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

I have been blowing your trumpet, helped by a continuo from Caroline Gourlay. (We do like to let our metaphors loose, don’t we, once we’re off the haiku hook?) Yes, I felt it was necessary to silence my haiku Oath of Humility for a moment, with the aim of soliciting testimonials as to the worth of Blithe Spirit. The precise objective was to impressively underpin a bid for ongoing funding from the Arts Council or one of the regional arts boards so that much more of your subscription money could be put into the Society’s other activities. I thought you might like, with just a phrase or two from each, to get a flavour of some of the encomiums that came pouring in. I hope everyone will be heartened by this brilliant end-of-decade report and resolve to support Colin Blundell with the same verve and flair that they gave to those who sat in the editorial chair before him.

‘I was amazed to learn that BHS exists without any help of funding. Let me say that running any serious literary venture these days without funding is all but impossible. For a long time I’ve admired BHS and the enormous amount it’s done to bring haiku in this country to its present high level of popularity.’ (Peter Mortimer)

‘The blossoming of haiku in Britain has got a lot to do with the work of the British Haiku Society and the influence of the magazine. It is the authority on haiku in Britain today and we constantly recommend it to those who come to the Poetry Library to rind out more about haiku.’ (Mary Enright)

‘The British Haiku Society has taken up a leadership role in haiku in English for a decade. By publishing Blithe Spirit, an excellent literary journal devoted to the genre, throughout that time, the Society has created a positive environment for publication, appreciation and discussion of the world-renowned genre. There are many haiku magazines, mostly run by individuals who promote their own individual ideas to the exclusion of others. And most publish for only a few years before they fade into history. The Society’s journal, however, has remained a lively, even provocative, forum for a variety of views; this has been true throughout the decade, under each of its dedicated editors. The magazine also publishes one of the best selections of haiku in English to appear in any periodical. It is one of the few such journals which draws my full attention immediately on receipt of the latest issue.’ (William J Higginson)

‘Blithe Spirit is a marvellous little magazine. It occupies a unique place in literary publishing, being devoted to the haiku and its related forms, but not directed narrowly to haiku devotees. It has gone from strength to strength… and prints exceptionally intelligent and provocative essays, as well as excellent and ever-surprising haiku by an international range of contributors. Anyone who cares about poetry in the 21st century should be reading it.’ (Carol Rumens)

‘I want to affirm Blithe Spirit’s value as part of the contemporary British poetry scene on a national level. It deserves recognition.’ (Philip Gross)

‘Internationally, it ranks among the top few of English-language poetry journals dealing with the haiku and related forms. Journals of similar quality in New Zealand are funded to a considerable degree by government grants.’ (Cyril Childs)

‘If ever a literary periodical deserved government support it is Blithe Spirit. It has become the foremost haiku journal in the English language. If it were a Canadian magazine, it would get both national and provincial funding.’ (George Swede)

‘The British ought to be proud that they have this journal which not only encourages excellence in writing haiku within the nation but also adds a solid and distinctive voice to the international community.’ (Gary Hotham)

‘Blithe Spirit is the most promising magazine of haiku published outside Japan, and it has made a great contribution to the international understanding of the genre of poetry which is becoming increasingly popular all over the world.’ (Nobuyuki Yuasa)

‘Blithe Spirit is a tonic, strengthening the haikuist’s instinctual belief that everything is alive, awaiting celebration.’ (Gabriel Rosenstock)

‘I have found Blithe Spirit to be the best of the haiku magazines - it is informative, inclusive, inventive and, most of all, readable.’ (Peter Finch)

‘Dans le domaine anglophone, c’est sans doute le magazine Blithe Spirit qui effectue le meilleur travail de création.’ (Georges Chapouthier - nom de plume, Georges Friedenkraft)

‘Blithe Spirit is undoubtedly one of the most treasured haiku magazines at the Museum of Haiku Literature in Tokyo.’ (Tsunehiko Hoshino)

‘I am one of the many who are grateful for the high style and high adventure of Blithe Spirit - to be serious and inspiring, enlightening and entertaining, to be here and now, that’s what is so special. Hail to thee...’ (Sir Peter Parker)