What are Literary Journals and Why are They Important?

 

There are magazines covering all sorts of topics these days—cars, cooking and fashion among others.  Readers may not be as familiar with another form of a publication—literary journals!

Literary journals have been around for many years.  One of the first was North American Review which was founded in Boston in 1815.  It continues to create issues.  You can visit their site here.  Walt Whitman had been known to say, “The North American is hospitable to new, strange views; invites, accepts, and that is a gift these days.” 

Since North American Review, there have been many other literary journals launched.  Two of my favorites are Fiction and The Paris Review.

Fiction was founded by Mark Mirsky, Donald Barthelme, Max Frisch and Jane Delynn in 1972.  In its early years, they published experimental works by writers such as Jerome Charyn and Samuel Beckett.  Fiction did publish my short story, “Silver Boxes” as well.  The cover of the issue is shown here but I promise that is not why it is one of my favorites.  I admire Fiction’s diverse group of authors, the actual aesthetics of the journal and I admire Mark Mirsky as an editor and a person—had a chance to meet him in person.  He continues to be the editor.

A subscription costs $67 for six issues.

The Paris Review is another literary journal I admire.  The link to it is here https://www.theparisreview.org/.  The Paris Review was founded in 1953 and focuses on publishing the best new voices writers in prose and poetry and also features interviews and art.  Their current issue features Annie Ernaux and Lakiesha Carr.  Emily Stokes is the current editor.  The journals is renowned and includes reviews such as this one, “One of the most prestigious journals in English Literature,” stated by The Observer (London) and, “In a world where literature seems like an afterthought, the Review commands attention,” The Chicago Tribune.

A subscription costs $49 for one year—which is four issues though there are other options that include a beautiful poster.

I know the cost of subscribing to a literary journal are higher than to commercial magazines such as Good Housekeeping and House Beautiful.  Those are useful magazines as well but subscribing to a literary journals has unique benefits.  One, you are getting exposed to writers and artists you may not otherwise have access to.  Reading literature has been known to have all sorts of benefits such as increasing empathy, building vocabulary and alleviating depression.  More on this in my next post.  Finally, it is critical that a nation supports the work of writers and artists.  They contribute not just to literary cannon, but influence what our students are reading in schools, what our media outlets are discussing and the cultural and emotional progress of a nation. 

If you are interested in submitting a piece, please visit their website for details.

Let me know which literary journal you decide to subscribe to 😊