May/June 2000

Our cover story is a profile of novelist-cum-cultural critic Francine Prose, whose eighth novel, Blue Angel, takes an unflinching look at academic and sexual politics, and the dark side of writerly ambition.

Features

Tipping Sacred Cows: The Enlightenment of Francine Prose

by Sandy Asirvatham
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A profile of Francine Prose.

Literary Success in the Midwest

Building the Center: How the Twin Cities Pioneered a Cultural Mecca

by Jodie Ahern
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From Milkweed Editions and Graywolf Press to the Open Book center and Minnesota Center for Book Arts, literary outposts thrive in Minneapolis and Saint Paul.

Homesteading Talent: New Issues Press Scouts the Unknown

by Liesel Litzenburger
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A look inside the poetry press New Issues at Western Michigan University.

Bonfires of Humanity: Michigan's Rough Guide to Poetry

by Lynne Meredith Cohn
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The Beach Bards and the Stone Circle in Michigan offer poetry performances under the stars every summer.

Does the Region Make the Man?

by Kevin Larimer
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Wright Morris, in his photography and his prose, had an innovative way of evoking place.

Wright Morris's Field of Vision

by Diana Saluri Russo
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Despite the span of his oeuvre, Nebraska writer Wright Morris was "arrested permanently on the brink of a major reputation."

News and Trends

The Feminist Press Celebrates 30 Years

by Mary Gannon
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The pioneering publisher of lost literary classics by American women and works by African American women continues to expand its reach after thirty years.

Four UMass Grads Establish Lit Mag

by Kevin Larimer
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To the editors of jubilat, no subject is irrelevant to the poet.

Poetry Book Club Hits Cyberspace

by Mary Gannon
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The Academy of American Poets looks to grow its poetry book club initiative on the Web.

The Practical Writer

The U.K. Literary Journal Market: Where in the World to Get Published

by Helen M. Jerome
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A roundup of literary magazines from across the pond.

Putting the Work First: An Antidote to the Anxiety of Influence

by Stephen Corey
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Poet and literary journal editor Stephen Corey reveals his thoughts on editorial favoritism.

Reforming Rejection: Isn't Honesty the Best Policy?

by Victor Cresskill
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More candid rejection letters might make better writers.

The Literary Life

Tales of a Literary Saloonkeeper: Running KGB Bar and Reading Series

by Melvin Jules Bukiet
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The founder of the KGB reading series in New York City turned an old Ukrainian social club into a literary hot spot.

Writing Outside the Buffer Zone: Patricia Henley's Literary Activism

by David Bahr
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Novelist Patricia Henley channels her values through her prose.

Playing by Ear: Resist What Is to Find What Can Be

by Michael Klein
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For one young writer, poetry is the best truth in uncertain times.

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