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

Remember to enclose SAEs when contacting Editors. News and information may be sent direct to: Matt Bryden, 28A Tadcaster Road, Dringhouses, York YO24 1LQ; [email protected]

Update to 120, compiled by Carole Baldock

Apologies to organiser Ursula Kiernan: no Arun Poetry Competition.

Other competitions no longer running: Surrey Poetry Centre (Feb); Torbay Open (Feb); Chiltern Writers’ Group (April); Write Around Lambeth (April; 3 year funded project)

On hold: Manchester Airport Commission (May; via Festival); Carillon (April); Rotherham Metro competitions (May; via Graham Rippon); Academi Cardiff (June)

No idea at all: Llandudno Midsummer Festival; Armagh Writers; Understanding Magazine

Change of deadline:
Keats-Shelley Prize, from March 31 to April 30
Golden Pen from May 1 to April 1
Poetry on the Lake, from May 30 to June 30
Poets Anonymous from May 15 to May 18: Poetry + Seven Poetry Competition.
And change of format: Blue Nose Poets-of-the-Year: Writers Inc Writers-of-the-Year, to include short stories; now April 20.

Cathal Bui Summer School (Mar) was for poetry only, not short stories

Incorrect email address for St Louis Poetry Center Contest (May 15); should be [email protected] (Robert Nazarene)

All change on the editorial front: New Welsh Review and Connections. And iota is to be run by Bob Mee and Janet Murch of Ragged Raven Press.

The Affectionate Punch is to fold.

Michael Moore (Hilton House) has had to close his magazine Advance! and end the various competitions due to ill health.

Independent Local Newspapers Ltd currently offering book prizes instead of free weekend break and is sponsored by Profile, Transworld, www.poettext.com and www.fictionette.com; [email protected] (marked for Michael Harnett’s attention);

Poetry Now, the Peterborough based poetry publishers confirm their Poetry Now Newsletter (PUN) is no longer published – not to be confused with Barry Tebb’s publication: Sixties Press, 89 Connaught Road, Sutton, Surrey SM1 3PJ

Prop is now A5; change of editorial address: Steven Blyth, 3 Treen Road, Astley, Manchester M29 7HD [email protected] (no unsolicited work via email).

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Two splendid websites for writers: www.abctales.com and www.writersdisplay.com

And for details of awards for community groups wishing to be connected to the Internet www.btcommunityconnections.com

AA Independent Press Guide has been put together by Dee Rimbaud, artist and writer, who has spent several years collating information about literary and genre magazines and presses from around the world. Well over 1,000 entries and 200 A4 pages packed with information, updated whenever new details comes to light (if a magazine folds or changes contact details), a significant advantage over small press guide books published annually. This Guide comes on a Microsoft Word file on CD Rom with special features no printed guide could have – at the click of a mouse, you can contact a magazine or press by e-mail or check out their website. Some listings are basic, but the majority have some or all the following: editor’s name, the address, telephone number, fax number, e-mail address, website URL, year established, circulation figures, frequency, format, contributor payment details and editorial requirements. Also, whether editors consider electronic submissions: saving you a small fortune on stamps and envelopes. Also lists magazines that have folded, notes those currently closed to submissions or with limited reading periods, ensuring that submissions are not returned unread – yours for only £5.00 + P&P (add £1.00 if UK resident; and £2.00 if living outside UK). Cheques, Postal Orders or International Money Orders (in UK pounds sterling only) to Dee Rimbaud. 7 Lothian Gardens (GFL), Glasgow G20 6BN. Enquiries to [email protected]

Poetry course at the excellent Arvon Foundation Lumb Bank, Hebden Bridge, 27 May – 1 June: ‘How do we write about the natural world in a fresh and contemporary way? Starting out on known ground we will take various tangential paths through the undergrowth, looking at our environment and ourselves in a new light’. Tutors: Linda France and Alice Oswald Guest: Peter Sansom Contact Lumb Bank, Heptonstall, Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, HX7 6DF. Tel. 01422 843714
[email protected]

11 May onwards: The 4th Bradford Literature Festival at venues including Bradford Libraries, Pictureville Cinema, Studio Alhambra Theatre. Gerard Benson on the Ancient Mariner as well as authors Tony Parsons and Mo Mowlam. Programme from Bradford Literature Festival, c/o Tom Palmer, Central Library, Prince’s Way, Bradford BD1 1NN.

Competitions Bulletin: subs form may be downloaded from www.cherrybite.co.uk

Contemporary Poetry Review
Garrick Davis, POBOX 977, Pacific Grove, CA 93950 (USA)
www.cprw.com
Approx 500 visitors a day.
Payment: ‘A monthly honorarium of $100 is given to one contributor’.
‘Generally, I respond to submissions from prospective contributors in 1–3 days. New critics are encouraged to submit writing samples.

     An online journal founded in 1998 devoted exclusively to the criticism of poetry and maintaining a permanent staff of critics, each of whom contributes 3–6 articles a year. It provides the general reader with a guide to contemporary poetry, an organ of intelligent criticism which is clear, spacious and free of academic jargon and politics. Since new verse is published not only by the usual universities and houses, but also on web-pages and vanity presses, it does not discriminate between mediums (sic).’

