope march, February 1996” (poetry)

Third Prize
Jean LeBlanc for “Some Flemish Painters Walk Around My Grandmother’s Yard” (poetry)

In addition to publication, each winner receives a cash prize. Memoir (and) also considers outstanding submissions for Graphic Memoir and Photography.

Ploughshares Emerging Writer’s Contest Winner

The Winter 2011/12 issue of Ploughshares, guest edited by Alice Hoffman, includes the winner of the 2011 Emerging Writer’s Contest: “The Gospel of Blackbird,” fiction by Thomas Lee, selected by DeWitt Henry. The 2012 Emerging Writer’s Contest will be expanding to include fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.

PennSound Streaming Radio

PennSound Radio, a 24-hour stream of readings and conversations from the PennSound poetry archive, launched last week. The daily schedule includes rebroadcasts of such series as Live at the Writers House, Charles Bernstein’s Close Listening, and Leonard Schwartz’s Cross-Cultural Poetics, as well as a curated selection of PennSound’s favorite performances. You can play PennSound Radio through iTunes on your computer, or by installing the free TuneIn app on your iPhone, BlackBerry, or Android device.

Crow Arts Manor Seeks Book Donations

From Crow Arts Manor Director Sid Miller:

Crow Arts Manor, located in a Northeast Portland, is a 501c3 non-profits writing center, that provides lost costs classes and workshop. Over the last 9 months we’ve been hard at work assembling a literary library.

Through donations we’ve been able to obtain a large amount of current literary journals, magazines, books of poetry, short fiction and criticism. But it’s been difficult to obtain the classics, from writers going back to Whitman reaching to the end of last century. So now we’re asking the public for help. We’re looking for folks willing to donate a title or more from their own personal library. Our library will be open to the public and will be a tool for local writers, as well as local schools and non-profit organizations. It will be a place to read, write, and engage with other writers. We will never charge a fee for use of the library. If you are willing to donate, we are happy to send you a present, a past copy of Burnside Review (our partner). Please e-mail me if you are interested in helping: sid-at-crowmanor-dot-org.

Vote Now: Broadsided Haiku Year-In-Review

Broadsided Press is honoring the year with a Haiku Year-In-Review (henceforth referred to as HYIR). To celebrate, examine, and honor the coming of 2012, Broadsided Press wants to publish haiku addressing the events of 2011 alongside visual work by Broadsided artists. Participants have sent haiku, and Broadsided has selected finalists, now YOU can see the art and choose the winners! The final result will be a published on January 4, 2012. To see the art and vote, visit the 2011 HYIR page at Broadsided Press – and feel free to share this with others.

[Pictured: “Tile Drainage” with writing by Christopher Lee Miles and art by Kara Searcy. Broadsided December 1, 2011.]

New Lit on the Block :: Under the Gum Tree

Under the Gum Tree is a new online (via MagCloud) publication of photography and creative nonfiction published out of ThinkHouse Collective in Sacramento, California.

The editors write: “Under the Gum Tree is a storytelling project, publishing creative nonfiction in the form of a micro-magazine. We believe in the power of sharing a story without shame. Too much of the human experience gets hidden behind constructed facades based on what we perceive the world expects from us…the authors and contributors featured in our pages own their story, even the ugly parts, and share it with pure, unadulterated, raw, candid vulnerability.”

The first issue of Under the Gum Tree features stories from Peter Grandbois, Kate Washington and Alexa Mergen, and photography from Mazzarello Media & Arts and Jeannine Mengel.

Under the Gum Tree accepts online submissions via Submishmash.

Editorial Changes at Jersey Devil Press

Eirik Gumeny, Founding Editor/Publisher, is stepping down from the editorial helm at Jersey Devil Press. Mike Sweeney will assume the role and all its responsibilities; Gumney writes of Sweeney: “He has always been one of my favorite writers, and he embraces everything Jersey Devil Press is about. He’s jumped into his new position feet first and guns blazing.”

