Acceptance: ucity review

ucity review attracted me right away with the simple aesthetic of its home page, which translates (in my mind at least) into mathematical purity and clutterless grace. The editors prefer a slant I use in my poetry: minimal use of capitals, even in proper nouns or the title of the journal itself. Contributors are listed entirely in lowercase. To me, the ambience has the beauty of a reality-cracking equation, for example: E=mc2

Aside from that, the poetry is stellar. One of my criterion for bliss is the imprimatur of a certain virtuoso: J.P. Dancing Bear, editor of the American Poetry Journal and all-round mighty force in the flux of the literary universe. If his work appears in a journal, it is most likely a quality venue. Dancing Bear is fairly prolific, gets published often, and so it is not rare to find him while surfing the zine scene; however, he is discriminating, and I’ve found his taut crystalline poetry to be a handy guide.

If you check out the latest issue of ucity, you’ll see the work of another APJ editor, James Cihlar, and, whoa man, his pieces are mind-blowingly good. Some of it is pretty sexed up too. Talented intense hot. You'll want to check this out if you're not afraid of a dash of concupiscience.

Yes, wander around the literary boulevards of this university city and you’ll be well-rewarded. I am honored that my poem “Mist Cleanse” will appear in a future issue. As a bonus, I was informed that I might receive print copies, an unexpected treat not listed under the submission guidelines! If I do get hard copies, I will distribute them to various aficionados and editors, and maybe even leave one in a conspicuous place in the local library, and a coffee shop or two (yes, there are coffee shops around, though a moose wandered down our driveway recently, and last week a raccoon).

Where is ucity located geographically? If you google “ucity” a couple of options pop up. Fortunately, the home page provides a very helpful clue involving a Catalpa Park and a Del Mar Blvd.

Google those up and see what you get ;)

The editors of this formidable journal are Andrew Cox and Lisa Sass. Their link page offers an eclectic selection of magazines, including the nouveau bizarre like Octopus and Diagram but also less esoteric yet masterful sites such as 2River View. It will be interesting to see where they take us in the future. Personally, I hope they go for a hybrid approach.



Ethereally Yours,


Owl