What is a Literary Journal?
There are many places where you can find new and exciting poetry, but one of the most important (and longstanding) places are literary journals! Literary journals are where many famous poets got their early work published, such as T.S Eliot, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Langston Hughes.
But what exactly are literary journals? Literary journals are periodicals (or magazines) devoted to literature, usually poetry, short stories, or essays. These journals often rely on submissions by writers, and can be a great place for a writer to get their start.
On this page, you will find some of the literary journals that the library has access to, both in print and digitally. You can use these works for inspiration, or even to find journals that you can submit your own work to. You will also find a few academic journals that can be helpful for the study of poetry.
Print Journals at Smith
Here you will find some of the literary/poetry journals that we have print copies of here at Smith College Libraries. You can find recent editions of journals in the Compass Cafe in Neilson. Bound copies can be found on the 3rd floor of Neilson. Some journals may also have e-copies, which can be found by searching the Publication Finder
- Boulevard Boulevard was founded in 1984 in New York City and has published works by generations of important writers and critics.
- The Georgia Review The Georgia Review is a literary journal based in Athens, Georgia. Founded at University of Georgia in 1947, the journal features poetry, fiction, essays, book reviews, and visual art.
- The Gettysburg Review The Gettysburg Review was a quarterly literary magazine featuring short stories, poetry, essays and reviews.
- Iowa Review The Iowa Review's mission is to provide an expertly curated, carefully edited, and beautifully designed print and online space for the voices of writers of every kind of diversity to move and enlighten us; to use the experience gained from fifty-plus years of continuous publication and our connection to the University of Iowa as a home for creative writing to validate, amplify, and encourage those voices; and to serve the reading public by presenting the best contemporary writing in short fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction.
- Metamorphoses Sponsored by five colleges located in western Massachusetts, spearheaded by the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Issuing body varies slightly: Five College Seminar on Literary Translation.
- Paris Review The Paris Review is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton.
- PNR (P.N Review) P. N. Review is a periodic publication in the United Kingdom, on the subject of poetry. Each issue includes an editorial, letters, news and notes, articles, interviews, features, poems, translations, and a substantial book review section.
- Poetry: A Magazine of Verse Founded in Chicago by Harriet Monroe in 1912, Poetry is the oldest monthly devoted to verse in the English-speaking world. We have both print and digital access.
Academic Journals
Below you will find a short list of journals that may be relevant to the study of poetry and prose.
- Journal of Modern Literature Journal of Modern Literature remains a leading scholarly journal in the field of modern and contemporary literature and is widely recognized as such.
- MELUS MELUS (Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States) features articles, interviews, and reviews encompassing the multi-ethnic scope of American literature past and present.
- Modern Language Review The Modern Language Review publishes articles and book reviews on modern and medieval European languages, literatures, and cultures around the globe where European languages are spoken.
- Poetry Poetry: A Magazine of Verse. Based in Chicago since 1912, the magazine publishes contemporary work primarily in English and translation of poets from all over the United States and the world.
- Victorian Studies Victorian Studies, which began publication in 1956, is devoted to the study of English culture of the Victorian period.