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

Bye for now  by Lorraine Mariner             ISBN 0 9527444 7 3
This is a Bridge Pamphlet from the excellent Rialto Press, and Michael Mackmin is an editor of sound taste and judgement. Lorraine Mariner’s poems are engaging, sly and witty narratives, perhaps overly reliant on the first-person which gives an impression - possibly unjustified - of near-constant self-reflection. Her poems are refreshingly ‘non-poetic’ - the voice is clear and confident, prosaic but never dull. In ‘Stanley’ she writes, ‘Yesterday evening I finished/ with my imaginary boyfriend.’ Her voice has been described as ‘idiosyncratic’ which seems to be a catch-all phrase these days - I’d describe it as refreshingly direct. I’ll be very interested to see how her work develops as she’s more widely published; I feel she has more to say, and that this pamphlet marks the beginning of an interesting writing career.  (CS)
  The Rialto, PO Box 309, Aylsham, Norwich NR11 6LN               £5.50

Breaking Time - poems from three collections by W.H.Petty    ISBN 1 900974 30 4
Why isn’t W.H.Petty better known? He writes about nature and the natural world in a way that makes me long to get out there and frolic with trees. His poems are always beautifully observed, never sentimental but informed by a real feeling for nature and for the possibilities of language. He re-creates the natural world for me - in all its viciousness and glory - with direct and sensuous language, with a feeling for the spirit of the land and  not just its physicality, and a handle on interior rhyme. Occasionally the poems veer into abstraction - which didn’t hit the spot with me - but at his best he’s vibrant, life-affirming, a delight. In ‘Fallblossom’ he writes: ‘Fallblossom is the very end of the world/to those not hopeful for the fat sweet fruit.’  (CS)
        Pikestaff Press, Ellon House, Harpford, Sidmouth, Devon EX10 0NH         £3.00

Unsuitable Poems by Helena Nelson         ISBN 0 9550280 0 0
Lest we all take ourselves too seriously, and spend too much time angsting or in deep contemplation of our navels, Helena Nelson’s new book is refreshingly self-deprecating, funny and sly. Apparently these poems are ‘particularly suitable for reading on trains’ - actually I think that’s where many of us end up reading poetry, as being between places, on a journey that could go pear-shaped at any moment, seems a highly suitable state of being for poets and poetry readers…and indeed there are poems specifically set on trains which made me laugh out loud - no bad thing. However, Helena’s poems aren’t just ’lite-bite’  morsels. She’s a deeply intelligent, cynical but humane and warm writer, famously generous in her appreciation of other writers; her refusal to take herself too seriously does her credit. Her titles are wonderful - I particularly enjoyed ‘The Love of Good Toilet Paper’ - where, ‘No, he says/my sweet one, my love, we have quite enough,/we have quite enough.’  This is a pamphlet that now lives in my bag, in case of a sudden train journey.  (CS)
  Happenstance, 21 Hatton Green, Glenrothes, Fife KY7 4SD
  £3.00

My Life As A Minor Character by Derrick Buttress  
   ISBN 1 904886 16 7
I’m always worried by titles which hint that the writer might be a victim of life’s rich drama, however ironic the intention, but Derek Buttress is a very good writer and this is a rattling good read, full of feisty and witty poems, often reflecting on the lives of ‘hidden’ characters - a white chapel tailor, a woman reflecting on her absent lovers during war-time: ‘Free as a bird in the Radford Arms/I revived a fragile sense of loss/with shots of port and lemon.’ There are several ‘historical narrative’ poems based on the lives of ‘real’ people - in less experienced hands, this device can clunk and wheeze, but Derek Buttress is a born story-teller who handles his material deftly and without superfluous detail. This is a rich and varied collection which reflects both the writer’s technical skill and wry but essentially compassionate take on life. (CS)
Shoestring Press, 19 Devonshire Avenue, Beeston, Nottingham NG9 1BS       £8.95

Swim by Pat Borthwick                               ISBN 1 899503 63 3
I’ve been a fan of Pat Borthwick’s for several years, having judged competitions in which her poems have stood out for their deceptive simplicity, their devastatingly effective pay-offs. These poems deal with different worlds - the stars, moon and space feature largely; she taps into the respectable poetic tradition of contemplating the heavens with ingenuity, and a fresh, curious eye. In the fabulously titled ‘Moon Landing’ ‘While Magritte Searches for Something to Put in His Pipe, she writes, Stars begin to pinball,/dance their constellations high above the ice./They peer down into the cavern of a proffered bowl.//The moon floats up/opening its fullness like a flower.’ She’s a poet who combines lyrical intensity with a welcome lack of self-consciousness or angst. This is a book that will appeal to readers who seek something deeper than the merely anecdotal, for lovers of the perfectly realised image from a poet who delights in language and its possibilities. Highly recommended. (CS)
  Mudfrog Press, c/o Arts Development, The Stables, Stewart Park, The Grove, Marton, Middlesborough TS7 8AR        £7.00

