Black Spring

 

The irregularly-published Black Spring is here to chronicle the contemporary American poetry tradition. It arrives in slim, small, perfectbound editions, and seeks to explore the diversity of the American poetry scenes, while recognizing that said scenes are living, breathing, and chaotically dynamic entities. Every other issue, beginning with the first issue, is open submissions. Every second issue is location-based, exploring the literary tradition and current literary scene of a specific place. The current issue, issue #2, focuses on Lawrence, Kansas, and brings us essays, poetics, poetry, and visual art to give a sense of that unusual artists' town to those of us two cheap to buy a bus ticket to one of the most centrally-located cities in America. At $7, Black Spring is your first step in discovering what's really happening, man. --JP



Selection from Black Spring: The Lawrence Issue




Black Spring will focus on "experimental," "exploratory" poetry; poets too often neglected and outside of academia (though poets "in" academia, too); and particular "communities" of poets who have lived and worked in close proximity and supported each other and influenced/encouraged each other. Issue one included poetry by Brent Bechtel, Catherine Daly, kari edwards, Stephen Ellis, Jim McCrary, Christine Murray, Layne Russell, and Steve Tills. The Lawrence Issue featured David Baptiste-Chirot, Lee Chapman, Steven Ellis, Robert Grenier, Hawkman, Kenneth Irby, Maryrose Larkin, Jonathan Mayhew, Jim McCrary, Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg, John Moritz, Susan Smith Nash, Monica Peck, Judith Roitman, Dale Smith, and Steve Tills. The upcoming issue 3 will include Clayton Couch, Stephen Ratcliffe, AnnMarie Eldon, Petra Backonja, Avery Burns, Alex Gildzen, CA Conrad, Richard Denner, Crag Hill, and Sheila Murphy, among others.

Individual copies are $7, or a subscription of five issues may be purchased for $35, including postage if shipped within the U.S. Black Spring is edited by Steve Tills, who can be reached at P.O. Box 184, Shortsville, NY 14548.





Black Spring: The Lawrence Issue back cover