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: