''Shenandoah: The Washington and Lee Review'' 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 ...

published

Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexingto ...

History

Originally a student-run quarterly, ''Shenandoah'' has evolved into a biannual literary journal. Since 2018, the magazine has been edited by current English professor Beth Staples. According to Shenandoah's mission statement, the magazine aims to showcase diverse voices because "reading through the perspective of another person, persona, or character is one of the ways we practice empathy, expand our understanding of the world, and experience new levels of awareness." ''Shenandoah'' was founded in 1949 by a group of

faculty members, including English professor Samuel Ashley Brown, who published the fiction and poetry of undergraduates including

Tom Wolfe Thomas Kennerly Wolfe Jr. (March 2, 1930 – May 14, 2018)Some sources say 1931; ''The New York Times'' and Reuters both initially reported 1931 in their obituaries before changing to 1930. See and was an American author and journalist widely ...

. In the 1950s Thomas H. Carter became one of the founding student editors. During his tenure the Shenandoah corresponded with

E. E. Cummings Edward Estlin Cummings, who was also known as E. E. Cummings, e. e. cummings and e e cummings (October 14, 1894 - September 3, 1962), was an American poet, painter, essayist, author and playwright. He wrote approximately 2,900 poems, two autobi ...

William Carlos Williams William Carlos Williams (September 17, 1883 – March 4, 1963) was an American poet, writer, and physician closely associated with modernism and imagism. In addition to his writing, Williams had a long career as a physician practicing both pedia ...

William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most of ...

Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an expatriate American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Fascism, fascist collaborator in Italy during World War II. His works ...

and many other Southern writers and the Shenandoah grew in stature and national prominence. From the 1960s to the 1980s, W&L faculty member James Boatwright expanded the journal and published occasional theme issues, including a 35th anniversary anthology. In 1995,

R. T. Smith Rodney T. Smith (born 1947 in Washington, D.C.) is an American poet, fiction writer, and editor. The author of twelve poetry collections and a collection of short fiction, Smith is the editor of '' Shenandoah'', a prestigious literary journal p ...

was selected as the first full-time editor of the journal. In 2018 after twenty-three years as editor, R. T. Smith retired, and Beth Staples took over as editor of the magazine. Today, the magazine publishes biannually in the spring and fall. ''Shenandoah'' is funded and supported by

through the Office of the Dean of the College and is located in Mattingly House on W&L's campus. The magazine maintains a board of university advisors who offer guidance and advice, and the current editor maintains an intern program in which undergraduate students work for the journal and learn the craft of editing as an academic course in the English Department. Recent contributors include

Wendell Berry Wendell Erdman Berry (born August 5, 1934) is an American novelist, poet, essayist, environmental activist, cultural critic, and farmer. Closely identified with rural Kentucky, Berry developed many of his agrarian themes in the early essays of ' ...

Joyce Carol Oates Joyce Carol Oates (born June 16, 1938) is an American writer. Oates published her first book in 1963, and has since published 58 novels, a number of plays and novellas, and many volumes of short stories, poetry, and non-fiction. Her novels '' Bla ...

, Jacob M. Appel,

Speer Morgan Speer Morgan (born January 25, 1946 in Fort Smith, Arkansas) is an American novelist, short story writer, and editor. Life His parents were Charles Donald and Betty (Speer) Morgan. Morgan attended the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee ...

Lee Smith Lee Smith is the name of: Arts, entertainment and media *Lee Smith (fiction author) (born 1944), American author of fiction *Lee Smith (film editor) (born 1960), Australian film editor *Lee Smith (musician) (born 1983), American drummer *Lee Smith ...

Claudia Emerson Claudia Emerson (January 13, 1957 – December 4, 2014) was an American poet. She won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for her poetry collection ''Late Wife'', and was named the Poet Laureate of Virginia by Governor Tim Kaine in 2008. Early life Emerso ...

, May-lee Chai, and

Rita Dove Rita Frances Dove (born August 28, 1952) is an American poet and essayist. From 1993 to 1995, she served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. She is the first African American to have been appointed since the posit ...

. This list complements a long history of literary luminaries who have been published in ''Shenandoah'' such as

W. H. Auden Wystan Hugh Auden (; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry was noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in ...

James Merrill James Ingram Merrill (March 3, 1926 – February 6, 1995) was an American poet. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1977 for ''Divine Comedies.'' His poetry falls into two distinct bodies of work: the polished and formalist lyri ...

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philology, philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was ...

, T. S. Eliot,

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and r ...

, and

Flannery O'Connor Mary Flannery O'Connor (March 25, 1925August 3, 1964) was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. She wrote two novels and 31 short stories, as well as a number of reviews and commentaries. She was a Southern writer who often ...

. Since moving away from print in 2011, the magazine can now be found online in its entirety.

Fellowships and Contest

In the past, ''Shenandoah'' has hosted several prestigious annual contests: the James Boatwright III Prize for Poetry, the Goodheart Prize for Fiction, the Thomas H. Carter Prize for the Essay, and the ''Shenandoah''/Glasgow Prize for Emerging Writers. Presently, Shenandoah host the Graybeal-Gowan Prize for Virginia Writers. In 2021, ''Shenandoah'' launched a fellowship for BIPOC editors. Through a competitive application process, the magazine selects one fellow for each issue to aid in the selection of fiction, non-fiction, poems, or comics.

Recent honors, awards and reviews

* 2008 Governor's Award for the Arts * "The Worst You Ever Feel" by Rebecca Makkai was included in

The Best American Short Stories 2008 ''The Best American Short Stories 2008'', a volume in ''The Best American Short Stories series'', was edited by Heidi Pitlor and by guest editor Salman Rushdie.Pitor, Heidi and Rushdie, Salman (editors), ''The Best American Short Stories 2008'' Ho ...

. * "Souvenir" by Beth Ann Fennelly was included in

The Best American Poetry 2006 ''The Best American Poetry 2006'', a volume in ''The Best American Poetry series'', was edited by David Lehman (general editor), and poet Billy Collins, guest editor. The volume received some negative reviews. A review in the '' RATTLE'' by G. Tod ...

* "Death Is Intended" by

Linda Pastan Linda Pastan (born May 27, 1932, in New York) is an American poet of Jewish background. From 1991 to 1995 she was Poet Laureate of Maryland. She is known for writing short poems that address topics like family life, domesticity, motherhood, the fe ...

was included in

The Best American Poetry 2005 ''The Best American Poetry 2005'', a volume in ''The Best American Poetry series'', was edited by David Lehman and by guest editor Paul Muldoon. The volume is "one of the series' best books in years", according to Maureen N. McLane, reviewing the ...

* "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Stalker" by Kate Osana Simonian was "noted" in ''The Best American Essays 2019'' * "Volume 68 Number 1: Bodies, Bones, and the Space We Occupy" was given "5 Stars" on "The Review Review"

References

External links

Shenandoah
{{Washington and Lee University, state=uncollapsed Literary magazines published in the United States Quarterly magazines published in the United States Student magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1949 Washington and Lee University Triannual magazines published in the United States Magazines published in Virginia

History

Fellowships and Contest

Recent honors, awards and reviews

See also

References

External links