Anobium – Summer 2011

Anobium embraces and celebrates the strange and surreal. As a reader, sometimes this works for me and sometimes not. This is the first issue of Anobium, and I think for what they are trying to do, it’s a strong start. I liked the design, for one: the journal is pocket-sized, perfect-bound, and features subtle yet effective graphic design by staff artist Jacob van Loon. Continue reading “Anobium – Summer 2011”

Bat City Review – 2011

Are you up for a side trip to Bat City? The landscape is compelling and the water’s fine. Compiled and produced by the University of Texas at Austin, the Bat City Review demands, as Editor Caleb Klaces states, “to be read closely.” Jam-packed with wonderfully wrought poetry and provocative prose, this issue is the perfect companion to take along on a weekend trip or for curling up by the fire on a chilly evening. Continue reading “Bat City Review – 2011”

The Coffin Factory – 2011

On its website, The Coffin Factory states that it “serves as a nexus between readers, writers, and the book publishing industry,” with a mission to “provide great literature and art to people who love books, including those who do not usually read literary magazines.” It strikes me that the debut issue upholds this mission. Continue reading “The Coffin Factory – 2011”

Ecotone – Spring 2011

I fell in love with this issue of Ecotone at founding editor David Gessner’s first mention of John Hay, one of my favorite nature writers. The issue proceeded to draw me in further and further, as I accompanied Poe Ballantine during his down-and-out struggles in Hope, Arkansas; drifted through former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins’ dreamy poems; mired myself in Stephanie Soileau’s tale of two siblings, each stuck in a different rut; and stared transfixed at Magdalena Solé’s color photos of the Mississippi Delta. Next I floated above a poignant slice of childhood from Nancy Hale and stood by Joe Wilkins as he sent boys still short of manhood into a dark bar, following childish desires and finding much more. From there I traced Peter Trachtenberg’s enchanting map of his cats’ forays into the outside world, saluted Sam Pickering as he said goodbye to teaching, and in the final pages unsettled myself outside a remote cabin spun out of Kevin Wilson’s chilling words. Continue reading “Ecotone – Spring 2011”

Glimmer Train Stories – Fall 2011

Co-edited by two sisters, Susan Burmeister-Brown and Linda B. Swanson-Davis, Glimmer Train is a well-regarded magazine containing primarily short-stories. While many of GT‘s authors have impressive lists of past publications, other writers earn their first publication here. This issue includes stories by Geoff Wyss, Jenny Zhang, Daniel Torday, Evan Kuhlman, Nona Caspers, Olufunke Grace Bankole, Daniel Wallace, and Ken Barris. There is also an interview with Victoria Barrett by Debra Monroe. Continue reading “Glimmer Train Stories – Fall 2011”

The Missouri Review – Fall 2011

In this issue’s featured interview, author Dan Choan says, “A big part of my life has been feeling out of place in one world or another and trying to adjust to that sense of being alien all the time.” Displacement is a central theme in the fall issue of The Missouri Review, and the journal’s diverse settings keep readers moving as well. Most pieces at the beginning of the journal place readers abroad, showcasing the magazine’s attention to current political issues. It is about two-thirds of the way through that the stories take a turn toward cityscapes. (Burt Kimmelman’s urban nonfiction, Peter LaSalle’s NYC story and Kristine Somerville’s essay on graffiti art.) The final piece of fiction situates readers in rural Maine in Stephanie DeGhett’s story “Balsam.” We are constantly moving in this issue, but what ultimately unites all the included pieces is a thoughtfulness and quality of writing that make this issue a humbling, excellent read. Continue reading “The Missouri Review – Fall 2011”

