Maryland Poetry Review, Issue 17
Rosemary Klein, Editor, 1998
Although this is an older issue of the Maryland Poetry Review, it is a good indicator of the great diversity of styles of contemporary poetry.
There are a lot of free verse and prose poems in here, as well as some terrific examples of formal verse, including Patoum and Haiku. For example, these lines from "Disaster Pantoum", by Daniel Bourne:
Your call cannot be completed
Your parents live too far away
When the lines are open again
Hysterical people will do anything they have to
Your parents live too far away
It might be the very last sound you hear
Hysterical people will do anything they have to
You pray for the first time in ages
The Haiku, by Amani Na Baraka, are wonderfully modern while remaining true to their 5-7-5 form, as in "#16":
skulls crouch in hiding
whispering mostly to fools
who have no wisdom
The editors of Maryland Poetry Review even manage to group poems by subject, with two or three poems per page on, say, fathers or mothers, or, even, alligators (imagine the coincidence of receiving two poetry submissions on the subject of alligators!).
Because of its focus on poetry, there is a hefty number of works packed into MPR's 70 pages. Definitely a great source of delight for lovers of any style of poetry.
You can find out more about Maryland poets at www.marylandpoetry.org. Unfortunately, the Review has ceased publication.
