Stand Magazine – a rolling landscape of lines

If page shape, layout and typeset matter in the enjoyment of reading poetry (which I believe they do), then Stand is surely one of the most pleasurable of literary magazines. I simply love the generous, landscape look of it, with space enough for the longest of line lengths.

Of course, content is crucial too. The winter issue offers an eclectic mix of poems from Gary Allen, Claire Booker, Sean O’Brien, Vahni Capildeo, Anne Fitzgerald, John Gohorry, mystic poet Hafez (translated by Mario Petrucci), Matt Howard, Dan MacIsaac, David Redgrave, Anne Stevenson and J. Twm, among others.

There are thought-provoking, cross-genre offerings, including Anne Stevenson’s piece of prose (or is it poetry?) (or both?) which examines the context of her poem Sandi Russell Sings. Another genre-bending piece is David Sheshkin’s intriguing Modern Art which concocts four reviews of an avant-garde artist, so close to the real thing, that I’m still left wondering.

Associate editor, David Latane, reminds us that ‘little magazines’ can often punch above their weight, giving examples of Wyndham Lewis’ Blast and the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood’s Germ to illustrate his point. Thanks to founding editor, John Silkin’s original premise, Stand has been a significant player in the world of contemporary literature since 1952.

Stand is produced by The University of Leeds’ English Department, so it’s no surprise to find an article about their very own Poetry Professor, Simon Armitage, in this issue, including facsimile copies of pages from his red notebook used when walking the Pennine Way.

There are some muscular and entertaining pieces of flash by Michael Cadnum, a short story by John Siberry and reviews by Martin Malone, Rachel Bower and Tony Roberts.

To buy a copy of Issue 15 (4), take out a subscription or find out how to submit your work, please click on the following link: Stand Magazine

Latest from Poetry Salzburg Review

It’s always a joy when Poetry Salzburg Review drops onto my door mat, with its Austrian postmark,  gloriously surreal cover and meaty, 180 or so pages of new poetry, translations, reviews and interviews.

Issue 31 is a particular treat for me, as it contains two of my poems, alongside work by Jackie Wills, Sean O’Brien, Robert Peake, Hugo Ball (writer of the Dada Manifesto and co-founder of the infamous Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich 1916), Carole Bromley, James Caruth, Jessica Mookherjee, John Lyons, Richard Skinner, Ruth Bidgood, Marjorie Sweetko and Robert Hampson, among many others.

There’s a good selection of international work in this issue, including poets with connections to South Africa, America, Australia, Canada, Trinidad, India, Cuba, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Mexico, Ireland, Wales and Scotland. It’s refreshing to hear voices and styles informed by very different cultural backgrounds.  

Poetry Salzburg Review is ” one of the most stimulating eclectic and certainly international outlets for quality contemporary poetry,” says the poetry magazine’s newest editorial board member, Keith Hutson. He joins Vahni Capildeo, Robert Dassanowsky and editor Wolfgang Görtschacher in selecting what goes into the bi-annual magazine.  With several thousand submissions a year, this is no easy matter, but Hutson is clear about the task. “It seems to me that the journal’s only aim is to find and publish poetry that feels important – whatever the subject matter – and in the search for these poems, established writers are welcomed and new writers are celebrated.”

This issue has a fascinating interview with novelist and poet Elaine Feinstein, whose many impressive credits include translating the brilliant Russian poet Marina Tsvetaeva, thus helping to secure her a place in the cannon of great women poets writing in a language other than English. I for one am hugely grateful to her.

Issue 31 also offers readers fourteen late sonnets (most of them previously unpublished) by the poet Peter Russell, who was a protégé of TS Elliott and long-term correspondent with Ezra Pound. Plus a chance to read a generous selection of work by the recently deceased Frances Galleymore.

Poetry Salzburg Review is published twice yearly. To submit your own work, or buy a copy of Autumn 2017 (issue 31) or take out a subscription, click on the following link: Poetry Salzburg Review