Inspiration

Lately, I've been brainstorming ideas about how to give my magazine a certain theme or purpose, or how to make it more specific. Most successful literary magazines usually add in a theme that heightens the sense of purpose within each edition (example: culture) while others are focused around genres (like a literary science fiction magazine.) 

Some magazines publish only certain works, like solely poetry or solely short story. The Bitter Oleander, for example, publishes works of poetry "whose imaginations open [their] eyes to a world [they] thought [they] knew but were mistaken. A world our habits, our education and our beliefs blind us from everyday." 

I have also noticed a pattern: there is a different featured poet in every volume published. Also, each volume has a specific theme that is a branch of the overarching purpose stated above. Volume 16 No.2 is centered around the international community's mindset of poets, featuring the poet Ana Minga. Volume 13 No.2 centers around city poetry with the featured poet Rob Cook. Their newest edition, Volume 21 No.2, features the NYC poet Stephanie Dickinson, with a new perspective on how living in one of the most renowned cities in the world is. Mostly each volume also includes translations of other foreign works, diversifying the magazine immensely. 

AGNI is another literary magazine with seventy five issues over five decades and is considered to be "one of the strongest voices of one of the most active writing communities in America." It centers on emerging writers and on developing audiences for contemporary literature. 

In contrast, Black Denim Lit is a literary magazine that only publishes works of science fiction and fantasy. Moreover, they are more focused on electronic books and publications rather than print, which is something that I'm not targeting for. However, it was beneficial for me to see how each different literary magazine seeks to diversify and stand out amongst the others. 

References: 

"AGNI Online." AGNI Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. <http://www.bu.edu/agni/index.html>.

"Black Denim Lit." This Month, 150-pg Issue, Free for EReaders. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. <http://www.bdlit.com/>.

"Book Publisher | Poetry & Short Fiction Publisher | Bitter Oleander Press." Book Publisher, Poetry & Short Fiction Publisher. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. <http://www.bitteroleander.com/>.