''Cyphers'' is a

literary magazine A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry, and essays, along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letter ...

publishing poetry and criticism from Ireland and abroad. It was established in 1975 by

Leland Bardwell Constan Olive Leland Bardwell (25 February 1922 – 28 June 2016) was an Irish poet, novelist, and playwright. She was part of the literary scene in London and later Dublin, where she was an editor of literary magazines ''Hibernia'' and ''C ...

(1922-2016),

Pearse Hutchinson Pearse Hutchinson (16 February 1927 – 14 January 2012) was an Irish poet, broadcaster and translator. Childhood and education Hutchinson was born in Glasgow. His father, Harry Hutchinson, a Scottish printer whose own father had left Dublin to ...

(1927-2012),

Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin (; born 1942) is an Irish poet and academic. She was the Ireland Professor of Poetry (2016–19). Biography Ní Chuilleanáin was born in Cork in 1942. She is the daughter of Eilís Dillon and Professor Cormac Ó Cuil ...

, and

Macdara Woods Macdara Woods (1942 – 15 June 2018) was an Irish poet. Biography Woods was born in Dublin, where he attended Gonzaga College and then University College Dublin. He married the poet Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin. They had one son, Niall, a musician. ...

(1942-2018). Of the four, all but Ní Chuilleanáin (born 1942) are deceased. Bardwell retired in 2012; Woods continued working until the final weeks of his life — even reading submissions while in his hospital bed. The

Irish Arts Council The Arts Council (sometimes called the Arts Council of Ireland; legally ga, An Chomhairle Ealaíon) is the independent "Irish government agency for developing the arts." About It was established in 1951 by the Government of Ireland, to encour ...

has funded ''Cyphers'' entirely since its third issue (it provided half the required funding for the first two issues; six pounds of the remainder came from the widow of

Patrick Kavanagh Patrick Kavanagh (21 October 1904 – 30 November 1967) was an Irish poet and novelist. His best-known works include the novel '' Tarry Flynn'', and the poems "On Raglan Road" and "The Great Hunger". He is known for his accounts of Irish life t ...

). ''Cyphers'' started publishing following ''

The Dublin Magazine ''The Dublin Magazine'' was an Irish literature, Irish literary journal founded and edited by the Irish poetry, poet Seumas O'Sullivan (real name James Sullivan Starkey) and published in ''Dublin'' by "Dublin Publishers, Ltd., 9 Commercial Buil ...

''s closure and as ''

The Lace Curtain ''The Lace Curtain'' was an occasional literary magazine founded and edited by Michael Smith and Trevor Joyce under their New Writers Press imprint. Both press and journal were dedicated to expanding the horizons of Irish poetry by rediscoverin ...

''s penultimate issue was published. Titles considered by the editors for their new publication included ''Landrail'', ''The Blackbird'', and ''Waterhouse Clock''. The husband of Ruth Brandt — who designed the lettering on the masthead of early editions — decided it. He asked the name of Ní Chuilleanáin's and Woods's black cat. She was called Cypher — a name borrowed from several of Woods poems — based on the

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

word for "zero" and also referring to a

code In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication ...

. Though commonly thought to intend to support new writers, this was not the case at all.

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* 1975 establishments in Ireland Literary magazines published in Ireland Magazines established in 1975 Poetry literary magazines {{Ireland-lit-mag-stub

See also

References

External links