A Survey of Poetry in the Periodicals

Abstract

THE RESULTS of the following survey are intended to be of use to the poet, teacher, or librarian who is interested in the complex and shifting world of poetry published in various types of periodicals, including literary journals, little magazines, and trade magazines. The respondents were asked simply to list the four or five periodicals which, in their estimations, presently publish the highest quality poetry in America. The respondents listed from as few as three to as many as ten titles. The composition of the group surveyed was kept as heterogeneous as possible with respect to age, sex, racial or ethnic background, and geographical range. Sixty-five poets and teachers of contemporary poetry at the college level responded to the survey. They represented thirty-five states and every geographical region of the continental United States. Every major urban area of the country was represented, usually by two or more respondents, and towns and cities of intermediate size and rural areas were also represented. The findings of the survey will be listed in four groups according to the number of votes received. The intent of the survey was to identify some twenty to thirty titles about which there appeared to be considerable agreement. The first three groups constitute the realization of that intent; the fourth group includes most of the other titles mentioned by the respondents. Understandably, the survey includes biases and prejudices along with serious value judgments, and as a result the earlier groups (A, B, and C) are more reliable as an index of quality than Group D. The survey, however, is of what one justifiably call informed opinion, and most of the titles in Group D print outstanding poems. Several respondents did observe that a major problem with the periodical publication of poetry is uneven quality; therefore, it may be assumed that the first groups of titles indicate those periodicals felt to publish consistently the best poetry. No attempt has been made to provide titles which the respondents might have mentioned, but did not; as a result, some readers may not find in the lists below what they consider to be an obvious choice. Other sources of information concerning the maze of periodicals which publish poetry vary widely in eclecticism and amount of information provided. The most informative eclectic listing is Bill Katz's Magazines for Libraries (New York: R. R. Bowker Co., 1972), now in an expanded second edition with a sup-