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 issueMore poets than reviews this issue, #69 The Journal. Contributors include Donald Adamson, Christopher Barnes, Andrew C Brown, David Callin, Marc Carver, Michael Ceraolo, Laura Chalar, John Daniel, Gram Joel Davies, Clive Donovan, Matt Duggan, Jeff Gallagher, Sam Hall, Alastair MacDonald Jackson, Julio Inverso, Andrew Lumborg, David McCorkindale, Mike McNamara, Sara Mullen, Robert Nisbet, Patrick Osada, Kenneth Pobo, Donna Pucciani, Terence Quinn, Ali Rowland, Partha Sarkar, Paul Stephenson, Alfred Todd, John Vickers, Geoff William, Robin Lindsay Wilson, RC deWinter & Mantz Yorke. #69 The Journal's reviewers – Emma Lee, Sam Smith, Steve Spence and Melissa Todd – have nonetheless found time to cast their critical eyes over work by Claire Booker, Prue Chamberlayne, Clare Dwyer, Alexandra Fössinger, Janet Hatherley, Kirsten Irving, Antony Johae, Neil Mason, Sadie Maskery, Fokkina McDonnell, Mike McNamara, Ian Mullins, Martin Stannard, Clint Wastling & J.S.Watts. Time to take out/renew the subscription? to subscribe to The Journalannual subscription (3 issues, UK only) is £17.00 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 £6.00
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 #71 onwards, due to Royal Mail price increases, I have had to raise the price of a single copy to £6.00, annual subscription (3 issues) to £14.00 (UK only) |
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#69's front cover poem is by Robert Nisbet (Wales)
The Cared For
The carers had left his chair at an angle
so his watching that morning, street watching,
sky watching, was done through the mirror
which, from its height, gave him extra sky.
He rejoiced in that, he’d always loved
the float and shift and occasional plunge
of cumulus, the streaks and spreads of sun,
untalking, the calm of an old, old story.
His street was a furlong from a Norman castle
and his watches caught a crumbling turret.
He saw the dog walkers, his regulars, but today,
with the mirror’s angle, couldn’t see the dogs.
He started to look at his walking friends anew,
cheerful, arm’s-length from the hidden dogs
and their animal spirits. He gazed at the faces
(his sight superb for eighty-eight, they said)
and noticed most the wrinkles of experience.
He’d see a couple of mums with pushchairs,
but otherwise retirees, people he knew, two teachers,
office staff, two market traders and a builder.
From there to the Castle grounds then home again,
easing their shoulders back in a drift of sun,
sniffing a little history, as the hidden dogs
sniffed present day.
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) within the email - asamsmith@hotmail.com - or in a Wod Doc file
* 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
Subsequent to my blog of 28th March 2023 - https://thesamsmithcom.wordpress.com/ - The Journal will also now consider poems that have been previously posted on social media feeds.
* 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) within the email - asamsmith@hotmail.com - or in a Wod Doc file
* 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
Subsequent to my blog of 28th March 2023 - https://thesamsmithcom.wordpress.com/ - The Journal will also now consider poems that have been previously posted on social media feeds.
* 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
