American Poetry Review - P.A.W. Print - Philadelphia Arts Writers

Founded in 1972, the American Poetry Review (APR) is one of the widest-read poetry publications in the country, with a circulation of 17,000 nationwide. And it's located right here in Philadelphia.

Although it is one of the more established poetry venues in the country, American Poetry Review is remarkably democratic in its approach to publishing poets. "The goal was to have a poetry magazine for everybody, not just academic poets and professors," says David Bonanno, who has been with APR since its first issue. The magazine works hard to keep its selections varied and interesting, and not to favor some genres over others. "It's impossible to say [we publish] any one style or mode," says Elizabeth Scanlon, American Poetry Review's Associate Editor. "We strive to put together the widest array we can find in every issue."

While APR is known for its close relationships with established poets such as W.S. Merwin and Adrienne Rich, Scanlon is quick to point out its openness to publishing the work of new writers. "It's not unusual for poets who have never published before to have work in APR," she says. APR goes further, however, in its role in developing the careers of new poets. The annual American Poetry Review/Honickman First Book Prize, one of the more prestigious awards in the country, offers $3,000 and publication, as well as a $1,000 honorarium for a book tour, for a first chapbook by a new writer. The contest is judged by a different established poet every year.

The judges, according to Scanlon, sometimes make surprising choices. For instance, in 2001, Adrienne Rich chose Ed Pavlin's Paraph of Bone & Other Kinds of Blue as the winning chapbook. Although the two poets' work is very different, Rich felt more of a connection with Pavlin's work than that of other poets who might have a style more similar to hers.

According to Scanlon, this provides a priceless opportunity for younger poets to establish relationships with mentors. In particular, Scanlon speaks of the 1999 competition, judged by Louise Gluck. Gluck forged a strong mentorship with Dana Levin, the winner. Scanlon believes that relationships such as these can help a young poet's career enormously, both in terms of attaining contacts in the publishing world and in gaining experience with the craft of poetry itself.

Although American Poetry Review has a wide circle of readers nationwide, Bonanno believes American reading habits are not what they used to be. "It feels like it's not quite as active and freewheeling," he says of the country's current poet culture, as compared with the way it was when APR was founded. "The writing community is spread out more; now it's more connected to universities than cities." He does, however, feel that APR has been a success. "I think we've achieved what we meant to achieve, reaching a lot of people. I think that one of the most satisfying things is when we publish an author's work and we hear back from them that they heard from people all over the country. When you publish with smaller journals sometimes, it's like the work just goes into the void. It's not like that with APR."

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