E Y E W E A R, THE BLOG - FREEDOM MEANS BEING UNAFRAID TO WRITE WHAT YOU THINK

London Grip is a new online magazine worth checking out.

Today is a day to be thankful.  I have two poems in the February 2011 issue of Poetry , which arrived a few minutes ago in the post (delayed by a thunderous downpour earlier).  I am one of the asterisked poets (there are other fine poets included as well of course) - my first time in this, the greatest, and most significant of all poetry magazines in the English language.  I count this as one of the highlights of my life so far - not better than my wedding, or first real kiss, but on a par with graduation, my first book, that sort of thing. So - huge.  And why?  Because I remember, as if it was yesterday, the first time I heard of Poetry , when reading about Ezra Pound , when I was 14 - he became my hero.  I recall reading Poetry in university, in the library at Sir George Williams.  The slim, tidy magazine has been a part of my life, and what it means to be a poet, for 30 years.  Did I ever think I'd appear in its pages?  Not on your life...

Sad news.   George Solomos , Paris-based editor of little magazine Zero in the heyday of the post-war Left Bank scene, has died.

There is an expression in England - "it does what it says on the tin" - and frankly, I am pleased to say that Long Poem Magazine falls into that category.  Rarely has a name of a little magazine so clearly and usefully lead readers to its pages: if you want long poems, here you go.  And what poems!  Issue Four, Summer 2010, has poems by Jane Duran, Patrick Early, Giles Goodland, Cherry Smyth, Claire Crowther, Graham Mort and Roger Moulson , among others.  I don't often write long poems.  Reading this fine selection makes me want to.  Buy this, and submit.

Eyewear isn't the only kid on the block turning five in 2010.  This September marks the fifth anniversary of Fuselit , the pocket-sized literary journal edited by young British poets Jon Stone and Kirsten Irving , which is celebrating its birthday, as well as launching its 16th issue, Jack , on the 31st of this month with a reading at The Book Club in Shoreditch. Fuselit started life as an A5 photocopied black and white zine sold on a stall in the University of East Anglia campus for just 50p. Submissions editor Kirsten Irving had just come back from a year in New Orleans, during which she'd served on the editorial panel of the Tulane Review , and wanted to start a literary journal based on the idea of a 'spur word' for every issue - so that submissions for issue 1, for instance, would all be written in response to the word 'demo', issue 2 to 'catapult' and so on. These early issues featured work from writers like Joe Dunthorne, John Osbo...

For those collectors of little magazines, poetry ephemera, and other curious anthologies, zines, and one-offs, there is something you need: Clinic Presents .  I have rarely seen, if ever, such a beautifully-put-together collation of new daring poems by young (British) poets, and eccentric, indie photographs.  It recalls the best of Matrix magazine, likely Canada's hippest alternative poetry-and-arts journal.  With a Foreword by the excellent  Jack Underwood ( Faber New Poets 4 ), and poems by Gregory winners like Matthew Gregory , Sam Riviere , and Heather Phillipson , it also features poets I am glad to have read work by for the first time, like Rachael Allen , and Olly Todd .  Check in.

This looks worth attending... Launch of Issue 4 of Long Poem Magazine Date:    Thursday, 22 July 2010 Time:    18:30 - 21:00 Location:    Keats House,                    37 South Hill Park                    London NW3 2ST Reading will be : Patrick Early, Giles Goodland, Alastair McGlashan, Graham Mort, Roger Moulson, Susan Richardson, Cherry Smyth, Dimitris Tsomokos and the voice of Kip Knott .

I am pleased to have a new poem in the May issue of the fine Hong Kong online magazine, Asian Cha .  I recommend readers to submit their work here - the editorial staff are rigorous and engaged.

Orion Headless is a new online place for writing, edited by Sara Fitzpatrick Comito .  I am happy to have several new poems up here.  Warning - this will take you to writing by Todd Swift .

The Poetry Library recently digitalised and put online the summer 2006 issue of the excellent London poetry magazine, Magma .  If you want to see what was being written in Britain five years ago, by some of the best new and established poets, here's one way to start finding out...

Congratulations to Editor Carole Baldock , who has pioneered the intrepid quarterly international literray journal Orbis , in a difficult financial and cultural climate, to the remarkable milestone of its 150th issue (Winter/Spring 2010) - just out now. The issues features poems by Robert Nazarene, Nessa O'Mahony, William Oxley, Rupert M Loydell , and many others, new, unknown, and widely-respected, alike; Orbis is open and fair, welcomes all, from wherever. It also features good reviews of many collections, and mentions contests and magazines poets need to know about. It is a classic current little magazine, and we should thank Baldock for her work on its, and our, behalf. Orbis is the sort of magazine by which poetry thrives, despite the bigger boys and girls. One way to thank would be to order a subscription, or even a copy of Carole's latest poetry collection. Money where mouth is are words sweet to the poet-editor's ear.

