Reprint Poetry

Reprint Poetry is a new online magazine - it provides an additional home to previously published poems that deserve to be read again. The aim of the magazine is to re-call, re-discover, re-turn to and re-possess these beautiful, poetic and amazing pieces at Reprint Poetry.

The magazine launched on January first. Featured poets include: Karyn Eisler, Marcus Speh, Jennifer Wong, Sam Rasnake, Wanda Morrow Clevenger, JP Reese, Ralph Ivy, Xander Mellish, Grace Curtis and many others.

About Reprint Poetry
Reprint Poetry is edited by a group of writers who are familiar with the process of e-zine publication. The editors say: "We are particularly interested in (but by no means restricted to) works that are already published but difficult to find. We also solicit works from poets we admire. And we welcome any suggestions on where to re-discover deserving poetry."

Related Links: new online magazines, poetry

Being Human: Call of the Wild (Editions Bibliotekos)

Why do we kill certain creatures while nurturing others? When do we draw the line between protecting our property and letting other creatures live and thrive? What drives people to kill others to protect their land? Many of these stories explore the lines cast under the surface of creation, characters looking for a nibble of understanding to make better sense of their place in an evolving world.

Twelve authors and fifteen stories on the nature of being human and the human character in both the natural environment and human-made world constitute this stimulating book. The stories are engaging, memorable, contemplative, and even humorous. While we have constructed, over thousands of years, a vast cathedral of scintillating, rational humanity, we can be primal and shadowy with visceral emotions – and so this collection admirably demonstrates. There are many difficult questions posed in the book.

Contributors: Stephen Poleskie, Arthur Powers, Lisa M. Sita, Andrea Vojtko, Jeff Vande Zande, James K. Zimmerman, Anne Whitehouse, Janyce Stefan-Cole, Patty Somlo, Rivka Keren, Kelly Wantuch, Larry Eby. Foreword: Ian S. Maloney, Ph.D. Preface: Gregory F. Tague & Fredericka A. Jacks Edited by Scholar, Pushcart Prize Nominee, and Professor, Gregory F. Tague, Ph.D.

About Editions Bibliotekos
Editions Bibliotekos is a small press operating out of Brooklyn, NY, whose mission is to produce books of literary merit that address important issues, complex ideas, and enduring themes. Previous anthologies: "Battle Runes: Writings on War", "Common Boundary: Stories of Immigration" and "Pain and Memory: Reflections on the Strength of the Human Spirit in Suffering" (More). Editions Bibliotekos has one more planned anthology, most likely entitled (and on the theme of) "Faith and Doubt" (the Call is up).

Being Human: Call of the Wild
166 pages

related links: nature, human condition

From Colder Climates - John Sibley Williams (Folded Word)

In his poetry collection Colder Climates, John Sibley Williams explores the inner and outer landscapes encountered on a journey to Iceland. As with physical landscapes, surprising perspectives are revealed by each step. Lava and ice, civilization and wilderness, family and solitude--these apparent contradictions collide inside poems which beg to be read aloud, just as their Nordic ancestors were around Iceland's first man made fires.

For a touch of Colder Climates, try this poetry video: Rebuilding Over and Again

"I'm excited and honored to have my latest chapbook, From Colder Climates, arrive today, featuring the mysterious and fascinating artwork of Mark S Struzan," writes the author. "There are two versions, the $7 'green' edition and the $12 'signature' edition. Although both are beautifully done, I'm truly taken aback by the latter version, which incorporates so many different paper types and hand-sewn designs."

John Sibley Williams is the author of six chapbooks, winner of the HEART Poetry Award, and finalist for the Pushcart and Rumi Poetry Prizes. He has served as Acquisitions Manager of Ooligan Press and Publicist for Three Muses Press and holds an MFA in Creative Writing and MA in Book Publishing. Some of his over 200 previous or upcoming publications include: Bryant Literary Review, The Chaffin Journal,The Evansville Review, RHINO, Rosebud, Ellipsis, Flint Hills Review, and Poetry Quarterly.

About Folded Word
Folded Word is an independent press that continually seeks new ways of connecting readers to new literary voices: "Though we do sell our books and chapbooks, we offer free poetry and fiction to the public in our Twitter-zines PicFic and unFold, as well as our print broadside, Heron. We also value craftsmanship, both of literary works and the medium in which they are rendered--as demonstrated by our handcrafted Signature Series chapbooks." Folded Word is managed by J.S. Graustein with the support of Rose Auslander, Casey Murphy, and the entire Folded family of contributors.

