Poetry Magazines - The best collection of poetry magazines online - Simon Armitage

Magma is distinct from other poetry magazines because each issue has a different editor. The editorship circulates among the group that runs the magazine, with an occasional guest editor. Each editor brings his or her particular interests to bear, resulting in poems and emphases that no-one else in the group could have predicted.

The group is united by its commitment to the best in contemporary poetry, whether from new or little-known poets or the more established. We look for poems which give a direct sense of what it is to live today – honest about feelings, alert about the world, sometimes funny, always well crafted. Magma includes reviews of current publications and thought-provoking prose. We publish three times a year in spring, summer, and winter, with a selection of poems and articles on our website.

Magma 31 is edited by John Stammers whose first collection, Panoramic Lounge-bar (Picador 2001), won the Forward Prize for Best First Collection. His second collection, Stolen Love Behaviour (Picador 2005), is the Poetry Book Society Choice for Spring 2005. John invited poems on works of visual art and some of these appear on pages 5 - 14. Karen Green lives and works in London. Illustrations (except on pages 27, 33, 38 and 74) are by Brian Pomeroy.

The launch reading for Magma 31 is at 8 pm on Monday 28 February 2005 in the Coffee-House Poetry series at the Troubadour Coffee House, 265 Old Brompton Road, London SW5 (email
[email protected]). The nearest tube station is Earl's Court. The guest poets are Sean O’Brien and Tim Turnbull. Admission is the normal Coffee-House charge of £5.50 (£4.50 concessions).

Magma 32 (May 2005) will be edited by Mick Delap who has invited, among poems on any subject, some that concern themselves with the sea. The launch reading will be on 20 June 2005 at the Troubadour.

Magma 33 (November 2005) will be edited by Tim Kindberg. He invites, among poems on any subject, some on the theme of moments of obscurity outside Warhol’s fifteen minutes of fame: the unnoticed, the ignored; an interstice between two blades of grass in a municipal park; an arm caught in the background of a photograph; the extras in last night's film.

Magma Anthology At our 10th anniversary reading on 21st January 2005, we launched our anthology of each editor’s favourite poem from the first thirty issues of Magma. For further details see page 74.

Obtaining Magma
You will find an Order Form on page 76. Subscribing will bring you Magma at a reduced rate, and subscribing by Standing Order is the simplest way of doing so.

Contributing to Magma
You are welcome to send us unpublished poems by post or email. We seek to publish new or unfamiliar poets as well as the better known.

Deadlines are end of February, mid-July and end of October. Poems are considered for one issue only. We acknowledge all UK contributions and write to all contributors as soon as a decision is made. Postal contributions must be accompanied by an s.a.e. if posted in the UK and with sufficient International Reply Coupons if posted from abroad. The contributor's name must appear on each page. Contributions to: David Boll, Editorial Secretary. By post: Magma, 43 Keslake Road, London NW6 6DH By e-mail: [email protected] 

www.magmapoetry.com Our website contains a selection of Magma poems and articles, and details of how to submit, subscribe and order back copies. We have developed the site to include a debating room and other interactive features for our subscribers.