acumen is published three times a year (January, May and September), A5 perfect bound, with at least 120pp per issue.

ACUMEN 72 is in the post and you should be getting your copies from Monday onwards.  It's a great new issue, full of good poets from Dannie Abse to Jeremy Young;  poets you know and love to new voices appearing in Acumen for the first time.  How many readers have enjoyed the novelsThe Siege and The Betrayal ?  Helen Dunmore, besides being an engaging novelist,is also a poet and in A72 she is interviewed about her poetry and about its relationship to her novel writing. Sebastian Barker and Dinah Livingstone argue about the relationship between poetry and politics;  and what was the relationship between a 17th century Thames waterman and poetry?

The contents of issue 72 are listed below, and poems from its pages are on the 'Guest Poey' pages.  Posted 22.1.12

What are your relationships with Acumen?  Reader, poet, subscriber, critic?  Let us know for the responses pages in Acumen 73. 

If your subscription ran out with issue 71, please do renew, it saves a postal reminder and in these days of belt-tightening it all helps.

 Acumen sends it best regards and congratulations to Dannie Abse on being awarded a CBE;  his poetry, prose and plays have been consistently in print for over 60 years.  He was the first poet to send work to Acumen 27 years ago and has supported the magazine ever since.

Acumen does have a facebook page.  Please become a friend of Acumen.  See how the new 'assistant editors' are shaping up.

To submit poems without exasperating editors read the guidelines on 'Submissions'. 
Please do not send e-mail submissions without prior permission.

PLEASE send all books for review to the Book Reviews Editor at Swansea.

ABOUT THE NEW SPEAKING PAGES:

One subscriber wrote:

'The smartphone poetry in Acumen 71 worked really well - it is a terrific innovation, and genuinely extends the experience of reading a poem in a journal. It took me a while to get my head around it, but it was well worth the effort; I'd already enjoyed the poems, but this of course added a new dimension, not least with those extra few words of explanation - like being at a reading. Congratulations on the experiment; I'm sure it must have taken much time and effort to set up, but for this subscriber, it provided a lot of added value. '

I am still happy to read submissions and have already started the short-list for the May issue. Please be patient for a reply if short-listed.

I know it's hard, but try and get a poetry friend to subscribe also. Not only will they enjoy Acumen, but it can ensure we have a future.

More about the editors, their books and their readings, About us

Contact us e-mail or snail-mail via Contacts.

Subscribe to the magazine on-line Subdcriptions

PLEASE send all books for review to the Book Reviews Editor at Swansea.

   Contents of ACUMEN 72, January 2012

Editorial

Poems: Dannie Abse, Mark Roberts, Sophie Reynolds, Alec Hamilton, Michael Newman, Glynda Winterson, Catherine Broughton, Joseph Allen, Jeremy Page, Alison Brackenbury.

Interview with Helen Dunmore.

Poems:  John Gilham, Christine McNeil, Caroline Natzler,  Jeremy Young, India Russell, Nicola Warwick, Julie Whitby, Jacqueline Bulman, Robert Hamberger, Mike Smith, Martin Cook.

Poetry and Politics do not Mix – Sebastian Barker and Dinah Livingstone in debate.

Poems:   Dannie Abse, Meg Cox, Richard O’Connell, Pat Buik, Ann Mason, Gary Bills, Patrick Osada.

Poetry In Translation – Julian Farmer, Jan Owen, Ian Parks, Stephen Capus, Steve Komarnyckyj.

Poems: Stephen Capus, Donna Pucciani, Michael Bartholomew-Biggs, Joanna Watson, Graham Burchell, Don Bloch, Helen Overell, Ian Caws, Gordon Scapens, Seán Street. 

John Taylor:  the Water Poet – Martin Green.

Poems: Jennifer McGowen, Lynne Hjelmgaard, Helen Mort,  Richard Hughes. 

Prize-Winning Poetry – Duncan Forbes: chooses Wayne Price, Angela Beese, Elaine Miller.

Poems: Chris Considine, Jocelyne Thébault, June English, Fred Beake, Harry Guest, Brenda Hutchings, Huw Lawrence, Jim C. Wilson, Ruth O’Callaghan.

Obit – Anna Adams.

Poems: Meg Cox, Michael Swan, Robin Brumby.

Reviews: William Oxley, Edmund Prestwich, William Bedford, Belinda Cooke, Fred Beake.

Poetry Comment.

To submit poems without exasperating editors read the guidelines on 'Submissions'.
Please do not send e-mail submissions without prior permission.

PLEASE send all books for review to the Book Reviews Editor at Swansea.

Acumen Magazine is supported by the Arts Council of England (South West).