Splintering the Dark by Wendy French                     
ISBN 1 904851 0307
The title was too self-consciously ‘poetic’ for my taste, but Wendy French is a poet whose compassion and humanity illuminates through her work; she doesn’t flinch at life’s cock-ups, neither does she sentimentalise pain and distress. This collection struck me as thoughtful, considered, marinated slowly over time rather than rushed off the press (as if!) Quotations from Sappho provide an interesting jumping-off point; she sees the human experience of pain and loss as a continuum, to be observed, engaged with, and ultimately celebrated. Sensuous, deft and delicate, these poems have guts as well as heart, and reaffirmed my hope that poems with a therapeutic dimension can and should also succeed as accomplished and fully realised pieces of writing. The Garden ends with All night women lie down./Lie down for men who have been singing/while they’ve been tending the garden. Warmly recommended.  (CS)
            The Rockingham Press, 11 Musley Lane, Ware, Herts SG12 7EN                  £7.95

Mr. Irresistible by Angela Kirby                 ISBN 1 904886 19 1
Who could resist such a sexy, upbeat title? I couldn’t and I wasn’t disappointed in the contents. First off, I loved her titles; gems such as ‘The Ptilinorhrynchidae and I’ - what???! - and ‘Shacking Up is Hard to Do’ - had me intrigued, and the pay-off was well worth the exploration. Angela Kirby knows how to have fun, to tease and delight her readers with sensuous, wry, witty poems which, despite her enviable light touch, often take the reader into dark, unchartered waters. I particularly enjoyed her use of the poem as dramatic monologue in ‘An Aftertaste of Salt’, which opens with the wonderfully feisty ‘Men, they never know what they want,/at first they can’t get enough of us,/ our phosphorescent breasts,/the way our bodies flicker in the dark,/the sequinned flick of our tails,/that risky, salt-aftertaste of anchovies…’ I found this collection consistently irresistible - savoury and sharp with occasional hints of sweetness. I urge you to be seduced.
                                               Shoestring Press

Something Fantastic Tomorrow  edited by Richard Crane and 
                                                                                          others
Described in the preface as ‘a  picaresque rough guide that doesn’t know where it’s going, just that it’s going,’ this anthology of new writing from Sussex University is indeed a mixed bag.  There’s more prose than poetry, but the quality of the poems is more uneven.  Alan Seabrook’s work stands out: ‘You are a bear and I / am a bear catcher. / You be the Brighton Bomber, / I’ll be Mrs Thatcher’ (‘Bedroom Games’).  Excerpts from works of fiction are perhaps inevitably frustrating, but Kate Collier Woods and Michelle Eastty are among those who look like writers to watch. (JP)
CCE, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QQ    £5.95

The Brighton Book     ISBN 0 9549309 0 8
Published in association with this year’s Brighton Festival, this anthology boldly asserts that the city is ‘the new vernacular for style, bohemian chic and the pursuit of pleasure’.  Certainly this is an appropriately varied celebration of both Brighton and its festival, with excellent contributions from Boris Mikhailov (photographs), Nigella Lawson (on fish and chips), Posy Simmonds (sketches from the Hay Festival), Catherine Smith and Lee Harwood (poems) and Louis de Bernières (prose), among others. (JP)
Myriad Editions, 6 - 7 Old Steine, Brighton BN1 1EJ  £9.99

‘And The Air Sang’ - Foyle Young Poets of the Year 2004
Selected from over 6000 entries to the 2004 Young Poets Competition;  ‘And The Air Sang’ is a bold, confident anthology, full of thought-provoking and refreshingly original poetry .  Poems such as ‘The Unwilling Villain’ by Sara Lyon: ‘each bullet finds a last home, to/ Lodge in flesh or rattle in unseen cavities’; and ‘Saint Tropez’ by Tim Smith-Laing: ‘She is gone and his white bones lie/ Broken and smooth as fragments of sea-glass’ speak of the enduring themes of love, war, and loss.  While ‘Risk Assessment’ by Helen Mort is a mature and perceptive exploration of sexual awakening.  The eponymous poem ‘The Air Sang’ by Joe Heap is haunting; rich in restrained, powerful imagery: ‘I put the single piece to my ear/ Snapped the switch, pushed the slider/ Through dust wind static./ Tiny hairs reached out,/ Voices were drawn from the quiet/ And the air sang.’
It is hard to find anything to dislike in this impressive collection, which in spite of the young ages of the poets, deserves to be given serious consideration.  Given the quality and talent on offer, ‘And The Air Sang’ is an exciting glimpse into the future of British
poetry.  (VBJ)