April’s Lit Mag Spotlight is shining bright on Atlanta Review! This international journal has been around since 1994 (hey, so has Writer’s Relief!) and remains one of the few independent and self-supporting major poetry publications. Read what their editors feel makes a poem special, and learn about Atlanta Review’s upcoming (international!) endeavors.
CONTEST: Leave a comment on this blog post by April 25 to enter to win a copy of Atlanta Review’s 10th anniversary anthology, The Gift of Experience! Also, if you subscribe to AR via this Lit Mag Spotlight, you’ll receive a FREE issue of your choice and a one-year subscription for only $9.99! What a deal! This contest is now closed. Congratulations to our winner, Shannon! Thank you to all who participated.
Give us the lowdown on your journal’s mission.
My mission is to avoid mission statements! We started out hoping to create a poetry journal that everyone could enjoy. Over the years, Atlanta Review has been increasingly devoted to promoting international understanding through poetry.
Describe your ideal submission in 15 words or less.
One that communicates an idea or experience in a delightfully novel way.
Tell us about a piece you recently published that got the staff really excited. Why did you love it? Why did it strike a chord?
For great examples, check out our 10th Anniversary Anthology The Gift of Experience.
Regarding submissions: What’s the most common turnoff that you encounter?
A lack of the compression and focus that tells you “this poem is headed somewhere—stick with me!”
What’s the most common oversight?
Sending more than 5 poems or not including an SASE. Sticking the flap of a self-seal envelope to the manuscript is quite common too.
Why is your journal awesome?
Atlanta Review takes you places no one else will go: inside wartime Iraq, inside Iran’s pro-democracy movement, inside the People’s Republic of China. Yes, we’ve published more Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners than you can shake a stick at, but the main thing is that this is real poetry for real people, poetry that’s not afraid of joy or laughter or tears.
Where can readers find your submission guidelines?
At our “Home Pond” click on the “INFO” lily pad.
Though we’re known for international poetry, half of every issue is open to general submissions.
What else would you like to say?
Atlanta Review has been an independent, self-supporting poetry journal for 20 years, so we have to be real or we wouldn’t be here. We’ve taken our readers to all seven continents (even Antarctica!), and we’re gearing up now for expeditions to Pakistan and Russia. Welcome aboard the most unique poetry journal on the planet!
CONTEST: Leave a comment on this blog post by April 25 to enter to win a copy of Atlanta Review’s 10th anniversary anthology. This contest is now closed.
Thank you for offering this giveaway and I look forward to reading this compilation.
Me me 🙂
I only had five seconds so I read (and enjoyed) Linda’s Home Improvement Loan… Ha! and it was cheap at the price.
Beautifull aspiring interview, i so dearly loved reading it. . .
This is the first time I heard about this journal but it sounds interesting. I would love to read it!
Would love to ‘re as d this anthology.