''Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature and Fine Arts'' 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 ...

from

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. Founded in 1986 by

Donald Barthelme Donald Barthelme (April 7, 1931 – July 23, 1989) was an American short story writer and novelist known for his playful, postmodernist style of short fiction. Barthelme also worked as a newspaper reporter for the ''Houston Post'', was managing ...

and

Phillip Lopate Phillip Lopate (born 1943) is an American film critic, essayist, fiction writer, poet, and teacher. He is the younger brother of radio host Leonard Lopate. Early life Phillip Lopate was born in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated with a BA degr ...

, ''Gulf Coast'' was envisioned as an intersection between the literary and visual arts communities. As a result, ''Gulf Coast'' has partnered with the University of Houston's Creative Writing Program, the

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), is an art museum located in the Houston Museum District of Houston, Texas. With the recent completion of an eight-year campus redevelopment project, including the opening of the Nancy and Rich Kinder Build ...

, and the

Menil Collection The Menil Collection, located in Houston, Texas, refers either to a museum that houses the art collection of founders John de Menil and Dominique de Menil, or to the collection itself of approximately 17,000 paintings, sculptures, prints, drawing ...

to showcase some of the most important literary and artistic talents in the United States. Faculty editors past and present include

Mark Doty Mark Doty (born August 10, 1953) is an American poet and memoirist best known for his work ''My Alexandria.'' He was the winner of the National Book Award for Poetry in 2008. Early life Mark Doty was born in Maryville, Tennessee to Lawrence an ...

(1999–2005),

Claudia Rankine Claudia Rankine (; born September 4, 1963) is an American poet, essayist, playwright and the editor of several anthologies. She is the author of five volumes of poetry, two plays and various essays. Her book of poetry, '' Citizen: An American L ...

, (2006) and

Nick Flynn Nick Flynn (born January 26, 1960) is an American writer, playwright, and poet. His writing is characterized by lyric, distilled moments, which blur the boundaries of various genres. Many of his books are structured using a collage technique, wh ...

(2007–present). The magazine publishes poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. In 2007, Heather McHugh chose David Shumate's ''Drawing Jesus'', which first appeared in'' Gulf Coast'', for ''

The Best American Poetry 2007 ''The Best American Poetry 2007'', a volume in ''The Best American Poetry series'', was edited by poet Heather McHugh, guest editor, who made the final selections, and David Lehman, the general editor for the series. This book is the 20th volume i ...

'', and

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

listed Peter Bognanni's ''The Body Eternal'' and

Sandra Novack Sandra Novack (born 1972) is an American writer of a novel and short stories. Her debut novel, ''Precious,'' was a Booklist Top 10 First Novels of 2009. Biography Novack was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to Joanne Novack, a court systems ope ...

's ''Memphis'', again premiering in ''Gulf Coast'', among the 100 Distinguished Stories in ''

The Best American Short Stories 2007 ''The Best American Short Stories 2007'', a volume in ''The Best American Short Stories series'', was edited by Heidi Pitlor and by guest editor Stephen King.Pitor, Heidi and King, Stephen (editors), ''The Best American Short Stories 2007'' Houghto ...

''. ''Gulf Coast'' featured artists

Robyn O'Neil Robyn O'Neil (born 1977) is an American artist known for her large-scale graphite on paper drawings. She is also the host of the podcast "ME READING STUFF". Early life and education Robyn O'Neil was born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1977. She lives an ...

and

Amy Blakemore Amy Blakemore (born 1958) is an American photographer. Blakemore was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Blakemore was included in the 2006 Whitney Biennial. Her work is included in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and the Seattle Art Muse ...

have been featured in the

Whitney Biennial The Whitney Biennial is a biennial exhibition of contemporary American art, typically by young and lesser known artists, on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, United States. The event began as an annual exhibition in ...

History

The magazine was originally named ''Domestic Crude'' (1983–1985), a name that nodded to the major industry of the Houston area. It was a 64-page (magazine-formatted) student-run publication, with editorial advising coming from Lopate, who also contributed work to the first issues. In 1986, the name ''Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature and Fine Arts'' was adopted. After some experimenting, the magazine found its dimensions and, eventually, its audience. The print magazine comes out each April and October. ''Gulf Coast'' is still student-run. The magazine seeks to promote and publish quality literature in our local and national communities while simultaneously teaching excellence in literary publishing to graduate and undergraduate students. Being committed to providing a variety of literary approaches and voices, all of the editorial positions are two-year terms, thus ensuring a regular turnover in the specific personality and style of the magazine. In addition to literature, ''Gulf Coast'' explores the

visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts al ...

. Each issue features two artists, along with short essays on the work from the art editor.

Gulf Coast Prize

Each year, the magazine presents the ''Gulf Coast'' Prizes in Poetry, Fiction, and Nonfiction. Outside judges name the winners, who each receive a $1,500 honorarium and are published in the magazine's Winter/Spring issue; two runners-up in each genre will each receive a $250 second prize. Past judges for the prizes include

Eula Biss Eula Biss (born 1977) is an American non-fiction writer who is the author of four books. Biss has won the Carl Sandburg Literary Award, the Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award, the Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize, the Pushcart Prize, and the ...

Eavan Boland Eavan Aisling Boland (24 September 1944 – 27 April 2020) was an Irish poet, author, and professor. She was a professor at Stanford University, where she had taught from 1996. Her work deals with the Irish national identity, and the role of w ...

Terrance Hayes Terrance Hayes (born November 18, 1971) is an American poet and educator who has published seven poetry collections. His 2010 collection, ''Lighthead'', won the National Book Award for Poetry in 2010. In September 2014, he was one of 21 recipients ...

Susan Howe Susan Howe (born June 10, 1937) is an American poet, scholar, essayist, and critic, who has been closely associated with the Language poets, among other poetry movements.

Antonya Nelson Antonya Nelson (born January 6, 1961) is an American author and teacher of creative writing who writes primarily short stories. Life and education Antonya Nelson was born January 6, 1961, in Wichita, Kansas. She received a BA degree from the U ...

, and

Natasha Trethewey Natasha Trethewey (born April 26, 1966) is an American poet who was appointed United States Poet Laureate in 2012 and again in 2013. She won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry for her 2006 collection ''Native Guard'', and she is a former List of U ...

Barthelme Prize

''Gulf Coast'' also awards the annual Donald Barthelme Prize for Short Prose which awards $1,000 and publication to one prose poem, micro-essay, or short story of five hundred words or less. The Barthelme Prize was inaugurated by ''editors emeriti'' Sean Bishop and Laurie Cedilnik in 2008. Past judges for the Barthelme Prize include Beckian Fritz Goldberg and

Mary Robison Mary Cennamo Robison (born January 14, 1949 in Washington, D.C., United States) is an American short story writer and novelist. She has published four collections of stories, and four novels, including her 2001 novel ''Why Did I Ever'', winn ...

References

External links

''Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature and Fine Arts'' websiteGulf Coast Blog"Journal of the Week" for Fiction Writer's Review"No Need to Boast": Gulf Coast in The Review Review
{{University of Houston Literary magazines published in the United States Biannual magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1986 Magazines published in Texas Mass media in Houston University of Houston

History

Gulf Coast Prize

Barthelme Prize

See also

References

External links