Spoon River Poetry Review
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''Spoon River Poetry Review'' (''SRPR'', ) is an American literary journal of poetry based in
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
during most of its existence. It publishes a combination of Illinois-connected, national, and international poetry. It began in 1976 as the ''Spoon River Quarterly'', but dropped the "Quarterly" name in 1993. According to its official website, the journal has gained an international reputation and also conducts the ''Spoon River Poetry Review'' Editor's Prize and the Spoon River Poetry Association Poets-in-the-Schools Program. It has received several
Illinois Arts Council The Illinois Arts Council is a government agency of the state of Illinois formed to encourage development of the arts throughout Illinois. Founded in 1965 by the Illinois General Assembly, the Illinois Arts Council provides financial and technica ...
awards. __NOTOC__ ''SRPR'' identifies itself as "one of the nation's oldest continuously published literary journals". In 1976, David Pichaske founded ''The Spoon River Quarterly'' at
Western Illinois University Western Illinois University (WIU) is a public university in Macomb, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1899 as Western Illinois State Normal School. As the normal school grew, it became Western Illinois State Teachers College. Once West ...
, and its Spoon River Press was founded to publish the magazine and poetry
chapbook A chapbook is a type of small printed booklet that was a popular medium for street literature throughout early modern Europe. Chapbooks were usually produced cheaply, illustrated with crude woodcuts and printed on a single sheet folded into 8, 1 ...
s. In 1978, the operation moved to
Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is a city in Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located on the Illinois River, the city had a population of 113,150 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Ill ...
, and formed a not-for-profit corporation. There being another press with a similar name in Peoria at the time, the poetry published incorporated as Spoon River Poetry Press, using that name for poetry publications, the
imprint Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...
Ellis Press for prose. The organization became heavily supported by the
Illinois Arts Council The Illinois Arts Council is a government agency of the state of Illinois formed to encourage development of the arts throughout Illinois. Founded in 1965 by the Illinois General Assembly, the Illinois Arts Council provides financial and technica ...
in the 1980s. In the mid-1980s, Paichaske moved to Minnesota, founding another not-for-profit, Plains Press, and soon gave over the Illinois not-for-profit and ''The Spoon River Quarterly'' to
Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public research university in Normal, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University and is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teachin ...
professor Lucia Getsi. Under Getsi, the journal switched from a regional flavor to a mix of regional, national and international works, accepting foreign-language works with English translations, and adding book reviews. The journal became biannual in 1990, and changed its name to Spoon River Poetry Review in 1993. Getsi retired in 2006, passing the editorship to Bruce Guernsey, Distinguished Professor Emeritus from
Eastern Illinois University Eastern Illinois University (EIU) is a public university in Charleston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradual ...
. In 2010, the operation returned to Illinois State University, this time with Kirstin Hotelling Zona, an Associate Professor of English, as editor; under her, ''SRPR'' added an interview with each issue's featured poet, as well a review essay. The publication is named not after ''
Spoon River Anthology ''Spoon River Anthology'' is a 1915 collection of short free verse poems by Edgar Lee Masters. The poems collectively narrate the epitaphs of the residents of Spoon River, a fictional small town named after the Spoon River, which ran near Maste ...
'', but after the
Spoon River The Spoon River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 tributary of the Illinois River in west-central Illinois in the United States. The river drains larg ...
itself.


See also

*
List of literary magazines Below is a list of literary magazines and journals: periodicals devoted to book reviews, creative nonfiction, essays, poems, short fiction, and similar literary endeavors. *Because the majority are from the United States, the country of origin ...


Notes


References


External links


''Spoon River Poetry Review'' web site

''Spoon River Poetry Review'' Facebook page
{{Authority control 1976 establishments in Illinois Magazines established in 1976 Literary translation magazines Magazines published in Illinois Poetry magazines published in the United States Quarterly magazines published in the United States