Reading Around the World: International Literary Journals
This week, we want to spread the literary love and feature some incredible literary journals from around the globe. It’s nearly impossible to mention every single worthy journal, but we’ve attempted to forge a preliminary list for your perusal. We hope you'll enjoy diving into the archives, and/or submitting your own work to the various journals sampled here. Several of our brilliant Washington Square Review contributors have also been published in these journals, so we eagerly shine a spotlight on their work below!
ARGENTINA: The Buenos Aires Review
A bilingual and digital journal, The Buenos Aires Review publishes poetry, fiction, essays, criticism, visual art, and interviews by emerging and established writers from the Americas.
Connection to Washington Square: Carol Bensimon’s fiction, translated by Zoë Perry, appears in Issue 40 of WSR and in August 2015 of The Buenos Aires Review.
AUSTRALIA: Meanjin
Founded in Brisbane in 1940 by Clem Christesen, Meanjin (pronounced Mee-an-jin) is derived from an Aboriginal word for the finger of land on which central Brisbane sits. It’s now based in Melbourne, and publishes fiction, poetry, essays, and memoir.
Connection to Washington Square: Caitlin Barasch, one of our assistant web editors, interned for Meanjin in 2013 whilst living in Melbourne.
CANADA: The Malahat Review
Established in 1967, the journal features contemporary Canadian and international works of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction as well as reviews of recently published Canadian poetry, fiction, and literary nonfiction.
Connection to Washington Square: Lenea Grace’s poetry appears in Issue 31 of WSR and No. 199 of The Malahat Review.
GERMANY: SAND
Founded in 2009, SAND is an English literary journal based in Berlin that publishes short stories, poetry, creative nonfiction, translations, flash fiction, and artwork from all over the world. Connection to Washington Square: Jake Schneider, SAND’s Editor in Chief, contributed a translation of Ron Winkler’s poetry for Issue 30 of WSR.
HONG KONG: Cha: an Asian literary journal
Founded in 2007, Cha is an online literary journal publishing quality poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, and reviews in English, as well as photography & art. While there’s a strong focus on Asian-themed work and work by Asian writers/artists, it also publishes established and emerging writers/artists from around the world.
Connection to Washington Square: Ocean Vuong's poetry appears in Issue 33 of WSR and in Issue 10 of Cha.
IRELAND: The Moth
Founded in June 2010, The Moth is an arts and literature magazine featuring poetry, short fiction, interviews, and art by established and up-and-coming writers and artists.
Connection to Washington Square: Michael Derrick Hudson’s poetry appears in Issue 36 of WSR and Issue 30 of The Moth.
JAPAN: Poetry Kanto
A bilingual, bicultural poetry magazine published in Yokohama, Japan, Poetry Kanto was created in 1968. It aims to bring Japan’s poetic voices, via English translation, into an international literary dialogue.
Connection to Washington Square: Jane Hirshfield's poetry appears in Issue 35 of WSR and in the 2009 issue of Poetry Kanto.
LEBANON: Sukoon
An independent, online literary journal, Sukoon publishes Arab-themed art and literature in English. Writers and artists need not be of Arab descent, so long as they have an Arab-themed experience to contribute.
Connection to Washington Square: Zeina Hashem Beck appears in Issue 39 of WSR and Vol. 2, Issue 2 of Sukoon.
LITHUANIA: Vilnius Review
An online journal of Lithuanian literature in translation, Vilnius Review publishes fiction, poetry, and literary nonfiction, as well as interviews and book reviews.
Connection to Washington Square: Giedrė Kazlauskaitė’s poetry appears in Issue 33 of WSR and in December 2016 of The Vilnius Review.
NIGERIA: Brittle Paper
Let me first divulge that this wonderful African literary blog and literary journal is not affiliated with Nigeria alone—it’s representative of a wide range of African authors from many different African countries.
Connection to Washington Square: Nigerian-born Gbenga Adesina, WSR Issue 40 contributor, has also published poetry in Brittle Paper.
PAKISTAN: Papercuts
What began as a small online community for South Asian writers soon grew into the Desi Writers’ Lounge, a comprehensive community for new and emerging South Asian writers and poets. Papercuts, DWL’s online journal, began in 2007.
Connection to Washington Square: One of our International Co-Editors, Momina Mela, formerly served as Associate Poetry Editor.
UNITED KINGDOM: The White Review
Launched in February 2011, The White Review is an arts and literature magazine that aims to push the boundaries of form, subject, and genre. It publishes fiction, essays, interviews with writers and artists, poetry, and series of artworks.
Connection(s) to Washington Square: CA Conrad’s, Dorothea Lasky’s, and Eileen Myles’ poetry appears in WSR’s Issue 31, and have also appeared in The White Review issues 19 and 18, respectively. And, to make things even more exciting, you can read two (!) separate interviews with the incomparable Anne Carson: one in a previous blog post, and another in The White Review No. 20.