John Sibley Williams - From Colder Climates
Green Edition $6.00 + $1 shipping
Signature Edition $12.00 + $2 shipping
e-book list price $0.99

related links: poetry, about a place

Stepaway Magazine

Stepaway Magazine is a new, online literary magazine publishing the best urban flash fiction and poetry by writers from across the globe. The title of the magazine draws inspiration from Frank O’ Hara’s landmark flâneur poem, “A Step Away from Them”.

Editor Darren Richard Carlaw explains: "Our magazine is hungry for literature that evokes the sensory experience of walking in specific neighborhoods, districts or zones within a city. This is flânerie for the twenty-first century. Our aim is to become an online repository of walking narratives. Our writers will lead our readership through the streets of his or her chosen city in thousand words or less. We want whatever you can share."

Stepaway Magazine so far has released four issues, you can find all of them online. The current one is Stepaway issue 4, featuring poetry from different places, from Paris Haiku by Virginie Colline to Footnotees from the Gutters by Liam Pezzano and a Salt City poem by William Cordeiro, just to name a few.

A recent supplement entitled Northern Wanderer republished a lost flaneur poem by Barry MacSweeney and urged writers to wander the streets of Newcastle and record their experiences.

The magazine is open to poetry and prose submissions with an emphasis on walking in the city.

Stepaway Magazine
online literary journal

A Baker’s Dozen - Issue 1

A Baker’s Dozen: THIRTEEN EXTRAORDINARY THINGS appears quarterly and publishes fiction (flash, micro, traditional, etc), poetry, creative non-fiction, visual art, audio, video – whatever inspires you.

The inaugral issue is now online. It includes work by Marcus Speh, Rupert Fike, Andrew Topel (included in the feature image), Paul Hostovsky, Bruce McRae, Stephen Hastings-King, JP Reese, Allan Gorman, Linda Simona-Wastila, Kathleen Radigan, Martin Brick, Matthew Dexter and a collaborative photo series by Julia Davies, Rose Hunter, Dorothee Lang and Steve Wing.

A Baker’s Dozen is edited by Michelle Elvy and John Wentworth Chapin, who co-founded the weekly flash fiction project 52|250: A Year of Flash in 2010. Now they’re back with A Baker’s Dozen: THIRTEEN EXTRAORDINARY THINGS, which evolved out of their desire to continue to read and write and edit inside a vibrant community of writers. More, here: The Editors.

Submissions: "There are no deadlines for our regular quarterly issues, as we’ll be reading on an ongoing basis. We may create challenges or themes for future issues, however. We’ll post a deadline for those submisions."

A Baker's Dozen- issue 1
A new literary online magazine

related links: first issues, stories, art

The Hide of my Tongue - Vivian Faith Prescott (Plain View)

The Hide of My Tongue is a familial and historical account of the loss & revitalization of the Tlingit language. It's Vivian Faith Prescott explains first full-length poetry collection.

The collection explores the historical and contemporary effects of the loss of one of the world’s most complex languages: Tlingit. There are less than three hundred fluent Tlingit speakers left in the world. In Southeast Alaska, many are involved in the Tlingit language and cultural revitalization including Vivian Faith Prescott and her family.

"I spent the last twelve years creating The Hide of My Tongue, Ax L'óot' Doogú," says Vivian. "The collection is dedicated to my daughter, Vivian Mork, Yeilk', Cute-Little-Raven, and those who work at revitalzing the Tlingit language."

Vivian Faith Prescott is a fifth generation Alaska, born and raised in Wrangell, Alaska. She lives in Sitka, Alaska. She facilitates writers workshops for adults and teens. Vivian is Co-Director of Raven’s Blanket, a non-profit designed to enhance and perpetuate the cultural wellness and traditions of Indigenous peoples through education, media, and the arts; to promote artistic works by both Native and non-native Alaskans. She blogs at Planet Alaska.

About Plain View Press
Plain View Press is a 35-year-old issue-based literary publishing house that hase published 350 titles presenting the work of almost 500 national and international writers. Despite evidence that relentless violence has taken root worldwide, there is hope and there are artists to show the human face of it. 

The Hide of My Tongue, Ax L'óot' Doogú
ISBN: 978-1-935514-87-9
114 pages, $14.95

related links: about a place, poetry

Sampsonia Way

Sampsonia Way is an online magazine sponsored by City of Asylum/Pittsburgh celebrating literary free expression and supporting persecuted writers worldwide.