Poetry – November 2011

One is prone to read Poetry expecting not only to find good poems, but also that something will be said about poetry. In this issue, the about reverberates most abundantly in Michael Robbins’s insightful review on three volumes, Clavics by Geoffrey Hills, Moving Day by Ish Klein, and Come and See by Fanny Howe. As Robbins suggests, poetry can be one thing—or that thing’s very contradiction: “where Flarf’s virtue is in its failure to hang together, Klein’s poems exude counterintuitive coherence.” This broad definition seems useful in dealing with a collection of poetry so diverse as in this issue of the journal. Continue reading “Poetry – November 2011”

Southwest Review – 2011

Christopher Bakken’s skillfully paced essay “Octopus Ear” begins serenely with a dive off the coast of Greece, where he takes students on tours. Before long, though, he’s climbing down Mount Olympus in terrible pain from an ear infection, confronting his grief over his wife’s mental illness, finding unexpected kindness from a young waitress, and simultaneously laughing and weeping in a gust of what the Greek’s call harmolypi—“joyful sadness.” Part observant travel writing, part gripping personal narrative, the essay gets this ninety-six-year-old magazine off to another good start. Continue reading “Southwest Review – 2011”

Strange Horizons – June 2011-November 2011

I am not a fan of science fiction, but I decided to check out Strange Horizons, an online publication of speculative fiction, poetry, articles, reviews, and art. The first two stories bored me but the third was engaging, and I was hooked. I read a bunch of them. Continue reading “Strange Horizons – June 2011-November 2011”

Voices de la Luna – July 2011

Part community news bulletin, part travel guide, and part literary magazine, Voices de la Luna drops the reader into the vibrant arts community of San Antonio, Texas. The magazine describes itself as “actively promoting poetry and arts in San Antonio by supporting other literary and arts organizations.” Discovering the interdependent community of creative folks represented in Voices de la Luna’s pages makes me want to buy a one-way ticket to this great town. Continue reading “Voices de la Luna – July 2011”

Iron Horse Review Single Author Issue

It would be impossible to know from the cover that Control Burn, a collection of poems by Hastings Hensel, is the latest issue of the Iron Horse Literary Review. A few years ago, IHR changed its publication cycle to six “slim” volumes a year. While other publications were ‘downsizing’ to less print/more online, IHR shifted to less print/more often. There’s no doubt the idea of ‘slim volumes’ of fiction, poetry, nonfiction and photography fits neatly into our busy lives, and IHR added yet another unique feature to their line-up: an entire volume dedicated to one author. Every year, IHR publishes a chapbook of poetry, fiction, or essays. These issues look like a regular, single-author book, and “help to promote the work of writers in the early stages of their careers.”

New Lit on the Block :: Revolution House

Revolution House is a new online publication of poetry, flash fiction, short storis, creative nonfiction, graphic stories, and art. A magazine run by writers Revolution House aims to publish both emerging and experienced authors.

Revolution House staff includes Executive Editor Alisha Karabinus, Managing Editors Fati Z. Ahmed, Elaina Smith, Creative Nonfiction Editors Jaime Herndon and Jami Nakamura Linwas, Fiction & Graphic Stories Editors Karen Britten, Carol H. Hood, Sarah Kamlet, Koty Neelis, and Katie Oldaker, and Poetry Editors Jonathan Dubow, Henry W. Leung, Karissa Morton, Susannah Nevison and Staci R. Schoenfeld.

The first two issue feature new work by Brooke Bailey, Myfanwy Collins, Patrick Thomas Henry, Amorak Huey, Deanna Larsen, Jen Marquardt, Thomas Michael McDade, Andrew Payton, Jessica Plante, Jessica Poli, Valerie Rubinaccio, Karin Rosman, Michael Simon, Courtney Thomas Vance, Ashley Wakefield, Tory Adkisson, Matthew Burnside, Alicia Catt, Caroline Crew, Sarah Crossland, Chanel Earl, William Henderson, Kea Marie, Michael Mlekoday, Francis Raven, Chad Redden, Sarah V. Schweig, Claire Shefchik, Caroline Swicegood, and James Valvis.

Submissions are open unless otherwise announced and accepted via Submishmash.