Looking For Literary Journal / Magazine Suggestions

May 16, 2008 12:23 PM

I'm looking for a journal/magazine that will be all about literature, with all different forms of criticism. Something that has good articles/essays about literature. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
posted by chriswarren to Writing & Language (6 answers total)

The Believer?
posted by sully75 at 1:20 PM on May 16, 2008

BookForum
The New York Review of Books
Times Literary Supplement

Can you be more specific?
posted by mattbucher at 1:32 PM on May 16, 2008

Response by poster: I'm asking for a friend - I'll see if she can give me any more information. What do you want me to be more specific about?
posted by chriswarren at 1:34 PM on May 16, 2008

Well there are tons of literary magazines that include book reviews and essays on literature. Contemporary literature? Literature in Translation? Science Fiction? European? General Interest? Here is a list of all members of the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses. The problem with most literary publications (in my mind) is that they include too much other stuff: political essays, journalism, stuff that is peripheral to literature without directly engaging it. The American Scholar is a good example. Here are some book blogs that I would recommend as well.
posted by mattbucher at 2:08 PM on May 16, 2008

I guess the big question is literature criticism as in reviews or criticism as in critical theory. If the former than mattbutcher's recommendations are spot on. If the latter I'd suggest

PMLA, the journal of the Modern Languages Association.

Critical Inquiry

There are also multidisciplinary journals that focus on select topics grouped by region, era, etc (e.g. Postcolonialism, gender, Renaissance, etc.), so it might help to find out if your friend has a particular focus.
posted by kaybdc at 2:29 PM on May 16, 2008

Check out Context

via MeFi's own languagehat
posted by Kattullus at 8:07 PM on May 16, 2008