''Blackbird'' is an

online journal An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the dissemination, scr ...

of literature and the arts based in the United States that posts two issues a year, May 1 and November 1. During the six-month run of an issue, additional content appears as "featured" content. Previous issues are archived online in their entirety.

Background

''Blackbird'' publishes fiction, poetry, plays, interviews, reviews, and art by both new and established writers and artists. The journal frequently includes streaming audio and video content, including readings, interviews, and art lectures. Each fall issue forefronts work by, and about, the late

Larry Levis Larry Patrick Levis (September 30, 1946 – May 8, 1996) was an American poet and teacher who published five books of poetry during his lifetime. Two more volumes of previously unpublished poems appeared posthumously, and received general acclaim. ...

. The journal's reading period for poetry and fiction closes between April 15 and September 15. Unsolicited reviews, plays, and art work are not considered.

Publisher

''Blackbird'' is published jointly by the Creative Writing Program of the Department of English at

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a Public university, public research university in Richmond, Virginia, United States. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virgin ...

in partnership with New Virginia Review, Inc., a

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

literary arts organization based in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

. Its founding editors included Gregory Donovan, Mary Flinn, William Tester, M. A. Keller and Jeff Lodge. The journal is staffed by employees of the two sponsoring organizations as well as by interns and volunteers. ''Blackbird'' has published poems by many poets, including: Seyed Morteza Hamidzadeh, Julia B. Levine, Sarah Rose Nordgren, Dave Smith, Sofia Starnes, Inge Pedersen, Wesley Gibson,

Andrew Zawacki Andrew Zawacki (born May 22, 1972) is an American poet, critic, editor, and translator. He was a 2016 Howard Foundation Fellow in Poetry. Zawacki's first book, ''By Reason of Breakings'', won the 2001 University of Georgia Contemporary Poetry Ser ...

, Elizabeth King,

Kiki Petrosino Kiki Petrosino (born 1979) is an American poet and professor of poetry. She currently teaches at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. Early life and education Petrosino was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. After spend ...

, Negar Emrani,

Kaveh Akbar Kaveh Akbar (b. 15 January 1989; Persian language, Persian: کاوه اکبر) is an Iranian American poet, novelist, and editor. He is the author of the poetry collections ''Calling a Wolf a Wolf'' and ''Pilgrim Bell'' and of the novel ''Martyr ...

, and others.

Recognition

''Blackbird'' was one of the first literary journals to be included in the

LOCKSS The LOCKSS ("Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe") project, under the auspices of Stanford University, is a peer-to-peer network that develops and supports an open source system allowing libraries to collect, preserve and provide their readers with ac ...

international archive. ''Blackbird'' received AP Wire coverage for its publication of a previously unpublished sonnet of

Sylvia Plath Sylvia Plath (; October 27, 1932 – February 11, 1963) was an American poet and author. She is credited with advancing the genre of confessional poetry and is best known for '' The Colossus and Other Poems'' (1960), '' Ariel'' (1965), a ...

in their Fall 2006 issue. Entitled "Ennui", the poem was composed during Plath's early years at

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...

. Ron Antonucci, in the ''

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

'', describes ''Blackbird'' it as "one of the most successful, well-assembled online literary magazines available... it is graphically attractive and has attracted writers of stature such as . . . Reginald Shepherd and

Gerald Stern Gerald Daniel Stern (February 22, 1925 – October 27, 2022) was an American poet, essayist, and educator. The author of twenty collections of poetry and four books of essays, he taught literature and creative writing at Temple University, India ...

." ''Blackbird'' was named as the "best online publication" of 2007 by ''storySouth''. The same year, ''Blackbird'' was awarded the

Million Writers Award Million Writers Award was a short story literary award presented annually by storySouth from 2003 to 2016. It honored the best online short stories. The award was structured to be egalitarian allowing for anyone to nominate a story including readers ...

by ''storySouth'' by having seven stories selected as "notable stories of the year".

References

External links

''Blackbird''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackbird (online journal) 2002 establishments in Virginia American literature websites Art websites Biannual magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 2002 Magazines published in Virginia Mass media in Richmond, Virginia Online literary magazines published in the United States Virginia Commonwealth University