''The Shit Creek Review'' is an online

literary Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, plays, and poems. It includes both print and digital writing. In recent centuries, ...

and art magazine (

e-zine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine format to an online only magazine was the computer ...

). Its content is mostly related to

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

. It draws on various online poetry forums, such as

Eratosphere Eratosphere is a free-to-join workshop for formal poetry. Additionally, it is a forum for free verse, for poetry and prose translation, fiction, art, literary criticism, and critical discussions on writing. It was founded in 1999 by Alexander Pepp ...

and The Gazebo.

History

''The Shit Creek Review'' was founded by

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

poet Paul Stevens in 2006. Stevens was joined by Nigel Holt and Angela France (who also edit the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

Iota) as its poetry editors, Don Zirilli as its art editor, and Patricia Wallace Jones as artist-in-residence. The journal is archived by the

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

. The e-zine was originally started by Stevens as a joke; its name is an ironic

allusion Allusion, or alluding, is a figure of speech that makes a reference to someone or something by name (a person, object, location, etc.) without explaining how it relates to the given context, so that the audience must realize the connection in the ...

to the many literary magazines which use the title formula "X Creek (or River) Review," and a play on the Australian

colloquialism Colloquialism (also called ''colloquial language'', ''colloquial speech'', ''everyday language'', or ''general parlance'') is the linguistic style used for casual and informal communication. It is the most common form of speech in conversation amo ...

"Up Shit Creek in a barbed wire canoe without a paddle" (to be in serious difficulties), famously said by Australian comedian

Barry Humphries John Barry Humphries (17 February 1934 – 22 April 2023) was an Australian comedian, actor, author and satirist. He was best known for writing and playing his stage and television characters Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. He appeare ...

ocker The term "ocker" is used both as a noun and adjective for an Australian who speaks in Strine, a broad Australian accent, and acts in a rough and uncultivated manner. Richard Neville defined the ocker positively as being "about conviviality: co ...

persona

Barry McKenzie Barry McKenzie (full name: Barrington Bradman Bing McKenzie)Rebecca Coyle and Michael Hannan, La Trobe University, 2005 is a fictional character created in 1964 by the Australian comedian Barry Humphries, suggested by Peter Cook, for a comic s ...

. Stevens was

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

of the first ten issues until health problems caused him to step down in late 2009, at which time he was replaced by Rose Kelleher. Wallace Jones and Zirilli also left the editorial team at this time. Holt, Kelleher, and France co-edited issues 11 and 12, Holt subsequently leaving the team; Kelleher, France, and Stevens co-edited issue 13, and Kelleher and France were joined by Ann Drysdale and R. Nemo Hill as co-editors for issue 14. Kelleher relinquished the post of editor in July 2011, and Stevens resumed being editor-in-chief for issue 14 (December, 2011), rejoined by original editorial team members Zirilli and Jones, who, along with France and Drysdale, produced issue 14, themed "End of Days." It is uncertain whether there will be future issues of the journal.

Style

''The Shit Creek Review'' combines poetry with art that reflects the content or feel of the poem. The look and layout changes from issue to issue, so there is not much continuity of visual style; each new issue creates a new self-contained narrative appropriate to its theme. Much of the poetry is in the style of

New Formalism New Formalism is a late 20th- and early 21st-century movement in American poetry that has promoted a return to metrical, rhymed verse and narrative poetry on the grounds that all three are necessary if American poetry is to compete with novels a ...

, though there is also a strong representation of

free verse Free verse is an open form of poetry which does not use a prescribed or regular meter or rhyme and tends to follow the rhythm of natural or irregular speech. Free verse encompasses a large range of poetic form, and the distinction between free ...

. ''The Shit Creek Review'' also occasionally publishes reviews and articles. Rose Kelleher wrote an essay called "Edgy vs. Nice" which was commented on by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

s Tim Radford.

Reception

Kelleher's book ''Bundle o' Tinder'', published by Waywiser Press, includes several poems first published in ''The Shit Creek Review''; the book was selected for the 2007

Anthony Hecht Anthony Evan Hecht (January 16, 1923 – October 20, 2004) was an American poet. His work combined a deep interest in form with a passionate desire to confront the horrors of 20th century history, with the Second World War, in which he fought, an ...

Poetry Prize by

Richard Wilbur Richard Purdy Wilbur (March 1, 1921 – October 14, 2017) was an American poet and literary translator. One of the foremost poets, along with his friend Anthony Hecht, of the World War II generation, Wilbur's work, often employing rhyme, and c ...

. Poets who have published in ''The Shit Creek Review'' include Larry L. Fontenot, Rachel Bunting, Kirk Knesset, John Milbury-Steen, Janet Kenny, Tammy Ho Lai-Ming, Julie Carter, Eve Anthony Hanninen, Robert Clawson, and C.P. Stewart.

