''Tears in the Fence'' is a triannual British literary journal edited by David Caddy. It has been characterized as "a forward-looking magazine that is not afraid to take risks.... nd thatrepresents the cutting edge of modern poetry."

Background

English poet and writer David Caddy and Harry Seccombe founded ''Tears in the Fence'' in November 1984, as a literary magazine for the

Green Movement Green politics, or ecopolitics, is a political ideology that aims to foster an ecologically sustainable society often, but not always, rooted in environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice and grassroots democracy. Wall 2010. p. 12-13. It ...

. Sarah Hopkins, who was also Literary Editor of ''

Spare Rib ''Spare Rib'' was a second-wave feminist magazine, founded in 1972 in the United Kingdom, that emerged from the counterculture of the late 1960s as a consequence of meetings involving, among others, Rosie Boycott and Marsha Rowe. ''Spare Rib'' ...

'' at that time and co-author of ''Greenham Common: Women at the Wire'' (

Women's Press The Women's Press was a feminist publishing company established in London in 1977. Throughout the late 1970s and the 1980s, The Women's Press was a highly visible presence, publishing feminist literature. Founding In 1977, Stephanie Dowrick cofo ...

, 1984), soon joined them. It is widely recognised as an internationally flavoured literary magazine of distinction,Ian McEwen
"Tears in the Fence 56"
mouth formed thought, 5 March 2013. with editorial contributors in the United States,

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung/ or ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second most-populous city in Australia, after Sydney. The city's name generally refers to a metropolitan area also known ...

. Regular columnists include David Caddy, Sarah Hopkins,

Tom Chivers Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name. Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tom'' (1973 film), or ''The Bad Bunch'', a blaxploitation film * ''Tom'' (2002 film) ...

, Jennifer K. Dick, Kat Peddie, Morag Kiziewicz and Ian Brinton. Beginning from an ecological and feminist perspective, the magazine deepened and developed its thinking on this path. It rapidly built upon its early internationalist outlook and international following. It was the first U.K. magazine to publish American poets and writers, such as Sheila E. Murphy, Gerald Locklin,

Ed Ochester Edwin Frank Ochester (September 15, 1939 – August 22, 2023) was an American poet and editor. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and educated at Cornell, Harvard, and the University of Wisconsin–Madison. For nearly twenty years, Ochester ser ...

, Donna Hilbert, Fred Voss, as well as regularly publishing Edward Field and Paul Violi. Regular contributors include poets associated with the

British Poetry Revival The British Poetry Revival is the general name now given to a loose list of poetry groups and movements, movement in the United Kingdom that took place in the late 1960s and 1970s. The term was a neologism first used in 1964, postulating a New Br ...

including

Lee Harwood Lee Harwood (6 June 1939 – 26 July 2015) was an English poet associated with the British Poetry Revival. Life Travers Rafe Lee Harwood was born in Leicester to maths teacher Wilfred Travers Lee-Harwood and Grace Ladkin Harwood, who were then ...

Iain Sinclair Iain Sinclair FRSL (born 11 June 1943) is a writer and filmmaker. Much of his work is rooted in London, recently within the influences of psychogeography. Early life and education Sinclair was born in Cardiff, Wales, on 11 June 1943. From 19 ...

, Bill Griffiths, John James,

Jeremy Reed Jeremy Thomas Reed (born June 15, 1981) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays and Milwaukee Brewers. He was the hitt ...

, Barry MacSweeney, Peter Riley, and associate editor,

Brian Hinton Brian Hinton, MBE (born 21 September 1950) is an English poet and musicologist. In June 2006 he was honoured in H. M. the Queen's Birthday Honours List with an MBE for services to the Arts. Education Born in Southampton, Hinton studied Eng ...

. Regular reviewers include Andrew Duncan, Steve Spence, Mandy Pannett, Norman Jope, Jeremy Hilton, Sheila Hamilton, Isobel Armstrong, Lesley Saunders, Fiona Owen, John Freeman, Mary Woodward, Nathaniel Tarn, Ian Seed, John Welch, Rosie Jackson, Robert Sheppard, Ric Hool, Frances Spurrier, Richard Forman, Peter Hughes and Ian Brinton.

References

External links

Tears in the Fence official website.

''Tears in the Fence'' MySpace page
1984 establishments in the United Kingdom Feminist magazines published in the United Kingdom Independent magazines Literary magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 1984 Poetry literary magazines Triannual magazines published in the United Kingdom {{UK-lit-mag-stub