Posts Tagged literary reviews

Magpie near Bozeman, MT (copyright © m.a.h. hinton)

I was recently made aware of a Montana-based literary blog, The Montucky Review. Interested as always in all things Montana and literary, I have been reviewing their postings over the past few days. So far, I like what I have seen.

Here is a description of The Montucky Review from their website and an indication of the kind of poetry they like.

Check it out for yourself!

The Montucky Review is a web based poetry publication that seeks well crafted wordplay from both established and novice writers alike. We hope to be the antithesis of all the snootiness and pretension that dominates the poetry publishing world. That is not to say that we will publish everything that comes our way, we won’t. We want good writing. Well established writer or first submission, you have an equal chance of being published or rejected. We look for poetry we like, with “like” being very subjective, indeed. We “like” what we like, and that ranges from the ridiculous to the sublime. If it moves us in some way, we like. People we like include Billy Collins, Bukowski, Kim Addonizio, Hugh Fox, Jim Harrison, Margaret Atwood, Sylvia Plath, and many of the well known poets that regularly publish around the web and in print. You know who they are. If you don’t, surf a bit. We read and publish on a rolling basis and will try to publish 2-3 new pieces per week, depending on the quality of submissions we receive.

We hope to do an annual or semi-annual print edition featuring the best of the best. Stay tuned.

WHAT WE WANT:

Quite simply, shorter, well written free verse and prose that moves us in some way. If you are proud of it, send it. If you’re not quite sure, polish it up a bit first. Then do it again…

We will consider very short works of fiction and non-fiction writing as well.

WHAT WE DON’T WANT:

We do not want rhyming poetry. Ever. When you hear “NO RHYMING POETRY, EVER!”think of Faye Dunaway as Mommie Dearest. Yeah, like that. If you submit rhyme, I can almost guarantee that it will not be accepted, unless you can actually make it work. And let’s be honest…you can’t.

No greeting card verse, light verse, or moon/spoon/June poetry about your dead dog or ex-girlfriend. If your writing would make a Hallmark Card vomit, send it to Poetry.com, not us. If your 4-year-old really digs it, stick it on the fridge, but don’t send it here. If you send a love poem, it better have a sharp edge and be free of cliche. We like a long, lingering aftertaste, something smokey and orgasmic..

We are not fond of overtly religious poetry, preachy poetry, or anything that promotes racism, misogyny, or anti-gay sentiment. We want edge, but be smart about it. We like dark and dirty, but we also appreciate language. You can be dark, dirty, and edgy, but don’t forget the intelligence.The absence of intelligence makes us cranky. Don’t make us cranky, we know people.