''Blackbird'' is an

online journal An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation, scrutiny, and d ...

of literature and the arts based in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

that posts two issues a year, May 1 and November 1. During the six-month run of an issue, additional content appears as "featured" content. Previous issues are archived online in their entirety.

Background

''Blackbird'' publishes fiction, poetry, plays, interviews, reviews, and art by both new and established writers and artists. The journal frequently includes streaming audio and video content, including readings, interviews, and art lectures. Each fall issue forefronts work by, and about, the late

Larry Levis Larry Patrick Levis (September 30, 1946 – May 8, 1996) was an American poet who published five award-winning books of poetry during his lifetime. Since his death, three more volumes of poetry, along with a book of essays, have been published to ...

. The journal's reading period for poetry and fiction closes between April 15 and September 15. Unsolicited reviews, plays, and art work are not considered.

Publisher

''Blackbird'' is published jointly by the Creative Writing Program of the Department of English at

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virgini ...

in partnership with New Virginia Review, Inc., a

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

literary arts organization based in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

. Its founding editors included Gregory Donovan, Mary Flinn, William Tester, M.A. Keller and Jeff Lodge. The journal is staffed by employees of the two sponsoring organizations as well as by interns and volunteers. ''Blackbird'' has published poems by many poets, including: Seyed Morteza Hamidzadeh, Julia B. Levine,

Sarah Rose Nordgren Sarah Rose Nordgren is an American poet. She is the author of ''Darwin’s Mother'', and ''Best Bones'', winner of the 2013 Agnes Lynch Starrett Prize. Early life and education Sarah Rose Nordgren was raised in Durham, North Carolina. She has a ...

, Dave Smith, Sofia Starnes, Inge Pedersen, Wesley Gibson, Andrew Zawacki, Elizabeth King, Kiki Petrosino, Negar Emrani,

Kaveh Akbar Kaveh Akbar (کاوه اکبر) is an Iranian-American poet and scholar. Early life and education Akbar was born in Tehran, Iran, in 1989, and grew up across the United States including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Indiana. He moved ...

, etc.

Recognition

''Blackbird'' was one of the first literary journals to be included in the

LOCKSS The LOCKSS ("Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe") project, under the auspices of Stanford University, is a peer-to-peer network that develops and supports an open source system allowing libraries to collect, preserve and provide their readers with acc ...

international archive. ''Blackbird'' received AP Wire coverage for its publication of a previously unpublished sonnet of

Sylvia Plath Sylvia Plath (; October 27, 1932 – February 11, 1963) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. She is credited with advancing the genre of confessional poetry and is best known for two of her published collections, ''The ...

in their Fall 2006 issue. Entitled "Ennui," the poem was composed during Plath's early years at

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...

. Ron Antonucci, in the ''

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

'', describes ''Blackbird'' it as "one of the most successful, well-assembled online literary magazines available... it is graphically attractive and has attracted writers of stature such as . . . Reginald Shepherd and

Gerald Stern Gerald Daniel Stern (February 22, 1925 – October 27, 2022) was an American poet, essayist, and educator. The author of twenty collections of poetry and four books of essays, he taught literature and creative writing at Temple University, Indi ...

." ''Blackbird'' was named as the "best online publication" of 2007 by ''storySouth''. The same year, ''Blackbird'' was awarded the

Million Writers Award Million Writers Award was a short story literary award presented annually by storySouth. It honored the best online short stories. The award was structured to be egalitarian allowing for anyone to nominate a story including readers, authors, editors ...

by ''storySouth'' by having seven stories selected as "notable stories of the year."

References

External links

''Blackbird''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackbird (online journal) 2002 establishments in Virginia American literature websites Art websites Biannual magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 2002 Magazines published in Virginia Mass media in Richmond, Virginia Online literary magazines published in the United States Virginia Commonwealth University