The Literary Review

I would first like to say that I really enjoyed reading the literature in this magazine. This specific literary journal includes both works of fiction and poetry. It's published quarterly by Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey. There is a website for the magazine, the address of which is www.theliteraryreview.org. As of now, the magazine is open to any writing on any topic, but in 2009, there will be a new format that takes into account the themes of writing. There will be a specific theme for each edition of the review, and contributors will have to adhere to the prescribed theme.
The aspect of this literary magazine that first caught my attention is the cover. It's a painting of what looks like a woman in the wind; her hair is blowing over her face, masking her identity and drawing the focus instead to the brushstrokes and very calculated randomness of each strand of hair. It's a really beautiful painting by Bettina Sellmann. She's also the artist who painting the image that appears on the back of the magazine. It's a similar painting, but the technique seems to have been tweaked just enough to make this second one rather horrifying. There's a pale face, somewhat concealed by a fog; the mouth is in the center and is the focus, with large teeth, visible gums, and red, smudged lipstick. The woman almost looks dead; it's interesting how the two paintings are so similar, but so completely different at the same time.
The inside of the magazine is obviously where I should be looking, however. It's good quality, with thick paper, black text on white pages, and it's about the size of any normal book. One poem that I especially liked is called Fairy Tale and it's by Cathleen Calbert. It seems to be a poem about women who don't live life to the fullest and don't reach their highest potential. She describes these women as "witches", which is where the title, Fairy Tale, comes in. Towards the end of the poem, I think that we're supposed to feel sympathy for the "witches" of the world because, after the time when they could have changed passes, they realize that life has been somewhat of a waste. However, the actual ending of the poem is very confusing, and I'm not sure if it turned into an incestual situation.
All of the contributors appear to be very experienced; most of them have at least one published work--either a book of poetry or a novel. Some are successful translators. This review is a very worthwhile one, with a variety of work.