     This clearly organised site offers readers interviews with distinguished poets, critics and translators, recent news, book releases, and a chatroom. Up to date, topics range from discussion of Tim Kendall’s critical study of Sylvia Plath to the future of poetry in a computer age, while the useful reviews archive makes it possible to browse analyses of Ted Hughes’ first and last collections, peruse a 20,000 word appraisal of Jack Kerouac and consider the quality of translations of Miroslav Hollub and Ovid. There is also a section on neglected and out of print poets and volumes.

The Directory of Writers Circles 2002 is edited by Diana Hayden, available in print and as an ebook version from 39 Lincoln Way, Harlington, Bedfordshire, LU5 6NG – email for more information [email protected]

Dream Catcher: 144 page Special Tenth Issue; poetry, fiction and artwork including Joolz Denby, Graham Mort, Milner Place, Ian Parks, Antony Dunn, Chris Firth, Fred Voss, William Park, Peter Lewin, Helen Burke, T F Griffin, Pat Borthwick, Sean Body and others. Send £5 to Joe Warner, 32 Queens Road, Barnetby-le-Wold, North Lincolnshire DN38 6JH. Tel.0771 8125880 www.dreamcatcher-arts.co.uk

The Forward Prizes offer Best Collection: £10,000; The Waterstone’s Prize for Best First Collection of Poetry: £5000; The Tolman Cunard Prize for Best Single Poem: £1000. NB: entries by individuals are NOT accepted. Collections must be submitted by the publisher. Single poems by editors and literary editors; poetry competition winners, by the organisers. Four poems or four collections may be entered in each category. All works entered are also considered for inclusion in The Forward Book of Poetry. Judges: Rosie Millard, Lavinia Greenlaw, Peter Stothard, Sean O’Brien. Chairman: Michael Donaghy. Deadline: May 3.

SEND SAE: Colman Getty PR, 17 & 18 Margaret Street, London W1W 8RP. Tel: 020 7631 2666; fax: 020 7631 2699 (Truda Spruyt) [email protected]

Freedom To Breathe: Modern Prose Poems from Baudelaire to Pinter, edited by Geoffrey Godbert. Reading the pages of this unique anthology should convince those who still need persuading that prose poems have achieved a special and lasting place in the world of our literature. Published in paperback in May 2002 at £10. Stride, 11 Sylvan Road, Exeter, Devon EX4 6EW www.stridebooks.co.uk

4–14 July: Ledbury Poetry Festival features ‘an awesome array’ of poetic guests including U A Fanthorpe, Selima Hill, Mimi Khalvati, John Kinsella, Sean O’Brien, Don Paterson, Patience Agbabi, Kathleen Jamie, Matthew Sweeney, George Szirtes and many more.

Visit www.poetry-festival.com or call 0845 4581743 to receive a copy of the programme.

Light’s List of Literary Magazines 2002 (17th edition) contains the names, addresses, price, frequency, page count and a brief note of interests (e.g. “Traditional: poems to 30 lines, fiction to 2000 words, reviews, artwork”) of over 1500 UK, US, Canadian, Australasian, European, African and Asian small press magazines publishing creative writing and artwork in English. 70 pages. ISBN 1 897968 15 9 £2.50 inclusive of postage (US$6 surface; US$7 air) Cheques or British postal orders payable to John Light. Photon Press, 37 The Meadows, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland TD15 1NY [email protected]

Manic Poets want to hear from poets interested in appearing in a series they are producing for Channel 4. A panel of judges will select 5 from each region for screening auditions. Submissions should be sent to [email protected]

The North is packed with poems reviews and articles. Subscribe to the magazine, and you receive a free back issue. For information contact The Poetry Business, The Studio, Byram Arcade, Westgate, Huddersfield HD1 1ND. Tel. 01484 434840

15–22 June, 27 July-3 August and 9–16 September: writing workshops / outings in Tuscany, led by poet Sandra Stevens in an unspoilt village near Siena. For more information contact her at The Word Works, 4 Farm Cottages, Shoscombe, Near Bath, BA2 8LT. Tel.01761 432546 up until June. From June onwards 0039 333 9837 between 5 and 7pm.

May 1st onwards: Swindon Festival of Literature. Thirteen days of literary delight open in traditional dawn glory at 5.30am. Daisy Goodwin, anthology editor, discusses the emotional value of poetry. A ‘Poems and Pints Night’ will be held at the Town Hall in the evening. Programme and booking info: 01793 771080 or visit www.swindonfestivalofliterature.co.uk

Tavistock and West Dartmoor Writers Festival: ‘Writing on the Wild Side’, 6–8 September. Three days of workshops, readings, performances, talks. Inspirational tutors, poets, authors. Details: Roselle Angwin, TWDW, PO Box 17, Yelverton, Devon, PL20 6YF; 01822 841081 [email protected]

Words Out Loud: ten essays about poetry readings edited by Mark Robinson. ‘I am not a troubadour and I think the public reading of poetry is something particularly ghastly.’ Wallace Stevens. In recent years Britain has seen a mushrooming of poetry reading series and literary festivals which mean that more poets read more often than at any time since the troubadours. Oddly enough, the phenomenon has received very little critical attention so far. This collection of thought-provoking essays will open up fresh dialogue between those who secretly agree with Wallace Stevens and those who see the public reading as a vital and popularising renewal of the oral tradition. The essays are put forward, not as definitive answers to the question of what goes on at a poetry reading, but as a contribution to an ongoing debate. The collection covers a spectrum of poetries from a variety of perspectives which do not always accord with each other. Published in paperback in May at £7.95. Stride, 11 Sylvan Road, Exeter, Devon EX4 6EW www.stridebooks.co.uk