Review of Literary Magazine: Titled: Poetry
November 2008 issue Volume 193, Number 2
The poetry journal I choose to review is titled Poetry. Poetry, founded in 1912 by Harriet Moore, is a collection of modern poetry, as well as book reviews, comments, editorials, and visual poems. This journal also includes interesting background information about the authors that have submitted their poems, as well as directions on how to submit your poetry to the journal. With Chicago as its city of origin and publication, readers may also find advertisement for future poetry reading events in the city of Chicago. Poetry also includes forums for up-coming events in other cities, such as New York and Boston. Poetry is also very easily accessible. It can be found either online at www.poetrymagazine.org, or in your local bookstore or library. The paperback edition costs approximately $3.75, but is not cheaply put together. The full color front cover image, “Portrait of a Girl,” 2008, was exquisitely drawn by artist Ana Benaroya. The journal also includes an entire colorful section of twelve visual poems printed on glossy paper. Everything included in this journal is well-organized and printed in an aesthetically-pleasing manner. While Poetry is rich in its content, the editors have organized the journal into specific categories, or chapters. The first section, pages 99-124, is titled “Poems.” One author whose poetry I found to be especially compelling is Chilean writer Roberto Bolaño. Bolaño’s “La Francesca” tackles the complex issues that a young Latina girl faces. In its 94 lines, “La Francesca” reveals the secrets about a woman coming to grips with her dark sexual past. Written in first person, the speaker is interacting with this woman and internalizing the choices that this woman made. Throughout “La Francesca,” the speaker is searching to discover whether the sexual acts that she had partaken in were voluntary or forced. One excerpt about the Latina that I found to be gripping follows as: “In general possessing an enviable self-control,/ except when she got depressed and got drunk,/ something that could last two or three days,/ a succession of Bordeaux and Valium,/ that would give you the goose bumps./ Then she’d usually tell you what happened to her/ between the ages of 15 and 18./ A pornographic horror movie,/ Naked bodies and business deals that skirted the law/ a vocational actress and at the same time a girl with strange strokes/ of greed.” That particular excerpt is one I found to be complex because the author is speaking of the girl as a victim of a sexual act, but at the same time filled with greed. Poetry also has included a visual section of poems that are painted, written, and drawn in ways that defy perspective and small space. Underneath each drawing is a caption that describes each piece for readers to interpret. In the “comment” section of Poetry are book reviews and editorials about other modern literary pieces. I highly recommend young poets, including both college aged and high school students, who are interested in learning about modern poetry, to subscribe to this magazine. Poetry is fun and easy to read, as well as informative. Reading and discussing this magazine in a college-level creative writing course would also be beneficial for young students. It could potentially entice interesting conversation about how modern literature is responding to the changing world.
Wiman, Christine, et al. Poetry 2nd ser. 193 (Nov. 2008).