Sheer Poetry! (Poetry)

Member Name: sfarmer76

Product:	Poetry
Date:	04/04/02 (116 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: quick place to review the work of many different poets, good for finding other poetry, An inexpensive read at only US $3.75 a month

Disadvantages: would prefer to read 8-10 poems by each poet, space for only 1 or 2, small size somewhat annoying

POETRY is published monthly by the Modern Poetry Association in Chicago, Illinois. Four major distributors provide the magazine to bookstores and newsstands, so if you're in the US, you shouldn't have a problem finding a copy at a store near you. For my friends in the UK, you may want to subscribe if you have a hard time finding a copy over there, but keep in mind that some of the poems and past issues can be sampled at their website online.

POETRY is a small perfect bound magazine measuring 5.25 x 8.25 inches, with a one color cover. The inside pages are a simple black type on cream paper, and there are little to no graphic elements used to break up the pages. Basically, when you read POETRY, the words are allowed to speak for themselves.

POETRY used to strictly use line art on its covers, but someone at the magazine has wisely been trying to spruce up its image and make it more appealing to readers by using b&w photography or half-tone reproductions of paintings on its cover.

A typical issue of this publication is usually no more than 75 pages in length. The issue I'm thumbing through at the moment has eleven poems by Stephen Dobyns at the front. Since space is at a premium, each poet fortunate enough to be featured in POETRY usually only gets to have one or two poems published at a time. If the poet has a well-known name, like Mr. Dobyns, they will probably get a little more space in the issue, but not much.

I mainly pick this magazine up when it features the name of some poet that I like on the cover. Reading POETRY is a good way to discover new poets, those that are early in their writing career, and fills you in as to where they publish and study. POETRY is also a good place to find the work of older poets that may have recently passed, or that may be featured in a career retrospective fashion. A simple glance at the Contributors Page in POETRY will tell you what publications you should be submitting your work
to, if you happen to write poetry.

POETRY magazine also offers short reviews of poetry collections and other poetry publications, mostly major works produced by hardback publishers such as LSU Press, HarperCollins & Farrar, Strauss and Giraux. The short reviews are a nice touch, and usually bring up titles that I am interested in, or will look for when I go to Barnes and Noble, but mostly, POETRY concentrates on poetry, and I am thankful for that.

I apologize if this is a little more brief than usual, but POETRY is a very slim publication, so please keep that in mind while rating.

If you have a fast-paced job, or lead a hectic lifestyle, or work someplace where you're constantly bombarded by sound and information, it is often hard to find a little calm in the day. If you fall into that category, like I do, you might want to carve out some time in the quiet of morning to read a poem from POETRY, or carry a copy with you on your lunchtime and read it while you're outside eating in the sunshine. I recommend POETRY magazine highly, it might even bring you some peace.

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