Paper Dreams: Writers and Editors on the American Literary Magazine

Literary magazines may have been dubbed “little magazines” from the start, but there is nothing small about the ambition and scope of this eclectic volume of essays by scholars, writers, and editors that spans 150 years. After a brief introduction, the book jumps into a meaty section on the rise of modernism and the magazines that fueled the movement by introducing writers such as Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot, and James Joyce. Readers of contemporary literary magazines will be intrigued by the history that includes the famous (the rise of Poetry, Story) and the forgotten (such as those described in Abby Ann Arthur Johnson’s essay on lost African-American voices). The volume then looks at magazines in the post-war period and considers their future today. The section “Writers on Literary Magazines” proves the most appealing and accessible, speaking directly to the impact of these publications on authors’ hopes and dreams. Emergent themes include the role of money; the intrepid spirit of the magazines; the role of women; and, the impact of the Internet. Though the sheer amount of material can be daunting, the book is both a history and a “how to” that illuminates the influence, delights, problems, and engaging idiosyncrasies of these important magazines in American literary culture. Editor Kurowski teaches creative writing at York College (Pa.), and is founding editor of Luna Park. (Aug.)