The magazine’s key staff includes exiled writers living on Sampsonia Way, a street in Pittsburgh that spans cultures and languages, which was conceived with their advice from within their own experience of exile and repression.

Sampsonia Way seeks to protect and advocate for writers who may be endangered, to educate the public about threats to writers and literary expression, and to create a community in which endangered writers thrive and literary culture is a valued part of everyday life.

The current Issue 9 — January 2012 includes the features "The Stage is My Gun: The Cultural Intifada of Juliano Mer-Khamis" by Olivia Stransky, "Reporting from Egypt: An Interview with Democracy Now's Sharif Abdel Kouddous" by Caitlyn Christensen and "Under Chávez: Media Harassed with Online Hacking, Phone Tapping and Censorship" by Gregorio Salazar.

Sampsonia Way is produced for City of Asylum/Pittsburgh by Silvia Duarte under a grant from the Queequeg Foundation. She is proud to produce a magazine of worldwide impact with a staff composed entirely of volunteers, part-time freelancers and consultants, and interns.

Sampsonia Way
international online magazine

The Language of Dragons - Yay Words

The Language of Dragons is a collection of dragon haiku and art, edited by Aubrie Cox in anticipation of the year of the dragon, which starts with the Chinese New Year on the 23rd January 2012.
The collection is available as PDF at Yay Words: The Language of Dragons - PDF

Aubrie Cox explains: "Back in October on Yay Words!, I asked my poet friends to write poems about trolls and/or tea and posted the results of it on Halloween as "Tea with Trolls." After a poll on Facebook and Twitter—it was whether folks wanted to write about sasquatch or dragons—and discovering 2012 was the Year of the Water dragon, I decided to plan another post for January first as a way to commemorate the New Year. Poets and artists were invited to contribute short form poetry and art featuring dragons and/or water and/or fire; anyone would submitted was guaranteed one piece for inclusion."

Contributors come from all over the world and include both well established and newer haiku poets. Cover art by Kris Kondo. A contributor list with website and twitter links is included at the end of the collection.

Aubrie Cox graduated from Millikin University with a B.A. in English literature and creative writing with a philosophy minor. At Millikin, she served as the senior editor for the student owned and operated publishing company Bronze Man Books, and editor-in-chief for the literary and fine arts magazine Collage. As of Fall 2011, she is attending Ball State University in pursuit of an M.A. in English creative writing. She regularly blogs poetry on Yay Words!, where she also does collaborative e-collections.

The Language of Dragons - website
The Language of Dragons - PDF
44 pages

Edge: curve, arc, circle - Sandra Davies

Edge: curve, arc, circle is a tale of learning, adaptation and celebration in neolithic Orkney written and illustrated by Sandra Davies. The book includes three episodes and seventeen original and apt illustrations in this coming-of-age tale set in Neolithic Orkney.

The first of the episodes, 'Curve of early learning' describes the hurts of childhood and early adolescence, the acquisition of understanding about one's environment and place in society. This episode is online as excerpt with paintings as part of the Language/Place edition #6 "at the edge": Curve of learning.

The second episode 'Arc of adaptation' tells of further changes, more deaths, but the discovery of humanity and, eventually love and respect. 'Circle of celebration' describes the journey by land and sea to the Ring of Brodgar for the celebration of the mid-winter solstic. An extensive preview of the book is online at blurb: Edge: curve, arc, circle.

Sandra explains: "This book was inspired firstly by Orkney and a visit to Isbister, known more popularly as 'Tomb of the Eagles'. It was brought into being because Michael D Brown asked for contributions for MuDJoB, the illustrations followed later, sparked by the celebration of MuDJoBs first anniversary."

Sandra Davies is an artist and printmaker and recently-emerged writer of fiction, with a long-established interest in family history. Born on the Essex coast, she now lives in Teesside in the north east of England, both places having the flat landscapes and sea-edged horizons considered essential for a sense of well-being. Her writing can be found at linesofcommunication. For some of her prints, visit: printuniverse/SandraDavies.

Sandra Davies: Edge: curve, arc, circle
15.95$ / 14.95 Euro

related links: about a place, art

Frankfurt Bookfair 2012: An Aotearoa Affair - A Blog Fest

Frankfurt Bookfair 2012: An Aotearoa Affair - A Blog Fest is a literary web initiative in anticipation of the Frankfurt Bookfair in October, where New Zealand is the Guest of Honour. The idea: to cross boundaries through writing from various perspectives and languages, to stretch across landscapes and timezones, to share experiences both common and unique to these countries and the people from there and living there.

