Presence: A New Print Journal for Poetry and Poets

Here's news of a wonderful new journal dedicated to poetry.

Presence: A Journal of Catholic Poetry recently published its third annual issue. The journal is the brainchild of Mary Ann Miller, an English professor at Caldwell University. As I live near the university, I've had the pleasure of meeting Mary Ann. She has for years been doing a wonderful job of introducing her students to poetry, often bringing in poets to work with her classes.

Mary Ann serves as editor-in-chief of the journal. The journal clearly reflects her generous spirit. By the way, don't be misled by the sub-title into thinking that the journal is only about Catholicism and Catholic poets. It's open to everyone with a love of poetry.

Take a look at the Table of Contents and you'll see what I mean when I say that Presence is a very diverse journal.

The publication's third issue has cover art by Rick Mullin, a talented local artist as well as a wonderful poet. The issue includes a short piece by Mullin about his art.

There is also a generous feature of a single poet, translations by such poets as Ilya Kaminsky and Garrett Hongo, and tributes to poets who have died.

This recent issue includes poems by such poets as Joseph Bathanti, Jim Daniels, Maria Mazziotti Gillan, and Sheryl St. Germain. There are also several interviews and an amazing Book Reviews section which includes 23 reviews.

You can Purchase individual issues online. The current issue is a very reasonable $12. The two earlier issues are only $8 each.

Here's a sample poem by Chicago poet, Debra Bruce.

I look forward to more issues of Presence—and I'm not even Catholic, except in my taste for poetry. The issue I perused is strong and full of variety. This journal is a wonderful addition to the world of poetry.

Southern Poetry Review

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Let's kick off 2013 by getting back to poetry! So long, Santa. So long, Malls. So long, Online Stores (but bless you for making life easier).

You may recall that several months ago I posted a list of print journals that include poetry only or poetry and reviews of poetry books. One of those that I was interested in was Southern Poetry Review, the second oldest poetry journal in its region. I submitted some poems and was delighted to have one accepted.

That poem, "Morning Walk," now appears in the latest issue of the journal. Due to Hurricane Sandy, this issue took longer than it should have to reach me as lots of New Jersey mail was destroyed, including, apparently, my contributor's copies. After seeing references to the new issue and receiving a few notes from people who'd seen my poem, I realized that my copy was missing and I contacted the editor. He very kindly sent me two additional copies.

I am now not only a contributor but also a subscriber. I look forward to more of this outstanding journal. I like it because of its limitation to poetry. I also like it because the journal is just the right size. At 6 x 9, it's comfortable to hold. I like the artwork on the cover, a photo by Andrew Ilachinski. I like it because it's limited to a reasonable number of poets. This issue has 28 poets and takes up 58 pages. I'm guessing that other issues have more poets, but this issue has a handful of longish poems. Then a few pages of Contributors' Notes, each note giving the poet's location, most recent book title, and a few publication credits.

Southern Poetry Review publishes two issues per year. A subscription is only $14. That's $7 per issue! Now that's a serious bargain. Submissions are read all year, snail mail only.

Here's a list of the poets in the current issue:

William Archila Jacqueline Berger Chana Bloch Jody Bolz Robert Brickhouse Fleda Brown Don Colburn John DesMarais Jane Elkins Michelle Gillett

Jeff Hardin  David Kirby Richard Krohn Ann Lauinger Diane Lockward Debra Marquart Lynn McGee  Janet McNally Susan Laughter Myers

Jeff Miles  Hayden Saunier Susan Schmidt Floyd Skloot Alexandra Teague Craig van Rooyen Kathy Whitson Mary-Sherman Willis Steven Winn