''Poetry Review'' is the magazine of

The Poetry Society The Poetry Society is a membership organisation, open to all, whose stated aim is "to promote the study, use and enjoyment of poetry". The society was founded in London in February 1909 as the Poetry Recital Society, becoming the Poetry Society ...

, edited by the poet

Emily Berry Emily Berry (born 1981) is an English poet and writer. Emily Berry was born and raised in London and studied English literature at Leeds University, and Creative and Life Writing at Goldsmiths College. She is currently completing a PhD in C ...

. Founded in 1912, shortly after the establishment of the Society, previous editors have included poets

Muriel Spark Dame Muriel Sarah Spark (née Camberg; 1 February 1918 – 13 April 2006). was a Scottish novelist, short story writer, poet and essayist. Life Muriel Camberg was born in the Bruntsfield area of Edinburgh, the daughter of Bernard Camberg, an ...

Adrian Henri Adrian Henri (10 April 1932 – 20 December 2000) was a British poet and painter best remembered as the founder of poetry-rock group the Liverpool Scene and as one of three poets in the best-selling anthology '' The Mersey Sound'', along with ...

, Andrew Motion and

Maurice Riordan Maurice Riordan (born 1953) is an Irish poet, translator, and editor. Born in Lisgoold, County Cork, his poetry collections include: ''A Word from the Loki'' (1995), a largely London-based collection which was a Poetry Book Society Choice and ...

Background

Founded in January 1912, the publication took over from the ''Poetical Gazette'', a members news magazine for the newly formed Poetry Society. It was first edited by

Harold Monro Harold Edward Monro (14 March 1879 – 16 March 1932) was an English poet born in Brussels, Belgium. As the proprietor of the Poetry Bookshop in London, he helped many poets to bring their work before the public. Life and career Monro was born ...

, who was ousted after a year by alarmed, more conservative-minded trustees. He was followed by Stephen Phillips (1913–15). Galloway Kyle, The Poetry Society's founder and director, presided over the ''Review'' from 1916–47. He managed to keep the magazine running during the blitzing of London, despite ongoing bombing of the neighbourhood and the damage of Kyle's own home. He declared that he wanted to make poetry popular, "the common heritage and joy to all", geared to a common everyman, bringing poetry down from its "ivory tower"."We should look forward as well as backward," Kyle stated, "but in reality the latter is more necessary than the former, and it is particularly essential in relation to a poet who may find the times too noisy, too self-centred and too self-righteous to heed him". During both world wars Kyle paid particular attention to people serving in the armed forces, publishing their work and letters, interested in eye-witness accounts. Patriotic and populist, reliable and comforting to its readers during these times of chaos, the ''Review'' had its largest ever audience. Published bi-monthly at the time, the readership rose from approximately 1000 before

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

to more than 6000 per issue by the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Kyle appointed Alice Hunt Bartlett as American Associate Editor from 1923 and the publication featured significant content from the US during the 1920s and 1930s. The American journal ''

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 ...

'', founded at the same time as the ''Review'', during the spring of 1912, was originally often regarded as a sister journal with the similar purpose of building the audience for contemporary poetry. Their roads soon separated. ''Poetry'' set out to establish itself as a home for serious critique, desiring to be select, radical, the leader of the field. Kyle was editor until his death in 1967 at the age of 92.

led the ''Review'' dynamically from 1947 to 1949, introducing a fee to be paid to contributors, but she was ousted for her poetic radicalism and liberal views. An editorial board presided from 1952 to 1962, led by Thomas Moult.

Derek Parker Derek Parker (born 1932) is a British writer and broadcaster. He is the author of numerous works on literature, ballet, and opera, and with his wife Julia of several books about astrology. Biography He was born in Looe, Cornwall, and educate ...

handed over to avant-garde poet

Eric Mottram Eric Mottram (29 December 1924 – 16 January 1995) was a British teacher, critic, editor and poet who was one of the central figures in the British Poetry Revival. Early life and education Mottram was born in London and educated at Purley Gramm ...

in 1970, who was followed by Roger Garfitt and Peter Forbes (1985–2002). Other former editors include

, Andrew Motion and

Mick Imlah Michael Ogilvie Imlah (26 September 1956 – 12 January 2009), better known as Mick Imlah, was a Scottish poet and editor. Background Imlah was brought up in Milngavie near Glasgow, before moving to Beckenham, Kent, in 1966. He was educated at Ma ...

Fiona Sampson Fiona Ruth Sampson, is a British poet and writer. She is published in thirty-seven languages and has received a number of national and international awards for her writing. A former musician, Sampson has written on the links between music a ...

held the role from 2005 to 2012. A series of guest editors followed —

George Szirtes George Szirtes (; born 29 November 1948) is a British poet and translator from the Hungarian language into English. Originally from Hungary, he has lived in the United Kingdom for most of his life after coming to the country as a refugee at the ...

Charles Boyle Charles Boyle may refer to: * Charles Boyle, 3rd Viscount Dungarvan (1639–1694), British politician * Charles Boyle, 2nd Earl of Burlington (died 1704), British politician * Charles Boyle, 4th Earl of Orrery (1674–1731), author, soldier and st ...

Bernardine Evaristo Bernardine Anne Mobolaji Evaristo, (born 28 May 1959) is a British author and academic. Her novel '' Girl, Woman, Other'', jointly won the Booker Prize in 2019 alongside Margaret Atwood's '' The Testaments'', making her the first woman with Bla ...

Moniza Alvi Moniza Alvi (born 2 February 1954) is a Pakistani-British poet and writer. She has won several well-known prizes for her verse. Life and education Moniza Alvi was born in Lahore, Pakistan, to a Pakistani father and a British mother. Her father ...

, Esther Morgan and

Patrick McGuinness Patrick McGuinness (born 1968) is a British academic, critic, novelist, and poet. He is Professor of French and Comparative Literature at the University of Oxford, where he is Fellow and Tutor at St Anne's College. Life McGuinness was born i ...

— until Summer 2013, when

assumed the editorship for the next four years. The ''Review'' was at first a monthly magazine and then from 1915 to 1951 became bi-monthly, turning quarterly in 1952. It has published the work of poets including Thomas Hardy, Rupert Brooke, Robert Frost,

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 ...

, Ezra Pound,

Philip Larkin Philip Arthur Larkin (9 August 1922 – 2 December 1985) was an English poet, novelist, and librarian. His first book of poetry, ''The North Ship'', was published in 1945, followed by two novels, ''Jill'' (1946) and ''A Girl in Winter'' (1947 ...

and

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...

. In Spring 2014 the magazine returned to the title ''The Poetry Review''. The current editor is the poet

, who succeeded

with the Spring 2017 issue. It is published in March, June, September and December and given to each subscribing member of the

Poetry Society The Poetry Society is a membership organisation, open to all, whose stated aim is "to promote the study, use and enjoyment of poetry". The society was founded in London in February 1909 as the Poetry Recital Society, becoming the Poetry Society ...

References

External links

*{{official website, http://poetrysociety.org.uk/publications-section/the-poetry-review/ Quarterly magazines published in the United Kingdom British poetry Magazines published in London Ezra Pound 1912 establishments in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 1912 Poetry magazines published in the United Kingdom Literary magazines published in the United Kingdom

Background

Further reading

References

External links