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 issue (Going in the post from Monday 29th onwards....) In #53 The Journal Matt Duggan, Emma Lee, Andrew Taylor and myself managed to say something about all of these collections and chapbooks by - Romalyn Ante, A C Clarke, Brian Daldorph with Laura Chalar, Royce Chamberlain, Kitty Coles, Stephen Daniels, James Davies, Kate Garrett, Jesse Glass, Chris Hardy, Pamela Harvey, Ira Lightman, Anna Kisby, Anthony Owen, Jay Ramsay, Vaughan Rapatahana, Chrys Salt, Hannah Stone, Paul Sutton, Andrew Taylor, Steve Wiley, Rodney Wood and Gareth Writer-Davies. Poetry being the The Journal’s raison d’être #53 contains work from this international crew - Mercedes Araujo / Daniel Bennett / Laura Chalar / Paul Connolly / John Danvers / Matthew James Friday / Malka Al-Haddad / Alastair Hesp / Andy Hickmott / Phil Knight / Nigel Jarrett / Jenny Johnson / Emma E. Jones / Elena Lafert / David Lawrence / Hugh Lawrence / Melinda Lovell / Alwyn Marriage / Ambrose Musiwaya / Tatiana Oroño / Bethany Pope / Donna Pucciani / Marilyn Ricci / Sanjeev Sethi / Maggie Skervin / Georgina Titmus / Mark Totterdell / Patricia Tyrrell / Anthony Watts / Geoff William / Keith Woodhouse / Gareth Writer-Davis / Alessio Zanelli / John Zedolik Time to take out/renew the subscription? to subscribe to The Journal ..within UK only - from #52 current issue will be £4.50 and annual subscription (3 issues) will be £13.00 If by snailmail all cheques in UK currency please and made payable to 'Sam Smith'. 38 Pwllcarn TerraceBlaengarw Bridgend South Wales CF32 8AS UKThe Journal receives no public funds, depends entirely on sales and subscriptions.
{To check out previous issues of The Journal go to the Poetry Library http://www.poetrymagazines.org.uk/magazine/index.asp?id=90 Or to receive a free sample copy of The Journal (a previous issue) please send a self-addressed A4 envelope along with sufficient stamps to cover postage up to 250grams. UK only} 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....' * poems in English please, or translations into English (about 6 at a time) * also welcome are interviews with poets, reviews, appreciations or appraisals of current poetry scenes * if, within UK, a reply is desired, enclose SAE (email submissions only as part of email text, not as an attached file.) * payment will be one complimentary copy to each author * copyright will remain with author * from outside UK enclose 2xIRCs, or submit by email (email submissions only as part of email text, not as an attached file.) * 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. original plus, having found a good short run printer in Imprint Digital, is once again able to consider the publication of perfect bound full collections as well as poetry chapbooks. Consideration of either usually follows from publication in The Journal. email - asamsmith@hotmail.com One of Andy Hickmott's front cover poems from #53 The Island Whistlers
Lanzarote speaks its language of stone, the Atlantic breeze its silbo of sighs, while at the seat of eternal lovers
a widow waits and listens. For it’s known that the wind can learn the songs of lovers out at sea, and she was taught as a child
to pray without words, declaim the psalter like a bird, and observed in her mother that, windborne, love can transcend both border
and grief. Capture his song, whistle her own and he’ll come, scaling the black rocks, salt-eyed, barnacled, and spilling words of water. see also websites - http://www.thesamsmith.simplesite.com and http://samsmithbooks.weebly.com |