Exploring contemporary poetry: Poetry journals

If you are interested in getting into contemporary poetry but you want something a little more fresh and spontaneous than a poetry anthology, picking up some poetry journals is a great way to go.

The best way to explore the world of poetry journals is to find your nearest bookstore, one large enough to have a decent selection of magazines and periodicals. Ideally an independent bookstore, but big chain stores like Barnes & Noble usually have a very respectable poetry section in the magazine racks.

It's easy to spot the Poetry Journals section of the magazines. They will inevitably be small, odd shapes, and be printed with matte card stock covers. No glossy bright covers covered with attention-grabbing bursts here, although maybe that is an idea that some journals should explore.

Poetry journals are regular publications which are put out by an organization, usually either a small non-profit or a university. Most of them are either quarterly or twice-annual publications. They usually do not have advertising inside, and they are usually quite thick compared to other magazines. These factors mean that you will pay more for a journal than you might for a typical magazine, often in the $15 range.

But it's worth it, because not only are you supporting a struggling niche market, but the journals also bring you the widest range of contemporary poetry styles and voices. Journals are carefully curated by their editors, who have the daunting task of wading through massive slush piles in order to find their rare gems.

Anthologies and prize collections (like the annual Pushcart Prize tome) can seem a little too formal, a little too stuffy. Journals are much more light on their feet, and often work with a more specific theme, local flavor, or artistic aesthetic. You can find every kind of journal to suit your own tastes, from post-punk transgressive literature to holistic new age enlightenment, and everything in between.

Image copyright Flickr/Joanna Bourne