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Acumen 110 – September 2024

Explore Acumen 110 to discover vibrant contemporary poetry and literary insights showcasing new work by talented poets such as Biljana Scott, James Deahl, Susan Mackervoy, Doreen Hinchliffe, Tim Love, Louise Warren, Huw Gwynn-Jones, D.W. Evans, Roberta Dewa, Philip Rush, Lynne Wycherley, Kathryn Daszkiewicz, Christine McNeill, John Greening, Anthony Lawrence, Frank McMahon, Mike McNamara, John Gilham, Geri Dogmetchi, Vuyelwa Carlin, Rachael Clyne, Duncan Forbes, Joan McGavin, Michael Swan, and many others. Highlighting the issue is an in-depth interview with Kathleen McPhilemy, a feature on poetry and jazz, and Fred Beake’s critical essay, ‘The Romantic Modernist: The Poetry of William Carlos Williams.’ The Poetry in Translation section features new translations of Heinrich Heine, Marina Tsvetaeva, Rainer Maria Rilke, and Du Fu. Reviews by Colin Pink, Belinda Cooke, Edmund Prestwich, and others offer critical insights into recent literary works. Don’t miss this edition, which blends original poetry, engaging analysis, rich translations, and comprehensive reviews to celebrate contemporary poetry. Due to high demand and unfortunately some postal issues, this edition is currently sold out. However, PDF copies are available. For more information, please contact the Acumen editor.

An annual subscription to the Acumen Journal covers 3 issues packed with great poetry, plus stimulating reviews and essays. It represents great value for money for either yourself or as a thoughtful gift for a poetry-lover.

I was very struck by how generously Acumen supports new poets, and by the quality and variety of the translations. Well done!

Alison Brackenbury

The latest issue of Acumen made great reading by a wintry fire here in NZ. Proof that intelligent and thoughtful writing is still alive and well in this changing world.

Jan FitzGerald

Acumen deserves to be read for its first-hand experience of poetry. The work it does is the opposite of academic and therefore valuable.

Hugo Williams

Good poetry and thoughtful articles and reviews

Sophie Hannah

Acumen is invaluable for the range of original poems it publishes, for its support of translations and for the seriousness of its reviewing.

Alan Brownjohn

Long may Acumen continue to publish good poems and interesting articles.

Wendy Cope

A beacon in the west, Acumen’s guiding light is valued throughout the world of letters. Printing the best, and not necessarily the most celebrated, is its policy.

Peter Porter

…the magazine’s flag: sharpness of wit; penetration of perception; keenness of discrimination.

TLS

Acumen…is well produced and impressively wide-ranging.

The Poetry Review

Over the years Acumen has just got better and better.

Dannie Abse

Danielle Hope

Editor, on behalf of all the team

Editorial

Welcome to Acumen. Do check out our pages and great poems.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF ACUMEN. And a special thank you to those of you who have renewed your subscriptions and have added a donation, so that we can keep the price lower. If you haven’t renewed your subscription for Acumen, please do so here.

Thank you to everyone submitting poems and prose. Acumen has been experiencing a wonderful increase in submissions lately, and we’re grateful for the interest in our magazine. Thanks for your patience while everything is carefully reviewed. Please remember we do not accept simultaneous submissions, but we consider postal and electronic submissions. We do, however, encourage contributors to carefully review our submission guidelines to ensure their work aligns with what we publish – poetry and prose on poetry-related topics, and not short stories. To prepare your submission and for more information please see here.

We’re excited to share the latest Acumen with you, though we must apologise for recent postage issues. Unfortunately, some issues of Acumen have disappeared in Royal Mail. If you’ve experienced any delays or problems, please do let us know. Despite this, we’re committed to ensuring that everyone can enjoy the exceptional work featured in the latest edition. PDF copies are available, plus a very small number of printed copies which we are sending to those whose copies have gone astray. Please contact the Acumen editor for more information.

Thank you for your continued interest in Acumen and the world of poetry. As Emily Dickinson said, ‘I dwell in possibility’ – and it is through your support that we continue to explore the endless possibilities of poetry.

I end with lines that have been attributed to Yeats, but more likely originated from English author and playwright, Eden Phillpotts: ‘The universe is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.’ I hope that the coming months give you magical things that your senses can sharpen to find, especially through the troubled world that often surrounds us.

Guest Poems and Young Poets

Acumen’s aim is to be wide-ranging, publishing contemporary poets both known and unknown, relying on the strength of the poetry rather than the name behind it.

Selected poems from each issue are posted on the website as guest poems for the week. We add photographs and very short biographies – a thing we don’t do in the magazine, preferring at that stage to let the poems speak for themselves.

David Olsen

David Olsen’s fifth full-length poetry collection, The Lost Language of Shadows (2022), is from Dempsey & Windle. After Hopper & Lange and Nocturnes (both 2021) are from Oversteps Books and Dempsey & Windle, respectively. Unfolding Origami (2015) won the Cinnamon Press Poetry Collection Award, and Past Imperfect (2019) is also from Cinnamon Press.

Julie Cameron Gray

Julie Cameron Gray is originally from Sudbury, Canada (Atikameksheng Anishnawbek territory). She is the author of two poetry collections – Lady Crawford (Palimpsest Press), Tangle (Tightrope Books), and is nearing the completion of her 3rd poetry manuscript. She has previously published in Vallum, Ex-Puritan, The Moth (IE), Magma (UK), The Fiddlehead, EVENT, Prairie Fire, Carousel, and Best Canadian Poetry. Lady Crawford was shortlisted for the Pat Lowther Award.

Dawn Sands

Dawn Sands is 17 years old and was a Top 15 Foyle Young Poet in 2023. Her favourite carbohydrate is bread and she can be found on Instagram @dawnllswriter.

Amanda Allbert

Amanda Allbert is a 22 year old from Southern California. She devotes her free time to writing poetry and fiction. Her poems have also been featured in Crowstep Poetry Journal.

We love to publish new and established writers, in our journal and/or on our website and we are proud to have discovered many new voices.
We welcome unpublished poems, translations of poems, articles and debate on poetry covering a wide variety of topics and with different writing styles.
Find out how to submit your poems.

Poetry and Prose

Books and publications

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Electrifying Announcement!

Acumen is among the longest-running literary magazines today.

Patricia Oxley started Acumen in 1985 armed with only an electric typewriter, and without subscribers or contributions. Since then it has grown to one of the country’s leading literary journals.

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