The Journal
'...plenty of different styles of poetry in each issue. The result is that, whilst The Journal will never have that sense of comforting familiarity that some 'zine have developed, it will always stretch your boundaries.' The Supplement #73
'...an international magazine in the tradition of Poesie Europe, Ecuatorial, and Labrys. It publishes poems in English, in particular by English-language poets in exile, translations into English alongside the originals, interviews with poets, and appraisals of current poetry scenes...' Wolfgang Görtschacher 'A plainly elegant layout, making the most of its size to incorporate sequences and longer poems, articles and plenty of reviews .... The contents are global ... all saying what has to be said, in ways and words you wish you'd imagined. Shining intelligence, to brighten and inspire serious poetry lovers.' Orbis 'Few publications deliver consistently good issues — The Journal is among them. Filled with well-written poems from some of the best contemporary poets I've ever read, The Journal is the definitive showpiece of the small press. Each issue also contains thorough book and journal reviews composed by writers whose love of literature is evident.' Hyacinthe L. Raven Via Dolorosa Press (USA) '...interesting and experimental while avoiding the obscure and unnecessarily difficult. Add to the excellent selection of poetry, some interesting and insightful reviews and The Journal is a must for anyone who loves poetry and is not afraid of a bit of experimentation and the new insights that this can bring.' Juliet Wilson current issue#68 The Journal has Daniel Bennett, Emma Lee, Steve Spence, Andrew Taylor, Melissa Todd and myself managing to find something to say about all of these collections, chapbooks, and their authors - Barabara Barnes / Lonna Callery-Sithole / Rebecca Cullen / Clive Donovan / Marie Ellis Dunning / Nick Fisk / David Heidenstan / John Freeman & Chris Humphrey / Kathleen Kenny / Konstandinos Mahoney / Jenny Mitchell / Andrea Moorhead / Estill Pollock / Alan Price & Hervé Constant / Elena Rivera & Peter Hughes / Mark Russell / Steve Spence / Rob Stanton / Alan John Stubbs / Andrew Taylor & Branwell Brontë / Roger Waldron / Paul Waring and Gareth Writer-Davies After my online plea for submissions poetry aplenty this issue – from Robin Brumby / Jack Caradoc / Laura Chalar / Patrick Chapman / Alan Corkish / Colin Crewdson / Seth Crooke / Kelly Davis / Peter J. Dellolio / Richard Devereux / Alan Dixon / R. M. Francis / John Freeman / Julio Inverso / Andrea Moorhead / Steph Newham / Michael Newman / Estill Pollock / Mykyta Ryzhykh / Fiona Sinclair / Barry Smith / Mike Smith / Andrew Taylor / Cherrie Taylor / Wendy Webb / Geoffrey Winch / Alessio Zanelli and John Zedolik Time to take out/renew the subscription? to subscribe to The Journalannual subscription (3 issues, UK only) is £14.00 The PayPal button below often refusing to work payment can still be made by going directly to the PayPal website and making payment to The Journal via asamsmith@hotmail.com If you do this please also email me your name and address so I can send you copies.
Failing that you can send me a cheque, made payable to 'Sam Smith' at The Journal, 38 Pwllcarn Terrace, Blaengarw, Bridgend, CF32 8AS within the UK a single copy, current issue, is now £5.00
Again, should the PayPal button below refuse to work payment can still be made by going directly to the PayPal website and making payment to The Journal via smithsssj@aol.com or asamsmith@hotmail.com . If you do this please also email me your name and address so I can send you your copy. Failing that you can send me a cheque, made payable to 'Sam Smith' at The Journal, 38 Pwllcarn Terrace, Blaengarw, Bridgend, CF32 8AS From #63 onwards, due to Royal Mail price increases, I have had to raise the price of a single copy to £5.00, annual subscription (3 issues) to £14.00 (UK only) |
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Front cover of #68 has 3 poems by Julio Inverso (Montevideo, Uruguay, 1963 – 1999)
translated from the Spanish by Laura Chalar (Uruguay)
Heaven
We used to call that warehouse “heaven”. We favored it for our weird ideas.
We spent one Christmas there: the tree was an old heater, a bicycle wheel and, on top of these, Grandfather’s portrait.
We had to go out and beg. We secured the door, which had no lock, with a stone.
When the deluge came, we watched from heaven, through the dirty window, how everyone died.
Someone ought to have confined us to heaven forever, while there was still time.