The website just launched with an invite to join: "In these pages we’re highlighting Kiwi and German writers in 2012 and creating a space for interested readers and bloggers to connect and share related posts. If you are a Kiwi or German living anywhere in the world, or if you are from somewhere else but have settled in New Zealand or Germany, we want to hear from you."

The blog fest will present writers in a weekly series, and in special features. Added to that, a monthly blog carnival will feature New Zealand and German perspectives in many forms: poetry, fiction, non-fiction, travel, photography, art, etc. - the first edition is planned for February, deadline is February 5, the theme will be "Crossings". Guidelines for interested authors and bloggers: How to Join.

About Frankfurt Book Fair
The Frankfurt Book Fair is the biggest book and media fair in the world – with around 7,400 exhibitors from over 100 countries. In 2012, the Frankfurt Book Fair will take place from 10 to 14 October. The guest of honour is New Zealand. Previous guests of honour include Iceland, Argentina, China, and many more.

About the Blog Fest 
The editors of the Blog Fest are Michelle Elvy (New Zealand, founder of the flash initiative 52|250 A Year of Flash) and Dorothee Lang (Germany, editor BluePrintReview and founder of the language/place blog carnival). Michelle and Dorothee first met over their separate writing and editing projects in 2010 and soon discovered common ground -- both literally, as Michelle had lived many years in Germany and also through language and travel, poetry and photography.

Frankfurt Bookfair 2012: An Aotearoa Affair - A Blog Fest

Reading Challenges 2012: Ebooks, Global, Europe, Translations + suggestions & links

With the start of the new year many reading challenges opened a new page in the web. The challenges invite readers to join and focus on a defined theme for some of their yearly reading, and to share the titles of the books you read and/or reviews with other participants. Signup for most of the challenges is still open. Here are some of the challenges:

The 2012 Ebook Challenge invites you to read at least 5 e-books in 2012. It offers a monthly roundup post where participants can add their reviews, and also giveaways.

To tour Europe in books - that's the idea of the European Reading Challenge. The books can be anything – novels, short stories, memoirs, travel guides, cookbooks, biography, poetry, or any other genre. The task: Read up to 5 books by different European authors or books set in different European countries.

The Global Reading Challenge challenges you to expand your reading boundaries, go where you haven't been before, move a little outside your comfort zone by reading at least one book from each continent.

The goal of the Books in Translation Reading Challenge is self-explanatory: to read translations of books. "The books don't have to be in English; whatever language(s) you're comfortable reading in is good."

More challenges and challenge overlaps
More challenges can be found at A Novel Challenge - a blog that gathers reading challenge links. A hint from the guidelines: most challenges allow and encourage an overlap of challenges for those who take part in more than one challenge.

Reading Suggestions from this book blog
If you are interested in joining a challenge, and look for fitting books to read: here some categories to browse from this blog:

• Ebooks (Peppermint Bottle, Never Never Stories, Freight, Spiral Jetta, Life Cycle...)
• About a Place (The Tiger's Path - Iraq, A Foal Poem - Mexico,Open City - New York, Habit of a Foreign Sky - Asia, Spiral Jetty - USA, Ayiti - Haitia...)
• International (Foreign Flavours, Writers Abroad Anthology, Black Nature anthology, Oxford Book of Latin American Poetry...)

Blip Magazine + Mississippi Review Archives

Blip Magazine's Winter Issue 2012 is online: "It’s funny stuff, confounding stuff–curious, affecting, off-putting, inarticulate, beautiful and true, variously."

With the winter issue, a larger archive of former issues that reaches back to 1995 went online. Here's the story of it: In early 1995, the literary magazines Mississippi Review launched an online edition: MROnline. It was one of the first literary magazine, and featured original content not connected to the print edition.

In May 2010, after a change of organization, the archives of MROnline went offline. Now they were brought back by the editors of the past issues, and can be found in the Magazine Archive of Blip. The archives include links to the content pages, and also 2 PDF-issues: The LitMag at 100 and The Movies Issue.

The First Online Literary Magazines
Following the theme of first online literary magazines, there's a list with links to some of the first online literary online magazines up at The First Online Literary Magazines, an link page that belongs to BluePrintReview re/visit issue. Some of the early magazines aren't online anymore, some still have archives up, and some could be retrieved with help of the wayback machine.