The Chimaera

''The Shit Creek Review'' spawned a sub-zine called II which was more text-based (less emphasis on the art). In October 2007, II separated from ''The Shit Creek Review'' and was renamed ''The Chimaera'', edited by Paul Stevens and Peter Bloxsom of NetPublish. ''The Chimaera'' publishes verse,

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

, articles, essays, and interviews with prominent or rising poets, including Alison Brackenbury, John Whitworth, R. S. Gwynn, and

Stephen Edgar Stephen Edgar (born 1951) is an Australian poet, editor and indexer. Background and education Edgar was born in 1951 in Sydney, where he attended the prestigious Sydney Technical High School. After time spent living in London, he later return ...

Notable Contributors

''The Shit Creek Review'' has published poets from the U.K.,

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and Australia, including: *

Nicolette Bethel Nicolette Bethel is a Bahamian teacher, writer and anthropologist. She was the Director of Culture in The Bahamas, and is now a full-time lecturer in the School of Social Sciences at the University of the Bahamas. Education Nicolette Bethel stud ...

* Alison Brackenbury *

Maryann Corbett Maryann Corbett (née Zillotti, Washington, D.C.) is an American poet, medievalist, and linguist. She grew up in northern Virginia. She did her undergraduate work at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, and graduated with a do ...

* Louie Crew *

Denise Duhamel Denise Duhamel (born 1961 in Woonsocket, Rhode Island) is an American poet. Background Duhamel received her B.F.A. from Emerson College and her M.F.A. from Sarah Lawrence College. She is a New York Foundation for the Arts recipient and has been r ...

Rhina Espaillat Rhina Polonia Espaillat (born January 20, 1932, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a bilingual Dominican-American poet and translator who is affiliated with the literary movement known as New Formalism in American poetry. She has published el ...

* Andrew Frisardi * M. A. Griffiths * R. S. Gwynn * Bill Knott * J. Patrick Lewis *

Kei Miller Kei Miller (born 24 October 1978) is a Jamaican poet, fiction writer, essayist and blogger. He is also a professor of creative writing.Kevin Andrew Murphy Kevin Andrew Murphy is an American novelist and game writer from Northern California. Education He is a graduate of University of California at Santa Cruz and has a Master of Arts from University of Southern California. Career He has written ga ...

* Timothy Murphy *

Lee Passarella Lee Passarella is a writer and senior literary editor of the '' Atlanta Review''. His long narrative poem '' Swallowed Up In Victory'' ( Burd Street Press, 2002) is based on the American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 ...

Craig Raine Craig Anthony Raine, FRSL (born 3 December 1944) is an English contemporary poet. Along with Christopher Reid, he is a pioneer of Martian poetry, a movement that expresses alienation with the world, society and objects. He was a fellow of New C ...

* Charlotte Runcie *

A. E. Stallings Alicia Elsbeth Stallings (born July 2, 1968) is an American poet, translator, and essayist. Stallings has published five books of original verse: ''Archaic Smile'' (1999), ''Hapax'' (2006), ''Olives'' (2012), ''Like'' (2018), and ''This Afterlife ...

* Wendy Videlock * Richard Wakefield * John Whitworth *

Kirby Wright Kirby Michael Wright is an American writer best known for his 2005 coming-of-age island novel ''Punahou Blues'' and the epic novel ''Moloka'i Nui Ahina'', which is based on the life and times of Wright's paniolo grandmother. Both novels deal wit ...

* Peter Wyton

Related E-zines

Paul Stevens also edited a "metaphysicalzine" called '' The Flea'' (after

John Donne John Donne ( ; 1571 or 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a clergy, cleric in the Church of England. Under Royal Patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's, D ...

poem Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

), which publishes poetry loosely in the Metaphysical Poetry tradition. Peter Bloxsom publishes an online journal dedicated to

sonnet A sonnet is a fixed poetic form with a structure traditionally consisting of fourteen lines adhering to a set Rhyme scheme, rhyming scheme. The term derives from the Italian word ''sonetto'' (, from the Latin word ''sonus'', ). Originating in ...

form called ''14 by 14''. Paul Stevens died in March 2013. The three online journal sites remain inactive since 2011, so they exist as archives. They are also accessible indefinitely in archives maintained by the National Library of Australia. The online literary journal ''Angle'' publishes mainly poetry, annually in

PDF Portable document format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe Inc., Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, computer hardware, ...

format. Its founding editor, Philip Quinlan, was an admirer of Paul Stevens's journals.

References

External links

Official site

''The Chimaera'' official site (archived)

''The Chimaera'' blog

''The Flea'' official site''14 by 14'' official site

Paul Stevens interview with Nic Sebastian (archived)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shit Creek Review 2006 establishments in Australia Literary magazines published in Australia Australian literature websites Magazines established in 2006 Poetry literary magazines