Laura
Suddenly I know you and my doors open and I speak uninhibitedly and am no longer afraid and no longer think you’ll laugh at me and all my foolishness, suddenly you stay the night and actually soon fall asleep, face already darkened or luminous, and I read into the small hours and a spider crosses the wall, tiniest of spiders whom I pray to, crying and giving thanks for your face, suddenly I go out and announce to the ghosts of the ruins that a woman sleeps in my bed and the ghosts sing with me under the white train that bumbles across the sky with a star in each window.
The firing squad in summer
The little girl took her mother’s hand. They crossed the square under the incandescent January sun. Then the little girl said: Mommy, Daddy will go to heaven, won’t he?
He will, honey, her mother answered.
And what is heaven like, Mommy?
There are trees, there are beds, Daddy will get to drive the Peugeot.
The soldiers stood in a row, awaiting the sergeant’s orders. The man with the pretty eyes was not afraid. He looked for the last time at his wife and daughter and fell under the volley fire.
To submit
editorial policy is '...to try to publish those poems — from wheresoever they may come — written with thought to what the poem is saying and to how it is being said. Also welcomed are poems that can travel, that can cross boundaries, that do not assume in their readers a shared knowledge nor a shared set of beliefs. And it will be a rare day when I take a poem about being a poet or about the writing of poems. Also, because my aim is to keep The Journal secular, any poem containing religious terminology will not be considered for publication....'
To save The Journal becoming another safe poetry corner we will allow 2 issues to pass before using any poet's work again. Which means that you can submit at any time but, if accepted, your work will not appear until 2 issues after your last appearance in The Journal.
* poems in English please, or translations into English (about 6 at a time)
* also welcome are interviews with poets, reviews, appreciations or appraisals of current poetry scenes
* if, within UK, a reply is desired, enclose SAE
* payment will be one complimentary copy to each author
* copyright will remain with author
* from outside UK enclose 2xIRCs, or submit by email
* But before submitting work from outside the UK please be aware of the following - In 2012 the Royal Mail failed to deliver #36 The Journal to overseas subscribers and contributors for more than two months after posting, and this despite my having had Post Office counter staff weigh and price every envelope containing a copy of #36. This failure caused not only disappointment, but also some bad feeling. The Journal is a labour of love, and I don't need to even feel accused of bad faith. So from #38 on I will no longer send contributor's copies abroad via the Royal Mail, nor accept any subscriptions from outside the UK. I will, however, send to those who still wish to contribute from outside the UK a pdf file of the relevant issue as an email attachment. And I will of course endeavour to meet all outstanding obligations, but please don't blame me if the Royal Mail fails again to deliver.
email - asamsmith@hotmail.com
___________________________
editorial policy is '...to try to publish those poems — from wheresoever they may come — written with thought to what the poem is saying and to how it is being said. Also welcomed are poems that can travel, that can cross boundaries, that do not assume in their readers a shared knowledge nor a shared set of beliefs. And it will be a rare day when I take a poem about being a poet or about the writing of poems. Also, because my aim is to keep The Journal secular, any poem containing religious terminology will not be considered for publication....'
To save The Journal becoming another safe poetry corner we will allow 2 issues to pass before using any poet's work again. Which means that you can submit at any time but, if accepted, your work will not appear until 2 issues after your last appearance in The Journal.
* poems in English please, or translations into English (about 6 at a time)
* also welcome are interviews with poets, reviews, appreciations or appraisals of current poetry scenes
* if, within UK, a reply is desired, enclose SAE
* payment will be one complimentary copy to each author
* copyright will remain with author
* from outside UK enclose 2xIRCs, or submit by email
* But before submitting work from outside the UK please be aware of the following - In 2012 the Royal Mail failed to deliver #36 The Journal to overseas subscribers and contributors for more than two months after posting, and this despite my having had Post Office counter staff weigh and price every envelope containing a copy of #36. This failure caused not only disappointment, but also some bad feeling. The Journal is a labour of love, and I don't need to even feel accused of bad faith. So from #38 on I will no longer send contributor's copies abroad via the Royal Mail, nor accept any subscriptions from outside the UK. I will, however, send to those who still wish to contribute from outside the UK a pdf file of the relevant issue as an email attachment. And I will of course endeavour to meet all outstanding obligations, but please don't blame me if the Royal Mail fails again to deliver.
email - asamsmith@hotmail.com
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