Yesterday a plaque went up in my old neighbourhood, Marylebone, at the Langham Hotel, commemorating a most unusual gathering held on August 30, 1889. Joseph Marshall Stoddart , the publisher, introduced two younger writers to each other, who had never before met, and asked them both to create work for his Lippincott's Monthly Magazine . Wilde went away and wrote Dorian Gray , and Conan Doyle created Sherlock Holmes with the story 'The Sign of Four'. Easily a contender for most interesting literary lunch of all time.

Good news. Poet, editor and critic Nathan Hamilton , of Eggbox, is editing a special feature for the excellent and respected UK magazine, Rialto . He has a deadline of March 31st, and welcomes poems from poets under the age of 35, from Britain and beyond. Go for it .

Vortex is a magazine of student work from the University of Winchester which also accepts submissions from other universities. You can email Neil McCaw at neil dot mccaw at winchester dot ac dot uk with your queries or electronic submissions. Deadline is March 31, 2010.

The sixth issue of ottawater , Ottawa's annual poetry pdf journal, edited by rob mclennan , features work by various residents current and former, and is well worth the trip.

Phil Poole and John Rety by Leah Fritz Phil Poole and John Rety, both people of significance to contemporary poetry, died within days of each other - on the 1st and 3rd of February, respectively. John Rety was a founder of the Torriano Meeting House and managed the events there with his partner, Susan Johns , for 23 years. He and Susan also ran Hearing Eye press which published pamphlets and books by both well-known and ought-to-be-well-known poets. John was particularly proud of the anthologies, In the Company of Poets and Well Versed , which he edited, but he took great pride in all the publications of Hearing Eye, whether or not they sold. Among Hearing Eye's publications are pamphlets of John's own work in both poetry and prose, sadly unheralded as the original and substantial works they are. Politically John was an anarcho-pacifist. His daughter, the artist Emily Johns , following in his footsteps, is co-editor of Peace News . His political beliefs were his own, though. ...

This in from Carole Baldock , poet and Orbis editor. Orbis is an important UK-based magazine with international scope, and an openness to various poets and poetries. It also reviews well, and widely, and has lively contests each issue. It's an essential little magazine. So, consider the message below: "Suggestions and submissions welcome for our next issue, the big 150. Plus 40 years of Orbis - and my 30th issue as Editor. And consider the latest issue - Orbis 149 , Autumn/Winter 2009 Featured Poets Winners of the Virginia Warbey Prize 1st Prize: Jamie Walsh (Preface) 2nd Prize: Shelley McAlister (Sacred Heart) 3rd Prize: Jane McKie (Vija Celmins’ Surfaces) Poems from Carol Carpenter , Stuart Jay Silverman , Robert Stein, Louise Warren; Prose: Vanessa Gebbie and John Lowry; Translation Jonathan Greenhause : Prefiero by Marcos Barcellos; Obituaries: Mike Shields on James Kirkup and Pauline Rowe on Michael Murphy & Matt Simpson. Reviews Editor: Nessa O’Mahony. ...

I recently got the new Tears in the Fence (issue 51) in the post; and Upstairs at Duroc issue 11. They're two of the best international little magazines of our time, and form a sort of London-Paris Nexus. The firstly mentioned mag has some great reviews and articles, by Ian Brinton , Jennifer K Dick and Tom Chivers . John Goodby's new Dylan Thomas -inspired work uncaged sea (Book and CD) is reviewed, and boy do I want a copy - it sounds brilliant. Duroc features a few poems of mine, and work by, among others, Rufo Quintavalle, Peter Hughes, Adam Fieled, and Laura Mullen . Subscribe to both.

I'll be reading on September 5th as part of the celebrations in London for the publication of the 50th issue of Tears in the Fence , one of the indispensable, and more internationally-aware, little magazines of poetry and criticism from the UK. The latest issue features two poems by me, and poems by, among others: Melanie Challenger, John Kinsella, John Welch, Luke Kennard, Isobel Dixon, Jeremy Reed, John James - so you can see its an inclusive and intriguing spectrum. There are also some good reviews and articles by Jennifer K. Dick, Jeremy Hilton, John Stiles, Frances Spurrier , and Dfiza Benson (to name a few). It's a strong issue, and an impressive line-up of talents. Hats off to the editor, David Caddy , and associate editors, Sarah Hopkins , and Tom Chivers .

The latest Poetry Review is out (Vol. 98:4). There are reviews of Rowan Williams and others by Evan Jones , poems by Alfred Corn and Leah Fritz (among others), and my review of four collections, too. Plus much more, including a new interview by Ben Hickman with John Ashbery where, asked who some of his fave British poets are, he mentions Mark Ford , Jackie Kay , and Peter Robinson ; he also observes that being MTV laureate has not increased poetry sales one bit. Also just in the post, a beautiful-looking issue (#2) of Paxamericana, featuring poems by yours truly, David McGimpsey , Paul Vermeersch and other Canadians. I was also recently in the latest London Magazine , with other poets asked to write about famous British art works. I selected Stand Up! by Sir Terry Frost (2003), the year he died. The new design of the magazine is sort of Beardsley -inspired. Then there's the latest, stunning Wolf #19 , in which my poem "Myth" appears. This Winter 2008 issue is ...