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

In this inaugural issue of ARTEMISpoetry, please join us in celebrating the vitality and ambition of women poets writing today. The newsletter for the Second Light network has turned outwards and become a journal for women’s poetry of interest to all readers who want to keep track of exciting new writing.

We invite your poems, books for review, artwork, news of activities and successes. We will bring you the thoughts, judgements, and the new work of leading women poets. Contributors to this issue include Fiona Sampson, Katherine Gallagher, Myra Schneider, Penelope Shuttle.

Taking our name from the Greek moon goddess, Artemis – Diana to the Romans, going under many different names in different cultures – we make big claims: the emphasis is on imagination, dreaming, but also on the fierce individuality of this mythic figure, her role as untiring and unerring huntress and defender of women…

We aim to be a showcase for what contemporary women poets seek to do – to go beyond the labels sometimes affixed to women’s writing (‘confessional’, ‘personal’, ‘domestic’) and, without rejecting immediate personal experience, to show breadth and depth of interest, and novel approaches.

To call for ‘ambition’ from women poets is not necessarily to call for ‘competitiveness’ and focus on ‘the glittering prizes’. But we do those, too, and aim to profile women’s successes – often coming as a great surprise to the recipients:  “I sent three poems, one of which had just been rejected by a magazine, but I thought I’d recycle it. It won!” (Wendy French, winner, Torbay Poetry Competition, 2008). But there are perfectly reasonable questions too: “I am the same writer as I was before I had this bit of good fortune. So why do people who didn’t take me seriously before, take me more seriously now?” (Sibyl Ruth, winner of the Mslexia Poetry Competition, 2008).  Surely, this is a topic worthy of some research and considered writing?

Meantime, for competition organisers (and funders!) everywhere, a heartfelt appreciation of the opportunities you create and the recognition you promote: “Winning the 2008 Silver Wyvern prize meant a lot to me ...Lago di Orta is one of the most magical places… As well as the honour, and some acclaim, it was very special to read and hear my poem read aloud in Italian ” (Caroline Carver, winner, The Silver Wyvern, Poetry on the Lake, 2008). “… it gives confidence.  Poets need positive feedback to fuel their creative fire.” (Rose Flint, winner, Cardiff International, 2008), and from Sue McIntyre (winner, short poem, Scintilla, 2008) “it produced a warm confidence-building glow!”

For a wider definition of ambition, read, perhaps, the utmost ‘receptivity’. As the poet, Boris Pasternak said in one of his letters, ‘poets are waiting for something that ‘so far’ has not been given a name... It is indeed the waiting that is so exciting, like a still unsolved problem, or like a flare poised in the sky in expectation of the moment of action.’ Yes!

Dilys Wood & Anne Stewart

(and, re Bridport: I didn’t think I was writing academically enough to succeed [in it] but it seemed ridiculous to let that stop me entering – I’m decidedly happy to have been proved wrong...  Anne )

I was delighted to be invited to choose poems for Issue 1 of ARTEMISpoetry, an exciting and important platform for showing the increasing ambition and achievement of contemporary women poets. In making my choice, I juggled with the need to represent different approaches, styles and tones of voice. In seeking the right balance I had to lose many excellent poems, but I hope the poets not represented this time will continue to submit work.

Myra Schneider, Poetry