 Light № 70–71, photo: Lisa Krone | |
| Editor | Melissa Balmain (2013–present) |
|---|---|
| Former editors | John Mella (1992–2012) |
| Categories | Light verse |
| Frequency | semiannual issues, plus topical Poems of the Week |
| Publisher | Foundation for Light Verse |
| Founded | 1992 |
| First issue | 2013 (online) |
| Final issue | 2012 (print) |
| Country | USA |
| Based in | Chicago |
| Website | https://lightpoetrymagazine.com/ |
| ISSN | 1064-8186 |
Light (formerly Light: A Quarterly of Light Verse) is an online journal which bills itself as "America's oldest and best-known journal of light verse."
History and profile
Light was founded as a print journal in 1992 by retired postal worker John Mella. Mella personally published the journal until 2008, when he founded the non-profit Foundation for Light Verse with a $500,000 gift from poet Joyce La Mers. The Foundation, headed by Mella, took over publication of the journal.[1] After Mella's death in 2012, the magazine was relaunched as an online-only, semiannual publication, edited by his handpicked successor, poet Melissa Balmain. The all-volunteer staff includes poets Kevin Durkin, Allison Joseph, Julie Kane, and Gail White.
The verse in each issue begins with a feature on a writer of light verse. Sections in between vary from issue to issue, and have included "Spectrum" roundups on types of light verse (Little Willies, "impossible rhymes," etc.); book reviews by Barbara Egel; and an occasional column, "Historical and Hysterical," by A. M. Juster. The magazine has published the verse of Wendy Cope, Thomas M. Disch, X. J. Kennedy, John Updike, and Richard Wilbur, among many others.
Contributors
Notable contributors include the following:
- Brian Allgar
- Melissa Balmain
- Bruce Bennett (poet)
- Maureen Cannon
- William Rossa Cole
- Edmund Conti
- Wendy Cope
- Alma Denny
- Paul Dickey
- Tom Disch
- Rhina P. Espaillat
- Willard R. Espy
- Gavin Ewart
- Daniel Galef
- David Galef
- Charles Ghigna
- Dana Gioia
- Albert Goldbarth
- Bill Greenwell
- R.S. Gwynn
- Donald Hall
- Julie Kane
- A. M. Juster
- X. J. Kennedy
- James Kirkup
- Richard Kostelanetz
- Joyce La Mers
- Felicia Lamport
- James Laughlin
- J. Patrick Lewis
- Amit Majmudar
- William Matthews
- Bob McKenty
- Susan McLean
- John Frederick Nims
- Chris O'Carroll
- Jack Prelutsky
- Maurice Sagoff
- Mae Scanlan
- Ed Shacklee
- Jim Siergey
- William Jay Smith
- W. D. Snodgrass
- William Stafford
- A.E. Stallings
- Timothy Steele
- Marilyn L. Taylor
- John Updike
- Gail White
- John Whitworth
- Richard Wilbur
- David Yezzi
References
- ↑ Miner, Michael (March 18, 2010). "A Windfall for Light Verse". Chicago Reader. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
2. Nicol, Alfred (August 2, 2013), "A New Morning for Light" A New Morning for Light.