''Existere - Journal of Arts & Literature'' is a Canadian

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

that publishes twice a year through

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

's Writing Department in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. The

publishes

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

, short stories,

articles Article often refers to: * Article (grammar), a grammatical element used to indicate definiteness or indefiniteness * Article (publishing), a piece of nonfictional prose that is an independent part of a publication Article may also refer to: G ...

, book reviews, essays, interviews,

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

from contributors around the world.

History and affiliation

The journal was established at York University's Vanier College and has been funded by Vanier College Council since the journal was founded in 1978. It largely published as a quarterly, but since 2007 has published bi-annually. In 2018 it moved to Founders College and became affiliated with York University's Professional Writing Program in the Writing Department. ''Existere'' has appeared in many shapes and forms since its conception in 1978, but has ultimately retained a 6x9” format since Edward Fenner revived it in 2007. It prints anywhere from 80 to 100 pages, with full-colour covers.

Call For Back Issues

''Existere'' is on a campaign to recover information and back issues lost to the mists of time and unfortunate housekeeping.

Noteworthy Contributors

Noteworthy writers and poets that have appeared on ''Existere'' pages or who have edited the journal:

Canadian

* Adebe D.A. (Canadian poet, former Junior Poet Laureate for the City of Toronto, 2010

Dylan Thomas Prize The Dylan Thomas Prize is a leading prize for young writers presented annually. The prize, named in honour of the Welsh writer and poet Dylan Thomas, brings international prestige and a remuneration of £30,000 (~$46,000). It is open to published w ...

long-list nominee, and past editor of ''Existere'') *

Barry Dempster Barry Edward Dempster (born 17 January 1952) is a Canadian poet, novelist, and editor. Barry Dempster was born in Toronto, Ontario, and educated in child psychology. He is the author of two novels, a children's book, three volumes of short sto ...

(Canadian poet and novelist based in

Holland Landing Holland Landing is a community in the town of East Gwillimbury, located in the northern part of the Regional Municipality of York, in south-central Ontario, Canada. Its major road is Yonge Street (bypassed by the former Highway 11) and the commun ...

, Ontario) *

Carole Glasser Langille Carole Glasser Langille is a Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections e ...

(American-born Canadian poet and writer in Atlantic Canada). She was nominated for the

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

in 1997. *

David Lomax David Walter Lomax (born 21 September 1970) is a New Zealand rugby league coach and former player who represented New Zealand. He is the brother of another international, John Lomax. Early years Lomax grew up playing rugby league for the Wainui ...

(Scottish-born Canadian novelist, educator and past editor of Existere based in Toronto, Ontario) Winner of the East York/Scarborough Reading Association's 2006 Reader of the Year Award.http://readingfortheloveofit.com/pdf/SpeakingofReadingFall2008.pdf * Barrie P. Nichol (late Canadian poet,

concrete poet Concrete poetry is an arrangement of linguistic elements in which the typographical effect is more important in conveying meaning than verbal significance. It is sometimes referred to as visual poetry, a term that has now developed a distinct mea ...

, teacher, and writer in many genres). His poem "Lament" appeared in ''Existere'' in 1982. *

Michael Redhill Michael Redhill (born 12 June 1966) is an American-born Canadian poet, playwright and novelist.playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

, current

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

and

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

of ''

Brick, A Literary Journal ''Brick, A Literary Journal'' is a biannual literary magazine established in 1977. It publishes literary and creative non-fiction. History ''Brick'' was established in 1977 in London, Ontario, as a book review section in the literary magazine ''A ...

'' in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, and 2007

Man Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. ...

longlisted novelist) *

Jacob Scheier Jacob Scheier (born February 2, 1980) is a Canadians, Canadian poet born in Toronto. His debut poetry collection, ''More to Keep Us Warm'', was published by ECW Press in 2007 and was named the winner of the 2008 Governor General's Awards, 2008 Gove ...

(Canadian poet and winner of the 2008 Governor General's Award for

English poetry This article focuses on poetry from the United Kingdom written in the English language. The article does not cover poetry from other countries where the English language is spoken, including Republican Ireland after December 1922. The earliest ...

) *

Susan Swan Susan Swan (born 9 June 1945) is a Canadian author, journalist, and professor. Susan Swan writes classic Canadian novels. Her fiction has been published in 20 countries and translated into 10 languages. Born in Midland, Ontario, she studied at ...

(Canadian author and now retired professor at York University in Toronto) *

Priscila Uppal Priscila Uppal (October 30, 1974 – September 5, 2018) was a Canadian poet, novelist, fiction writer, and playwright. Personal life and career Uppal was born in Ottawa, Ontario, she graduated from Hillcrest High School in 1993. She earned he ...

(Canadian poet, novelist, and professor of literature and creative writing at York University in Toronto) * Myna Wallin (Canadian poet, prose writer, radio host, and poetry editor for Tightrope Books) *

Zachariah Wells Zachariah Wells (born 10 September 1976)https://viaf.org/processed/LAC, 1013A1476 Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2015-05-18. is a Canadian poet, critic, essayist and editor. Wells was born Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island and was raise ...

(Canadian poet, anthologist, editor,

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governmen ...

). His poems "Starfish Song," "Atum", and "In Praise of the African Naked Mole Rat" appeared in 2006.

International

* Oliver Rice (American poet and winner of the

Theodore Roethke Prize ''Poetry Northwest'' was founded as a quarterly, poetry-only journal in 1959 by Errol Pritchard, with Carolyn Kizer, Richard Hugo, Edith Shiffert and Nelson Bentley as co-editors. The first issue was 32 pages and included the work of Richmond Latti ...

in 1998)

References

External links

''Existere''
official website {{York University Literary magazines published in Canada Magazines published in Toronto Magazines established in 1978 1978 establishments in Ontario Biannual magazines published in Canada York University