Poetry Magazines - The best collection of poetry magazines online - Simon Armitage

Poetry Express.
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Poetry Express is subtitled the Quarterly from Survivors' Poetry.  This issue, number 20, has substantial, compassionate, intelligent feature articles on themes connected with rehabilitating from mental stress of numerous kinds. Stevenage Survivors by Roy Birch deals with the growth of a group dedicated to the use of artistic abilities in the alleviation of mental distress. This has produced many poems, a selection of which appears in this journal. Raw, by Darren Messenger, is clear and eloquent:  'If I could show you the singing of words / I wouldn't be telling it like this / we'd be howling or shooting or / squawking like birds...'  Paul Murphy's fine and erudite Die Vergangenheit focuses on Emmendingen, which he feels is unfairly described as a psychiatric hospital. He describes various eccentrics, colourful characters and near-geniuses and also charts the history of the area, from connections with the Holocaust to Herman Hesse and the vogue for India and Buddhist mysticism in the 60s and 70s. Mario Petrucci writes interestingly on spatial form. There are features, notably on a campaign against psychiatric assault, an appreciation of David Kessel by Alan Morrison and thoughtful reviews, sometimes concentrating on studies of the effect of emotional problems, such as a review of the biography of James Joyce's daughter, Lucia, which discusses, not only her mental illness, but details of the development of her creativity.  This is a brave and serious magazine, but never solemn and is enjoyable to read.  The magazine, surprisingly, given its high quality, is free to members.