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Thursday, September 2, 2010

Online Journals I Admire Redux


The following is a list of online journals culled from the multitude now available. The ones I've listed here all have many of the features I admire and look for. They might not be your favorites, but they'll give you a good idea of what's out there. Undoubtedly, I've omitted some that you would have included.

**indicates new to the list

Blood Orange Review
Poetry, fiction, non-fiction, book reviews, gorgeous art; a bit difficult to navigate--have to keep going back in order to go forward.

**Cerise
Lovely journal, poetry, interviews, reviews, essays.

**Conte: A Journal of Narrative Writing
Not my favorite color scheme (dark background, white type) but a solid journal of poetry and fiction. Will consider essays.

Cortland Review
Each poem accompanied by audio. Some reviews.

Del Sol Review
Strong work. Generous Contributors' Notes. Could be prettier.

Diagram
Could be easier to navigate, red font is annoyingly hard to read, use of brackets is unattractive, but good poetry.

diode
Could use a darker font but excellent content.

Innisfree Poetry Journal
Strong poetry, one well-known poet featured with generous sample of poems. Now also available as a pdf or print version (fee for print).

In Posse Review
Lots of good poetry here. Odd picture menu which takes you to a previous issue.

**The Medulla Review
Caters to surreal and experimental, themed issues, teaser excerpts lead to full entry (a feature I dislike), and have to hit back arrow to return to menu (another feature I dislike).

**Melusine: or Woman in the 21st Century
Men also welcome to submit. Poetry, reviews, lovely art.

Memorious
Very nice. Poetry, prose, interview.

The Pedestal Magazine
Poetry, fiction, reviews, audio; excellent material. A bit busy-looking.

Perihelion Review
Poetry and reviews. Attractive journal. Have to go back to author link to get to next poem.

**Pirene’s Fountain
I love this journal. Poetry is abundant, art is beautiful. Also has interviews and now accepts reviews. Occasionally considers previously published.

**Poemeleon
Each issue devoted to a specific kind of poetry. Poetry, essays, interviews, reviews.

**Prime Number
A new literary magazine featuring distinctive fiction (flash and short stories), poetry, and non-fiction, as well as book reviews, craft essays, and interviews. Supplements in between regular issues. Wish it had back and forward buttons.

Redheaded Stepchild
In order to get in here, your poem has to have been rejected somewhere else first. I hope the editor will reconsider the lime green font in menus and table of contents. I know redheads look good in green, but it's hard on the eyes.

Salt River Review
Plain, gets the job done in spite of a somewhat confusing navigational system.

Studio
Poetry, critical articles, pedagogical articles, reviews, art, translation. Very readable.

Sweet: A Literary Confection
New journal, has done some redesigning and is much easier to read now. Poetry and creative non-fiction. Plus they like chocolate.

Tattoo Highway
Odd Table of Contents and weird categories, but good selection of poets and poems. Lovely art.

Umbrella
A good assortment of poems in two sections, one themed and one unthemed. Also reviews, essays, interviews.

Valparaiso Poetry Review
This one's been a favorite for a long time; everything is here.

**Verse Wisconsin
Online companion to print issue, themed issues, poems, audio, reviews, articles.

Waccamaw Journal
Excellent. Fiction, poetry, non-fiction.

**Wicked Alice
Woman-centered but men are welcome. Guidelines say they accept reviews and criticism, but I didn’t see any. Problems with their menu taking me to a menu for dresses or to some other strange page.


Formal Poetry Journals:

The Barefoot Muse: A Journal of Formal and Metrical Verse
Poetry, essays, reviews, audio with many of the poems. Has had a nice facelift.

14 by 14
14 sonnets by 14 different poets. Less happy with the redesign of this journal. It now has a rather bloggy feel. Front page has excerpts with links to full poem.

Mezzo Cammin: A Journal of Formal Poetry by Women
Poetry, reviews and critical articles, beautiful art by one featured artist.

ShatterColors Literary Review
Lots of poetry, fiction, non-fiction, numerous interviews. Wish the navigation didn't require me to keep going back to the Table of Contents.

Unsplendid: An Online Journal of Poetry in Received and Nonce Forms
Nice improvement in font and readability, and I like the audio element.


Innovative Journals:

Anti-
A single poet is featured along with a poetic statement. Single poet issues alternate with full issues. Strong work.

Linebreak
A single poem featured each week with audio by someone other than the poet. Available online or by email. I've loved each of the poems.

**Poem of the Week
Subscribe to the email and receive one poem per week. The website includes an interview with the featured poet and bio, sometimes an essay. Archive of all featured poets.

qarrtsiluni
Described as "an experiment in online literary and artistic collaboration." Demonstrates that it is possible to have a blog format and excellence at the same time. Each issue is themed and  has different editors. Poems, artwork, audio. You have to scroll down, but it's worth the effort. Can get specific url by clicking on poet's name. Visitors may leave comments. Puts out a call for submissions for each issue.



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2 comments:

  1. Great annotated list. Some I know, others not. I'll look forward to checking out the latter. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Diane,
    Thanks for compiling this great list. I really appreciate your comments on design and readability.

    So many online journals miss the mark with cluttered layout and clunky design. Nice to find ones that match good looks with good poetry.

    thanks.

    ReplyDelete

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