''Light'' (formerly ''Light: A Quarterly of Light Verse'') is an online journal which bills itself as "America's oldest and best-known journal of light verse."

History and profile

''Light'' was founded as a print journal in 1992 by retired postal worker

John Mella John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Seco ...

. Mella personally published the journal until 2008, when he founded the non-profit Foundation for Light Verse with a $500,000 gift from poet

Joyce La Mers Joyce La Mers (1920 – October 2013) was an American writer of light poetry. Biography La Mers was born Joyce Duncan in Billings, Montana in 1920, the third child and only daughter of a successful livestock dealer. The Duncan family was devast ...

. The Foundation, headed by Mella, took over publication of the journal. After Mella's death in 2012, the magazine was relaunched as an online-only, semiannual publication, edited by his handpicked successor, poet

Melissa Balmain Melissa is a female given name. The name comes from the Greek word μέλισσα (''mélissa''), "bee", which in turn comes from μέλι (''meli''), "honey". In Hittite, ''melit'' signifies "honey". ''Melissa'' also refers to the plant '' ...

. The all-volunteer staff includes poets

Kevin Durkin Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant '' Kevan'' is anglicized from , a ...

, Allison Joseph,

Julie Kane :''Disambiguation: for the character voiced by Kate Micucci see Motorcity#Protagonists.'' Julie Kane (born July 20, 1952 in Boston) is a contemporary American poet, scholar, and editor and was the Louisiana Poet Laureate for the 2011–2013 ter ...

, and

Gail White Gail may refer to: People * Gail (given name), list of notable people with the given name Surname * Jean-Baptiste Gail (1755–1829), French Hellenist scholar * Max Gail (born 1943), American actor * Sophie Gail (1775–1819), French singer ...

. The verse in each issue begins with a feature on a writer of light verse. Sections in between vary from issue to issue, and have included "Spectrum" roundups on types of light verse ( Little Willies, "impossible rhymes," etc.); book reviews by Barbara Egel; and an occasional column, "Historical and Hysterical," by A. M. Juster. The magazine has published the verse of

Wendy Cope Wendy Cope (born 21 July 1945) is a contemporary English poet. She read history at St Hilda's College, Oxford. She now lives in Ely, Cambridgeshire, with her husband, the poet Lachlan Mackinnon. Biography Cope was born in Erith in Kent (now ...

Thomas M. Disch Thomas Michael Disch (February 2, 1940 – July 4, 2008) was an American science fiction author and poet. He won the Hugo Award for Best Related Book – previously called "Best Non-Fiction Book" – in 1999, and he had two other Hugo nomination ...

X. J. Kennedy X. J. Kennedy (born Joseph Charles Kennedy on August 21, 1929, in Dover, New Jersey) is an American poet, translator, anthologist, editor, and author of children's literature and textbooks on English literature and poetry. He was long know ...

John Updike John Hoyer Updike (March 18, 1932 – January 27, 2009) was an American novelist, poet, short-story writer, art critic, and literary critic. One of only four writers to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction more than once (the others being Booth ...

, and

Richard Wilbur Richard Purdy Wilbur (March 1, 1921 – October 14, 2017) was an American poet and literary translator. One of the foremost poets of his generation, Wilbur's work, composed primarily in traditional forms, was marked by its wit, charm, and gentle ...

, among many others.

Contributors

Notable contributors include the following:

References

{{Reflist 2. Nicol, Alfred (August 2, 2013), "A New Morning for Light
A New Morning for Light

External links

''Light''
Biannual magazines published in the United States Defunct literary magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1992 Magazines disestablished in 2012 Magazines published in Chicago Online literary magazines published in the United States Online magazines with defunct print editions Poetry magazines published in the United States Quarterly magazines published in the United States