Columbia Poetry Review no.20

(cover painting, Self Portrait as Tender Mercenary by Julie Heffernan)


I TRY NOT TO WALK INTO BOOKSTORES. I try not to walk into bookstores because there, like the animal shelter, or a non-profit thrift store, I can nearly always talk myself into spending money that I don't have. I'm a student, and as much as I long to bulk-up my bookshelves constantly, the public library is more my budgetary speed. However, I made a most rewarding bookstore purchase last week, the 20th edition of the student-edited Columbia Poetry Review. Sadly, I was not invited to the big party in April to celebrate the largest volume of poetry ever produced by CPR or to commemorate 20 years of excellence in publishing contemporary verse...BUT, I adore it all the same. And I think you should get your grubby paws on a copy too. There is nothing so refreshing to a writer of poetry than to read contemporary poetry. It was Kirby who said something to the effect that we cannot create the future of the craft without first participating, at least for a bit, in the contemporary movement of poetry in which we find ourselves. This is contemporary poetry in its most diversified collection...I LOVE IT!!

Also, you should check out the archive of back issues...
http://english.colum.edu/cpr