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

Envoi 146: Celebrating 50 Years Of Poetry: edited by Jan Fortune-Wood
(Cinnamon Press, £5) 96pp.
Available from www.envoipoetry.co.uk

Recently passed from the editorial hands of Roger Elkin, who ran the magazine from 1982 until last year, the venerable Envoi reaches its half century with Jan Fortune-Wood at the helm, and a new publisher in her own Cinnamon Press. Production standards are high, and the contents follow the successful recipe of poems by readers and critical comments that focus very firmly on the craft aspects of poetry: Envoi’s strengths have always lain in the mix of well-made poems and a strong programme of feedback, though a guest poet’s appearance from the Welsh veteran Herbert Williams is very welcome here too. Competition entries are scrutinised with a rare thoroughness and Elkin’s adjudicator’s report picks up on flaws even while justifying the three final winners. This gives the journal a rigorous, hands-on, practical feel, and for readers seeking the print equivalent of a regular workshop this is probably the best of its kind in the UK. The drawbacks mirror the virtues, with much of the poetry resembling fine carpentry: solidly built, sturdy and  polished to a lovely sheen, but often lacking in character or imaginative spark. I was also somewhat puzzled to see that a very large proportion of the books reviewed were the products of the editor’s own press, though hopefully the faint aroma of cross promotion will fade as Fortune-Wood’s editorship finds its feet. It’s fair to say that the reviews themselves are moderately robust, at least, and Envoi remains a magazine aimed at aspiring writers, maintaining its place in a niche that it has served well since 1957.